Pubdate: 10 Mar 1999 Source: London Free Press (Canada) Copyright: 1999 The London Free Press a division of Sun Media Corporation. Contact: http://www.canoe.ca/LondonFreePress/home.html Forum: http://www.lfpress.com/londoncalling/SelectForum.asp Author: Nahlah Ayed POT CHARGES HIGHER THAN EVER, EVEN POLICE CALL FOR SOFTER LAW OTTAWA -- Marijuana is the leading cause of drug-related criminal charges in the 1990s, despite growing ambivalence about whether the weed should be illegal. Marijuana's resurgence as the drug of choice for Canadians, and increasing availability of home-grown pot has been accompanied by a big jump in pot-related charges over the past decade compared with other drugs. Statistics Canada data released yesterday indicates the overall number of offences hasn't changed much since 1983. But marijuana-related charges accounted for 72 per cent of the total in 1997, compared with 58 per cent in 1991. Half of drug crimes reported by Canadian police in 1997 stemmed from cannabis possession. Charges related to heroin and cocaine dropped between 1991 and The Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, which produced the figures, says it doesn't know why the number of marijuana offences has grown while others have fallen. But Neil Boyd, a Simon Fraser University criminologist, says the growing popularity of marijuana might partly account for the trend. Others say the growing availability of made-in-Canada marijuana might explain it. Either way, the trend is disturbing for those who support legalization of cannabis. "I don't see how in this day and age anybody can seriously argue that prosecuting people for simple possession of marijuana does one iota of good for society," said Eugene Oscapella, a member of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy, an Ottawa drug policy think-tank. "It's an unnecessary waste of dollars, (it's) diversion of police resources and the diminution of civil liberties." He charged that it's easier to go after marijuana users than hard drug traffickers. "It's an easy statistic for the cops. It's easy to bust people, easy to detect. Police want statistics to prove what they're doing is working." The Canadian Police Association says forces don't have enough resources to fight drug crime at the source. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police is against legalization but wants Ottawa to look at decriminalization in some circumstances. Barry King, police chief in Brockville, said officers are getting fired for using discretion when it comes to drugs and Ottawa has to take the lead on giving police the option of letting minor drug offences go. "That's what they're saying to them, do something legitimate, codify it, give our people the authority and the protection," he said. "We're looking for discretion as much as anybody else." - --- MAP posted-by: Mike Gogulski