Pubdate: Tue, 15 Mar 2016 Source: National Post (Canada) Copyright: 2016 Canwest Publishing Inc. Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wEtbT4yU Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286 Page: A7 ABSURD STATE OF AFFAIRS Long before Canadians actually went to the polls last October, Justin Trudeau had been clear that his Liberal party would legalize marijuana. "I'm actually not in favour of decriminalizing cannabis. I'm in favour of legalizing it," he said during a public appearance in British Columbia in the summer of 2013. "Tax it, regulate," the leader of the then-third party said. "It's one of the only ways to keep it out of the hands of our kids because the current war on drugs, the current model is not working." Just over two years later, of course, Trudeau would win the election. His government has now been in office for more than four months. Yet the model he said was not working in 2013 is still the model in place in Canada, and will be for some time. The Liberals have yet to commit to a timeline for legalization marijuana. They' have confirmed that they still intend to, but when this will happen is anyone's guess. This isn't intended as a criticism of the government, as most Canadians would agree that marijuana is a low priority, especially compared of Canadians are being arrested each year (22,000 in 2014 alone). Many are simply charged with possessing small amounts of cannabis. Even granting that the law remains the law, what benefit does society gain from pursing these infractions? What value does the Canadian public get for this expense? What better use could law enforcement agencies, the courts and our jails be put to? The issue is complicated further by comments made this year by Liberal MP Bill Blair. Blair is the former Toronto police chief and is now the prime minister's point man on marijuana-related issues. Last month, Blair said that the Liberal government would consider amnesties for people convicted of minor marijuana-related crimes (the criminal record such convictions produce can prove devastating to one's career prospects, and complicate any plans for international travel). Amnesties for those convicted of minor marijuana-related offences are a fine idea, but consider the absurd message these overlapping promises and commitments have produced: the government is basically saying you can be arrested and convicted for something that will soon no longer be illegal, but don't worry, because you' ll be granted amnesty for it later. The wheels of government move slowly. This government has had more important issues to grapple with. Progress on marijuana legalization will take time and, as already shown by the experience of Washington and Colorado, will likely take even more time than expected. Tackling all the various complexities of ending our decades-long prohibition of marijuana should not be rushed. But in the meantime, something should be done about those cases still being brought into the court system. Since we don't know what the future law will be - will possession of quantities of marijuana beyond a certain limit still be banned, on grounds it's intended for trafficking? - it's impossible for police and Crown attorneys to simply stop pursing convictions for crimes that will soon be erased. They don't know where the line will be drawn. Any guidance the government can provide to law enforcement and Crown attorneys across the country, on the understanding that officers may decline to arrest and prosecutors may decline to prosecute on the basis of that information, would constitute an imperfect way of addressing the absurdities now being created by a Liberal promise that has not yet become law. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom