Washington and Colorado - where, even with a Republican controlled house, senate, and governor - the people got together, created a ballot measure on legalizing Marijuana, and voted for it. The governor had to pass it by law - and the measure is now law. That's democracy, and that's how a democracy works. Can you imagine if the people had power like that here in Nova Scotia? In Canada? Well don't imagine too hard, it'll never happen in Canada. Canadians seem content to plod along with a system of government that allows for this perverse drug war mentality to continue. Perhaps because it nets so much cash for a very influential few - police and organized crime, brothers in the drug war profit machine. Federal ministers doing their best Nancy Reagan impression are the icing on the cake. Without democratic tools in this country to keep our legislature on track, recall legislation at all levels of government to weed out maniacal representatives; without an additional vote for the executive in addition to our local candidate, without the right to citizen sponsored ballot measures... We are forever at the behest of the same special interests in control now. Liberal, NDP, Conservative, no one is interested in evolving our democracy. The vice grip around out throats is only going to tighten unless Canadians demand change. And now. Your one X, once every five years, isn't a democracy. If this Marijuana issue doesn't light-up Canadians to our serious democratic deficiencies, I'm not sure what will. —Fed Up