Pubdate: Tue, 30 Apr 2002
Source: Daily News, The (CN NS)
Copyright: 2002 The Daily News
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/halifax/dailynews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/179
Author: David Swick
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

MACE GRAB HURT THE CAUSE

Alliance MP's Angry Action Set Drug-Law Debate Back Years

In his anger at the government squashing his private member's bill to 
decriminalize marijuana, Keith Martin may have set decriminalization back a 
few years. Instead of accepting last week's defeat, Martin grabbed the 
ceremonial mace, symbol of parliamentary authority.

Contacted in Ottawa, Martin says he was protesting how undemocratic the 
system has become. Well, OK. But to millions of Canadians, Martin at that 
moment looked like something out of Reefer Madness: crazy and dangerous.

This was too bad, because the Canadian Alliance MP worked long and hard to 
bring some sanity to our drug laws. In the furore over the mace his bill 
was not discussed -- and it was sane stuff.

Bill C-344 would have made possession or selling of less than one gram of 
hashish or 30 grams (about an ounce) of marijuana no longer a criminal 
offence. Instead, offenders would be ticketed, and have to pay a fine - 
$200 for first offence.

Right now, a first-time offender is subject to a prison sentence of six 
months, a fine of up to $1,000 and a criminal record. Now, that's crazy.

Martin is a B.C. physician who worked for 13 years in detox centres, and 
also worked as a prison guard. It was those experiences, and reading about 
the effects of marijuana on health -- and on the justice system -- that 
prompted him to become one of the country's leading proponents of 
decriminalization.

He points out that studies estimate $400 million is spent every year by 
police, courts and correction facilities in Canada. In 1998, 71,293 drug 
offences were reported by the RCMP, with almost half involving marijuana. 
So Martin estimates that decriminalizing pot would save $150 million every 
year.

"Imagine the time and resources that would be free to pursue the fight 
against hard drugs and other crimes," he says, "if we simply fined those 
individuals caught with a small amount of cannabis."

He also points out that:

*The RCMP and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police support 
decriminalization.

*Almost three-quarters of Canadians believe marijuana should be 
decriminalized or possession of small amounts penalized by a fine, while 
only 24 per cent believe it should be a criminal offence.

*Many Canadians have little or no respect for drug laws, partly as a result 
of marijuana prohibition.

If decriminalization was put to an open vote in the House of Commons, 
Martin says, his polling of members suggests 60 per cent would vote in 
favour. "They know that the current laws are absurd," he said, "and that 
punitive, draconian drug laws are a failure."

Unfortunately, the governing Liberals decided to kill his bill. So a 
harmful, unnecessary and crazy prohibition will continue.

"This government operates through polls, not for the public good," Martin 
believes. "They're not willing to act on things of substance.

"Their attitude is, when sitting at 50 per cent in the polls, why act? If 
you do something substantive, you risk drawing attention to yourself. So 
it's better to be an amorphous blob."

To those who believe that legalizing marijuana would be best of all -- 
because that would hurt organized crime and raise tax revenue -- Martin 
says it can't happen. Decriminalization is as good as it can possibly get. 
"(If we made marijuana legal) there would be a trade war with the U.S.," he 
said. "Our trade treaties prevent us from legalizing illegal drugs."
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MAP posted-by: Ariel