Pubdate: Fri, 20 Jan 2012
Source: Tribune, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2012, Osprey Media Group Inc.
Contact: http://www.wellandtribune.ca/feedback1/LetterToEditor.aspx
Website: http://www.wellandtribune.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2807
Author: Eric Duhaime, Columnist

GETTING HIGH ON GRITS' NEW POT PLANK

The Liberal party convention last weekend revived the old debate on 
whether or not we should legalize marijuana.

While our prisons are jam-packed, our public finances in the red and 
almost everyone admits that the war on drugs is a "complete failure," 
the time may have come to reopen that bag of pot.

Legalizing soft drugs would allow that industry to get out of the 
black market, just as the abolishment of prohibition did in the United 
States in 1933.

Legalizing pot would also eliminate a great deal of the crime and 
corruption linked to that sector of our economy. In an illicit market, 
by definition, you cannot have any laws to regulate the exchange of 
goods. Violence and bribery are the usual ways of resolving conflict.

By selling pot over the counter, the quality of cannabis would improve 
since all producers and distributors will want to build a reputation 
of confidence and reliability.

Also, one should take into account the savings realized by eliminating 
the expensive war on drugs and needless prison costs, as well as the 
source of fresh revenue gained in new taxes.

The sale to minors could also finally be drastically diminished since 
it would represent a small market made up of buyers who are poor and 
thus less attractive to pushers, on whom police enforcement could be 
much more effectively focused.

Anyway, as surprising as it could sound, there doesn't seem to be a 
link between consumption and legalization. In the Netherlands, where 
soft drugs are sold legally, consumption is lower than here in Canada. 
In Portugal, there have been no significant changes and there is even 
a small decrease in consumption since marijuana got de facto legalized in 2001.

Europeans show more tolerance in matters of possession of drugs. It 
does not constitute a crime in Spain, in Portugal, in the Czech 
Republic, in the Baltic countries, in some German states and in some 
Swiss cantons.

In face of the openness of Europeans, the failure of the Canadian 
repressive approach becomes more and more obvious. At 19%, Canada has 
the highest percentage of drug consumers - which is probably even 
higher here in Quebec. We are followed, at 15%, by the other 
ultra-repressive country on the matter, the United States. The 
Netherlands, which legalized the use of pot, represents the European 
average at 12%.

Canada acted as a pioneer on the continent when it allowed the use of 
pot for medical purposes. Now the time has come to move a step further.

Don't get me wrong. I do approve of the Conservatives' policy of being 
tough on crime. I just don't believe that an adult who freely decides 
to have six plants of marijuana in his backyard or basement and who 
smokes a joint or two a day is a criminal.

The Conservatives do not understand that but now the Liberals do. I am 
quite sure that Bob Marley's spirit could inspire the Grits for their 
next election campaign slogan: No victim, no crime ...
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MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.