I was shocked when I recently learned that Newfoundland police busted the
province's first hemp store, Hemp Ware.

I'm surprised that all this fuss is being made over the sale of cannabis
pipes and other "paraphernalia," especially since owner Nycki Temple wasn't
selling bags of grass out of her peaceful shop.

Why were scarce police resources wasted when authorities surely had
far more important problems to deal with? How much cocaine was sold,
how many assaults were there, while police were tied up in the Hemp
Ware shop?

Marijuana is now known to be far safer than alcohol and tobacco, and
70 per cent of Canadians support decriminalization or legalization
according to Health Canada. It is counterproductive to continue
branding people criminals for smoking flowers, and the arrest of
entrepreneur Nycki Temple merely for selling smoking accessories is a
miscarriage of justice.

Chris Clay
owner of Canada's first hemp store
London, Ontario