NOW IS THE TIME TO DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA

When Conservative leader Joe Clark starts calling for the
decriminalization of marijuana, the time has definitely come.

Alan Rock, the Justice Minister, doesn't go quite as far but he, too,
says it's time for a frank discussion about whether Canada's marijuana
laws are outdated.

This sudden preoccupation with the question of whether the possession
of marijuana ought to be legalized or just decriminalized has a
reason: Last year, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that an outright
ban on marijuana is inconsistent with the principles of justice. The
court didn't strike down the law, but allowed for one year to appeal
its decision, rewrite it or scrap it altogether. Lack of response will
strike down the law.

Some argue in favor of outright legalization. They can point to strong
public support. In a recent poll by Reginald Bibby, a sociologist with
the University of Lethbridge, 46 per cent of the respondents favoured
legalization of marijuana. Not surprisingly, in B.C. that number rose
to 56 per cent.

Yet, prudence may dictate a less drastic change. Legalization would
necessitate detailed preparations. Like with alcoholic beverages and
tobacco products, somebody would have to be given the green light to
grow the stuff.

Next comes the question of who should sell it. Liquor stores might be
an obvious choice, but would any government, provincial or federal,
want to wade into that minefield?

And last but not least, Canadian politicians will undoubtedly keep an
eye on American reaction. Outright legalization would enrage the U.S.
government, which is determined to continue the war on drugs that was
lost a long time ago.

And nobody has even been able to convince the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Agency that there is a difference between marijuana and crack cocaine,
when all they have to do is ask the former and current presidents to
explain it to them.

When all is said and done, the more rational choice for Canada is
decriminalization which has been supported in other polls by close to
80 per cent of respondents.

There is also increasing evidence that marijuana use is far less
harmful than those pushing the buttons in the war on drugs would have
had us believe.

It is estimated that more than 600,000 Canadians have received
criminal records for simple possession of marijuana, most of them in
the past 20 years. In the '60s it was not uncommon for people caught
with one marijuana cigarette to go to be sentenced to five years in
prison. In the States, they still do.

It doesn't happen in Canada anymore, but still, it is ludicrous at
best and obscene at worst that people still get criminal records for
doing what 80 per cent of the Canadian public says should be
decriminalized.

It is encouraging that recently the House of Commons unanimously
passed a motion to create a committee to examine the use of
non-medical drugs in Canada. All five parties have indicated they will
raise the marijuana issue at those meetings.