GET OFF THE POT

Okay. On one side of the marijuana legalization debate we have the Fraser
Institute, Joe Clark, Ralph Klein, Anne McLellan, several current and
former Alliance MPs and the Canadian Medical Association. Some of the most
cautious and conservative people in Canada are starting to muse out loud
that perhaps it's stupid to make criminals of pot smokers.

On the other side of the debate we have the Canadian Police Association,
which seems to be one of the only groups left in the country that
dogmatically sticks to the argument that reefer madness is threatening the
moral and physical wellbeing of society.

So what's wrong with this picture? For starters the CPA's membership is
made up largely of people whose livelihood depends upon sustaining the war
on drugs. The RCMP alone have 1,000 members who do nothing but enforce drug
laws. That doesn't include drug cops in the Ontario Provincial Police,
Surete de Quebec or the municipal police forces in every major Canadian
city. Drug enforcement is a major industry, involving thousands of police
officers, lawyers and corrections officials. Asking them if they think
marijuana should be decriminalized is like asking the oil industry its view
on solar energy. How do you expect them to respond?

Let's get real here. Even the most SoCon people in society must acknowledge
that marijuana is not the same as so-called hard drugs, such as cocaine or
heroin. There has never been a single documented overdose. In fact, pot
can't be directly blamed for a single death in Canada.

The same can't be said for some of our most cherished, legal narcotics.
Alcohol is directly linked to death, disease, violence and family abuse,
yet you can buy it and consume it freely . And what's the deal with
tobacco? Containing one of the most addictive chemicals known and offering
users an express ride to the oncologist, its use is considered a
fundamental right and vital source of government revenue.

It's time to stop the hypocrisy. We can no longer assign moral labels to
one vice, and not another, simply because we're used to doing it that way.