Pubdate: Wed, 15 Sep 2004 Source: North Shore News (CN BC) Copyright: 2004 North Shore News Contact: http://www.nsnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/311 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) SMOKE AND SPIN Let's hope Prime Minister Paul Martin follows through with the Liberal commitment to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana in the coming session of Parliament. If the Chretien government had enacted its promised legislation in 2003 instead of delaying action for fear of U.S. disapproval, Vancouver and other municipalities would likely have worked out its civic reaction and control of "pot cafes" by now. That, we say, would have been a good thing. We have argued for many years now that Canada's pot laws are out of touch with reality and that the continued prohibition of the drug only increases the financial wealth of organized crime. Polls suggest a majority of Canadians take this view. We're not advocating pot for every chicken here; access to the drug needs to be controlled in a similar fashion to alcohol but with much heavier penalties for selling to minors. And despite our political sympathies, we do not condone the recent law-breaking at Da Kine Smoke and Beverage Shop on Commercial Drive in Vancouver. Blatantly advertised law-breaking may put pressure on politicians, but it puts police in an impossible situation. In fact, the shop's owner and her patrons can consider themselves lucky that municipal tolerance doubtless contributed to the watch and wait approach of the Vancouver Police Department until Solicitor General Rich Coleman got critical. Comments about "the thuggery of the police gang" after last week's arrests may play well to the store's pot smokers, but that inflammatory approach won't help in the wider political arena. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager