Pubdate: Tue, 29 May 2001 Source: Expositor, The (CN ON) Section: Opinion Website: http://www.southam.com/brantfordexpositor/ Address: P.O. Box 965, Brantford, Ontario, N3T 5S8 Contact: 2001 The Brantford Expositor Forum: http://www.southam.com/nmc/speakout/be_forums.html Fax: (519)756-9470 THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER BRANTFORD According to one estimate, about 1.5 million Canadians -- five per cent of the country's population -- use marijuana. They do it knowing full well that it's against the law and could lead to arrest, trial and a criminal record. Indeed, during the last 30 years that Is exactly what has happened to more than 500,000 Canadians who carry criminal records for simple possession of marijuana. In 1995 alone, almost 32,000 Canadians were convicted of the crime. That may change. During the past few weeks there has been considerable discussion about marijuana and THE law, and a whole lot more discussion is on the way. Quietly, last week, all five parties in the House of Commons supported a resolution to set up a committee that will investigate the idea of decriminalizing marijuana use. (Decriminalization means it would still be illegal to use marijuana, but would be punished with a ticket and a fine, much like a traffic offence.) The Commons committee is expected to be appointed this week and to begin work in the fall. When it does, there will be no shortage of opinions, on both sides of the issue. Indeed, the debate is making for some strange bedfellows. In addition to pot users and the owners of head shops across the nation who have an obvious stake in a change, decriminalization has also been endorsed by the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the RCMP. An editorial in the CMA Journal argues that the legal fallout of being arrested for marijuana possession far outweigh the minimal health effects of moderate use of the drugs. The police chiefs and RCMP say they could put more resources into investigating more serious crimes if they were spending so much effort on prosecuting marijuana cases. So far, Health Minister Alan Rock and Justice Minister Anne McLellan have said they think a debate is needed. Tory Leader Joe Clark went so far as to endorse decriminalization last week, while the NDP and Bloc Quebecois have already endorsed the idea. Of course, not everyone is lining up on that side of the debate. On Monday, the Canadian Police Association, which represents rank-and-file police officers, came out four-square against any change in the law. The organization contends that marijuana is a "starter drug" for other addictions and that the end result of looser laws for marijuana would be more criminal activity, not less. And what of the Canadian public? One survey done by a sociologist at the University of Lethbridge showed that 47 per cent of Canadians favour decriminalization, a marked increase from the 30 per cent who held that position just a few years ago. In B.C., where a pro-marijuana party contested the recent election, support for decriminalization is as high as 56 per cent. Considering society's general disapproval of drug use, the level of support for decriminalization is rather startling. Little or no good comes from recreational use of any drug , yet there is broad support for a change in the law that would make doing it that much less risky. Could it be that many Canadians, from doctors to lawyers to police chiefs to average citizens, have recognized that the costs of enforcing this law do indeed outweigh the benefits? - --- MAP posted-by: Beth