Pubdate: Mon, 10 Feb 2014
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2014 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/send_a_letter
Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Author: Bartley Kives
Page: B1

IT'S HIGH TIME TO END CRACKDOWN ON HEAD SHOPS

In every city, town and rural area in Manitoba this morning, many of
your fellow citizens are self-administering a mind-altering substance
- -- and authorities aren't doing a thing about it.

Inside the privacy of their homes, on their way to work and even in
public places, hundreds of thousands of Manitobans are consuming a
xanthine alkaloid that stimulates the central nervous system.

This white, crystalline substance increases pressure on the eyes,
raises anxiety levels and interferes with a key brain chemical known
as adenosine.

In severe cases, it can even cause heart palpitations and cardiac
arrest.

The drug in question is the most widely used psychoactive substance
known to humankind. It is, of course, caffeine, which is entirely
legal in Canada.

It's also mostly harmless and generally unregulated.

The way we treat caffeine is highly instructive, especially
considering how we treat other psychoactive substances.

THC, the main active ingredient in marijuana, is also mostly harmless,
an overwhelming body of medical and social science has found. Yet
marijuana is illegal and only regulated in its medicinal form,
consumed primarily by chronic pain sufferers and cancer patients.

Given that marijuana is illegal, it stands to reason authorities
continue to arrest and prosecute anyone involved in its production and
distribution.

What doesn't make sense is a crackdown on the retailers of
marijuana-smoking paraphernalia.

The primary reason marijuana producers and distributors are prosecuted
is not to prevent the substance from ending up in the hands of
consumers, who represent a broad spectrum of otherwise law-abiding
society. After all, roughly one in two Canadians has tried smoking
weed, at some point.

Rather, marijuana is seized to deprive organized crime of a revenue
stream, one that can be used to finance far more noxious and
destructive illegal activities. This is the primary harm caused to
society by marijuana production and distribution.

Secondary harms include the loss of tax revenue to the state and the
expense of devoting precious police resources to marijuana-related
investigations.

No politician can credibly argue marijuana consumption itself is a
serious public health or safety issue. Yet the City of Winnipeg is
taking action against retailers who sell the physical means of
consuming marijuana -- pipes, bongs and other instruments used to smoke pot.

This is absurd. Logically, it's akin to engaging in a crackdown on the
retailers of coffee cups or teapots in a society that decided to
render caffeine illegal.

Over the past couple of months, Winnipeg police have raided four
Winnipeg head shops.

In a carefully worded statement issued last week, the police denied
engaging in a crackdown. Rather, they maintain they're responding to
complaints about these shops, which some citizens consider a blight
upon their neighbourhoods.

There are many legal businesses some Winnipeggers will not appreciate,
let alone tolerate near their homes or schools. Undesirable businesses
include porn retailers, pawn shops and non-therapeutic body-rub
establishments.

Body-rub parlours are of particular relevance, as what happens within
their walls is tantamount to a legalized sex trade. Yet these places
are permitted to operate under the principle of harm reduction: Women
who provide sexual services in a regulated environment are afforded
better protection than most street prostitutes could ever expect.

The City of Winnipeg uses zoning regulations to determine where porn,
pawn and body-rub shops go. It is well within the city's power to also
determine where head shops can operate.

Citizens who don't like retailers of marijuana paraphernalia are
justified in complaining to city hall and clamouring for better
regulation of where these stores may and may not operate. But a sudden
upswing in police enforcement, especially during a municipal election
year, appears arbitrary and heavy-handed.

Police will never be able to quash the consumption of marijuana simply
by closing head shops. If deprived of their bongs, pipes and other
(often silly-looking) devices, marijuana smokers will simply resort to
buying rolling papers from convenience stores, where potato chips and
taquitos serve as additional attractants.

Many police officers, of course, actually support the
decriminalization or even legalization of marijuana, a move that would
free up law enforcement resources, deprive organized crime of revenue
and potentially create a new source of government tax revenue.

But that's another issue. If the primary harm posed by head shops is
entirely esthetic, then the proper arena for dealing with these
retailers is not a courtroom, but a zoning hearing at city hall.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt