Canadians never forget the old joke about a pachydermy conference where French scientists discuss elephants' love lives, the British praise and the Soviets denounce "Elephants and Empire," Americans imagine breeding bigger better elephants, and Canadians empty the room with "Elephants: federal or provincial responsibility." Then there's the one about why elephants are big, grey and wrinkly. A: Because if they were small green and crumbly they'd be marijuana, and ending futile patronizing prohibition would cause finance ministers to swoop in and squabble over "Gouging the user: federal or provincial responsibility."

[continues 742 words]

The Liberals really seem about to legalize marijuana. Amazing. I am not astonished that they are keeping a campaign promise. Parties generally mean what they say, however poorly they think through the practicalities. What astounds me is that we may see a significant measure to reduce government meddling in people's lives.

The Liberals are moving with ostentatious caution, possibly to avoid playing into their stereotype as the pothead party. But since one survey says a quarter of Canadians have smoked marijuana just for fun in the past year you'd be surprised who indulges without succumbing to Reefer Madness.

[continues 725 words]

Canadians have rights, don't they? We love our Charter and the robust, even convoluted, legal system that surrounds it. Yet increasingly we live in a fools' paradise because one of the worst things that can happen to us is to be sucked into precisely the elaborate legal system we think protects us.

This point was driven home for me, horribly, at a Canadian Constitution Foundation conference on Law and Freedom in Toronto last weekend. I was there to talk about the surprisingly encouraging "Comeau" court ruling that we can buy beer and take it home even from (ugh) another province. But this straightforward case, upholding the plain meaning of S 121 of the Constitution, still took four years to yield an initial ruling immediately engulfed by bickering over which court shall hear a long costly appeal that will, itself, almost certainly be appealed.

[continues 668 words]

Ottawa has a problem with guns and gangs. Several problems actually. But the biggest one, as usual, is conceptual, because if you don't realize what you're doing wrong you can't change it.

On the surface our problem is a spate of people being shot in the legs in public housing. The victims then "refuse to cooperate with the police," sociology-speak for "they won't tell the cops who did it."

They know, of course. This is drug trade violence and they are shot by partner-competitors when deals go bad or over turf. But they won't talk partly because they are more afraid of their rivals than of polite society and partly because they are deeply alienated from polite society.

[continues 526 words]

Ottawa has a problem with guns and gangs. Several problems actually. But the biggest one, as usual, is conceptual, because if you don't realize what you're doing wrong you can't change it.

On the surface our problem is a spate of people being shot in the legs in public housing. The victims then "refuse to cooperate with the police," sociology-speak for "they won't tell the cops who did it."

They know, of course. This is drug trade violence and they are shot by partner-competitors when deals go bad or over turf. But they won't talk partly because they are more afraid of their rivals than of polite society and partly because they are deeply alienated from polite society.

[continues 526 words]

Ottawa has a problem with guns and gangs. Several problems actually. But the biggest one, as usual, is conceptual, because if you don't realize what you're doing wrong you can't change it.

On the surface our problem is a spate of people being shot in the legs in public housing. The victims then "refuse to cooperate with the police," sociology-speak for "they won't tell the cops who did it."

They know, of course. This is drug trade violence and they are shot by partner-competitors when deals go bad or over turf. But they won't talk partly because they are more afraid of their rivals than of polite society and partly because they are deeply alienated from polite society.

[continues 527 words]

Ottawa has a problem with guns and gangs. Several problems actually. But the biggest one, as usual, is conceptual, because if you don't realize what you're doing wrong you can't change it.

On the surface our problem is a spate of people being shot in the legs in public housing. The victims then "refuse to cooperate with the police," sociology-speak for "they won't tell the cops who did it."

They know, of course. This is drug trade violence and they are shot by partner-competitors when deals go bad or over turf. But they won't talk partly because they are more afraid of their rivals than of polite society and partly because they are deeply alienated from polite society.

[continues 527 words]

Ottawa has a problem with guns and gangs. Several problems actually. But the biggest one, as usual, is conceptual, because if you don't realize what you're doing wrong you can't change it.

On the surface our problem is a spate of people being shot in the legs in public housing. The victims then "refuse to cooperate with the police," sociology-speak for "they won't tell the cops who did it."

They know, of course. This is drug trade violence and they are shot by partner-competitors when deals go bad or over turf. But they won't talk partly because they are more afraid of their rivals than of polite society and partly because they are deeply alienated from polite society.

[continues 526 words]

Ottawa has a problem with guns and gangs. Several problems actually. But the biggest one, as usual, is conceptual, because if you don't realize what you're doing wrong you can't change it.

On the surface our problem is a spate of people being shot in the legs in public housing. The victims then "refuse to cooperate with the police," sociology-speak for "they won't tell the cops who did it."

They know, of course. This is drug trade violence and they are shot by partner-competitors when deals go bad or over turf. But they won't talk partly because they are more afraid of their rivals than of polite society and partly because they are deeply alienated from polite society.

[continues 527 words]

Ottawa has a problem with guns and gangs. Several problems actually. But the biggest one, as usual, is conceptual, because if you don't realize what you're doing wrong you can't change it.

On the surface our problem is a spate of people being shot in the legs in public housing. The victims then "refuse to cooperate with the police," sociology-speak for "they won't tell the cops who did it."

They know, of course. This is drug trade violence and they are shot by partner-competitors when deals go bad or over turf. But they won't talk partly because they are more afraid of their rivals than of polite society and partly because they are deeply alienated from polite society.

[continues 527 words]

Ottawa has a problem with guns and gangs. Several problems actually. But the biggest one, as usual, is conceptual, because if you don't realize what you're doing wrong you can't change it.

On the surface our problem is a spate of people being shot in the legs in public housing. The victims then "refuse to cooperate with the police," sociology-speak for "they won't tell the cops who did it."

They know, of course. This is drug trade violence and they are shot by partner-competitors when deals go bad or over turf. But they won't talk partly because they are more afraid of their rivals than of polite society and partly because they are deeply alienated from polite society.

[continues 527 words]

Ottawa has a problem with guns and gangs. Several problems actually. But the biggest one, as usual, is conceptual, because if you don't realize what you're doing wrong you can't change it.

On the surface our problem is a spate of people being shot in the legs in public housing. The victims then "refuse to cooperate with the police," sociology-speak for "they won't tell the cops who did it."

They know, of course. This is drug trade violence and they are shot by partner-competitors when deals go bad or over turf. But they won't talk partly because they are more afraid of their rivals than of polite society and partly because they are deeply alienated from polite society.

[continues 527 words]

Ottawa has a problem with guns and gangs. Several problems actually. But the biggest one, as usual, is conceptual, because if you don't realize what you're doing wrong you can't change it.

On the surface our problem is a spate of people being shot in the legs in public housing. The victims then "refuse to cooperate with the police," sociology-speak for "they won't tell the cops who did it."

They know, of course. This is drug trade violence and they are shot by partner-competitors when deals go bad or over turf. But they won't talk partly because they are more afraid of their rivals than of polite society and partly because they are deeply alienated from polite society.

[continues 527 words]

Ottawa has a problem with guns and gangs. Several problems actually. But the biggest one, as usual, is conceptual, because if you don't realize what you're doing wrong you can't change it.

On the surface our problem is a spate of people being shot in the legs in public housing. The victims then "refuse to cooperate with the police," sociology-speak for "they won't tell the cops who did it."

They know, of course. This is drug trade violence and they are shot by partner-competitors when deals go bad or over turf. But they won't talk partly because they are more afraid of their rivals than of polite society and partly because they are deeply alienated from polite society.

[continues 527 words]

Ottawa has a problem with guns and gangs. Several problems actually. But the biggest one, as usual, is conceptual, because if you don't realize what you're doing wrong you can't change it.

On the surface our problem is a spate of people being shot in the legs in public housing. The victims then "refuse to cooperate with the police," sociology-speak for "they won't tell the cops who did it."

They know, of course. This is drug trade violence and they are shot by partner-competitors when deals go bad or over turf. But they won't talk partly because they are more afraid of their rivals than of polite society and partly because they are deeply alienated from polite society.

[continues 527 words]

Ottawa has a problem with guns and gangs. Several problems actually. But the biggest one, as usual, is conceptual, because if you don't realize what you're doing wrong you can't change it.

On the surface our problem is a spate of people being shot in the legs in public housing. The victims then "refuse to cooperate with the police," sociology-speak for "they won't tell the cops who did it."

They know, of course. This is drug trade violence and they are shot by partner-competitors when deals go bad or over turf. But they won't talk partly because they are more afraid of their rivals than of polite society and partly because they are deeply alienated from polite society.

[continues 527 words]

Ottawa has a problem with guns and gangs. Several problems actually. But the biggest one, as usual, is conceptual, because if you don't realize what you're doing wrong you can't change it.

On the surface our problem is a spate of people being shot in the legs in public housing. The victims then "refuse to cooperate with the police," sociology-speak for "they won't tell the cops who did it."

They know, of course. This is drug trade violence and they are shot by partner-competitors when deals go bad or over turf. But they won't talk partly because they are more afraid of their rivals than of polite society and partly because they are deeply alienated from polite society.

[continues 522 words]

Apparently we're not supposed to discuss moral issues during an election campaign. Which only leaves immoral ones, I suppose. Or perhaps amoral. Would it be wrong to ask why?

Once, politicians feared the taint of immorality. Now they fear the taint of morality. It's not completely clear to me whether they're trying to persuade us that they don't know right from wrong or just that they don't care. But they do seem determined to convey that in any event it's not going to matter; when politicians in any party are caught holding moral views they hasten to assure us they wouldn't dream of acting on them.

[continues 706 words]

Good morning. I want to talk to all of you, but especially parents, about the dangers of marijuana. I don't mean smoking it; that's pretty much harmless although you shouldn't then operate machinery or motor vehicles. I mean the serious negative effects the drug war can have on your IQ and even your morals.

Consider Wednesday's warning by U.S. drug czar Asa Hutchinson that if Canada and Britain "start shifting policies with regards to marijuana it simply increases the rumblings in this country that we ought to re-examine our policy. It is a distraction from a firm policy on drug use." So basically if we question the policy we might realize it's a bad idea and abandon it and that mustn't be allowed to happen. How many bong hits would it take before you'd say something (a) that silly and (b) that contrary to the principle of rational inquiry in a free society?

[continues 699 words]

Most Of The Dangers Of Marijuana Lie In The Absurd Attempts To Suppress It

Good morning. This is your brain, and I want to talk to all of you, but especially parents, about the dangers of marijuana.

I don't mean smoking it; that's pretty much harmless although you shouldn't then operate machinery or motor vehicles. I mean the serious negative effects the drug war can have on your IQ and even your morals.

Consider Wednesday's warning by U.S. drug czar Asa Hutchinson that if Canada and Britain "start shifting policies with regards to marijuana it simply increases the rumblings in this country that we ought to re-examine our policy. It is a distraction from a firm policy on drug use."

[continues 749 words]