LET'S GET GRIP ON MARIJUANA

Oh, for God's sake, legalize the stuff.

I am weary of the whole marijuana argument. It does nothing but promote
time-wasting discussions at dinner when other more sensible things could be
debated.

Marijuana is not heroin; neither is it cocaine. The point is that for all
the energy we put into tracking down cannabis criminals, we could be using
that same amount of time fighting against those who troll our schools
seeking to hook kids on hard drugs.

However, I hasten to say that this is not a column about legalizing
anything but marijuana.

And yes, I did inhale. Don't now, but did. And it was fun while it lasted.
And I'd hate to think I could have gone to jail for getting high, for
buying marijuana, for sharing marijuana. Moreover, I'm not interested in
seeing the people who grow the stuff going to jail, either.

Something else I'm bored with is silly arguments over whether marijuana is
"good" or "bad."

It is neither. Just like booze. Both marijuana and booze are simply there,
to be used not at all, moderately or excessively, used recreationally or
medicinally, for fun or as an excuse.

Yes, they can be misused. So can food, shopping and sex. In fact, almost
anything can be overdone, especially by those of us who tend to be
obsessive or who have what may be called an "addictive personality."

A friend in Vancouver can't stop gobbling chocolate bars, a fact that has
resulted in a rise in his weight and his cholesterol -- but neither he nor
his doctor is considering petitioning the feds to outlaw chocolate.

I had trouble with drinking and had to stop -- haven't had a drink in 10
years -- but I'm not about to tell anyone else to stop, nor am I interested
in banning booze.

Alcohol can be dangerous, people can die from alcohol poisoning, yet, other
than during prohibition, nobody ever suggests we make drinking or selling
booze a crime -- other than selling liquor to kids. And then there is the
biggest addiction of all -- tobacco. If I had to choose a substance to
outlaw, it would be tobacco. Not marijuana.

Anybody who's ever tried to quit smoking can define addiction -- it is
tobacco. Quitting cigarettes was the hardest thing I've ever done in my
life. Desisting from drinking was nothing in comparison. Yet the bottom
line is I don't want tobacco outlawed, either. Let's just regulate its use
to the point where those of us who want to eat dinner in a smoke-free
restaurant can do so.

The Canadian Police Association does not agree with anything I've just written.

When illicit drugs are legalized, drug usage increases, the demand for
chemical drugs increases and crime increases," said Dale Orban, the group's
spokesman With all due respect to the some 30,000 boys and girls in blue
who make up the association, I have two things to say: 1) Phooey and 2) The
Association of Canadian Police Chiefs and some RCMP officers are on record
as having recommended decriminalization.

Besides, this is an attempt to drag out the old slippery slope argument,
the one-thing-leads-to-another prediction. Drinking buckets of milk and
barrels-full of coffee did not lead me to drinking too much beer -- at
least I don't think so ... maybe I'm wrong. I'll have to rethink that one.

Where was I? Oh yes, let's criminalize tobacco. Or was it, let's bring back
prohibition?

Poverty is a problem. War is a problem. The plight of women in Afghanistan
is a problem. Addiction is a problem. Marijuana isn't. Let's get a grip and
legalize the damned stuff.