Weed: A solution to unemployment

Re: Ottawa judge gives discharge to young clerk charged with drug trafficking in pot shop raid, Feb. 7.

As a retiree looking for part-time work, I realize that I have failed to capitalize on the job opportunities awaiting me in the illegal budtender occupation. It’s time to start brushing up my résumé.

It’s been the position of the Ottawa Police Service for some time that it does not have the resources for the intensive investigations required to determine if the illegally operating shops are illegal. So, any risk of my being charged for working in such an illegal establishment is likely lower than being arrested for driving 60 km/ h in a 40 km/ h zone.

One of the recent stories about an employee of one of these illegal shops mentioned that the employer was paying less than minimum wage. That’s a bit of a downer (it’s illegal too, but I’m guessing that there are no resources to investigate that, either). However, since the employer is paying cash, with no pesky deductions for things such as income tax, CPP, EI, etc., the lower cash wage likely nets out to be more than a “legal” wage. Bonus!

Another bonus would be that I would not have to worry about any of my senior benefits being clawed back when the federal government gets a T4 from the employer.

It seems to me that there are many pluses to applying to any one of the many illegal shops operating in Ottawa, and minimal risks.

The only downside seems to be the short term of any employment I may now find. I would be willing to bet that as soon as the Ontario government opens its legal pot shops, the Ottawa Police Service will somehow, somewhere find the resources needed to close down the illegal competition. We can’t have customers going to long-standing illegal, tax-free shops when the monopoly comes to town, now can we? Grant Wilkinson, Kanata

When meeting a male or female friend, if I share a hug or a kiss on the cheek in greeting, that is perfectly acceptable. But in a work setting, women do remember unwanted touching by men working in the same location as them. Louise LeBlanc, Ottawa

LARS HAGBERG/AFP/GETTY IMAGES The Ottawa Police Service says it doesn’t have the resources to determine if illegally operating marijuana shops are illegal, writes Grant Wilkinson. However, once marijuana is legal, it probably will snuff out the private competition.