Pubdate: Fri, 11 Mar 2005 Source: Imprint (CN ON Edu) Copyright: Imprint Publications 2005. Contact: http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2693 Author: Mark Johnson Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) THE WEED CRISIS Canada's respected Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) force was brought to its knees last week with the murder of four officers at the hands of a disturbed sociopath. The tradegy in Alberta conjured up feelings of intense sorrow, anger and a desire for justice. The issue was especially touchy because the officers were investigating a marijuana grow operation. It generated debate across the country with regard to the wisdom of Canada's marijuana policy -- and the Liberal Party of Canada's bi-annual convention held this past weekend was no exception. The shootings appear to have been, according to some observers, exploited by both the pro and anti-marijuana camps. Even before the bodies of the RCMP officers had been retrieved, Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan was before the cameras raving about how we must impose harsher penalties for grow-ops. With all due respect to the minister, the notion is ridiculous. The penalty for killing a police officer is 25 years in prison with no parole. Hosting a grow-op is usually around 5-10 years. Somehow I don't think having more severe grow-op penalties would've deterred this criminal in the slightest. The unfortunate death of these officers illustrates more clearly than ever how ludicrous our prohibition laws are. Why were these men killed chasing down a guy growing relatively harmless plants when there are murderers and rapists on the loose? Wasting the time of the police on marijuana-busting is an insult to their uniform and we should liberalize our drug laws right away. A policy proposal at the Liberal convention -- ultimately taken off the table in favour of a more popular policy of decriminalized prostitution -- would have seen marijuana legalized and sold in a manner similar to alcohol. Opinion on the issue within the Liberals is diverse: Treasury Board President Reg Alcock has called for the legalization of marijuana while Dan McTeague, parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is campaigning against even the decriminalization of tiny amounts of marijuana. The Conservatives consistently argue for tougher penalties on marijuana grow-ops while the NDP completely support legalization of this plant. The potential Liberal policy argued that if the government regulated and sold the drug, it would put the grow-ops out of business and possibly reap annual tax revenues to the tune of $3 billion, as well as eliminating the roughly $400-$500 million we spend each year enforcing marijuana prohibition. Using marijuana decreases reaction time and impairs judgment and that is precisely the reason why driving under the influence of this drug should be treated just as driving under the influence of alcohol is. There are always ways around the dangers. When one Liberal at the convention was warning the audience about the negative health effects of smoking marijuana, another person yelled out, "Eat brownies!" A 2002 report from the Canadian Senate said that the current system of prohibition in Canada does not work and should be replaced by a regulated system that would focus on illegal trafficking, prevention programs and respecting individual and collective freedoms. Legalization will not only make it safer for users but it will clear the name of the estimated 600,000 Canadians who have been convicted of simple cannabis possession. Similar to what it does for cigarettes, the government should finance research on drugs and on prevention and treatment programs, financed by taxes on the sale of legal marijuana. The time for change is now.