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?
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MAP posted-by: Beth