POLICE ASSOCIATION MISSES POINT

Decriminalizing Marijuana Would Keep Lives From Being Ruined, Make Better
Use Of Police

It seems ridiculous that a 17-year-old arrested for taking a toke on a
joint would have that one event cast a shadow over his or her entire life.
Yet, under the law, that is what is happening. Being found guilty of
possession could keep a person from studying medicine, law or another field
where having a criminal record kills your opportunity for a career.

A Senate committee is examining Canada's drug laws with an eye toward
updating them. During recent weeks, the committee has heard from a number
of groups calling for the decriminalization of marijuana, which should not
be confused with outright legalization. Decriminalization would still keep
marijuana on the list of illegal drugs, but being arrested for possession
of a small amount would carry a similar penalty as a traffic ticket and
would not have the long-term repercussions. It would simply limit the
penalties involved with the offence. Not everyone is in favour of such a
modest step, however.

Yesterday, the Canadian Police Association told a Senate committee on
illicit drugs that the current laws should remain in place and railed
against what the association perceives as a permissive attitude in society.

The association - which makes no distinction between legalization and
decriminalization - argues that marijuana is a so-called "gateway drug"
which leads users down the path toward harder, more addictive drugs.

It is a heavy-handed approach rooted in the past. Plus, its effectiveness
in combatting drugs is questionable.

Criminal charges for the possession of marijuana haven't reduced the use of
illicit harder drugs. Indeed, studies by the Centre for Addiction and
Mental Health found that drug use has increased during the '90s to reach a
level similar to that of the late '70s.

The police association decries the "weakening perceptions of risk of harm
in drug us and the weakening moral disapproval of drug use."

Of course, part of this "weakening disapproval" may be the result of
parents who have grown up during the '70s and '80s who have experimented
with marijuana and found that it isn't doesn't lead to the dreaded "reefer
madness" of another generation, nor necessarily to the use of harder drugs.
After all, how can parents tell their children not to try marijuana when
they themselves did in their youth?

Should marijuana be legalized? No one is ready to make that leap.

But the RCMP, the Canadian Police Chiefs Association, the Canadian Medical
Association and a number of federal politicians such as Tory Leader Joe
Clark have argued that decriminalizing possession is a realistic step.

Decriminalizing marijuana would still allow police to maintain some
semblance of control over marijuana use and its cultivation, as well as
allow police to redirect resources toward other other areas of law
enforcement rather than on bringing pot smokers to court.

The step would also ensure that a minor teenaged indiscretion would not be
punished for years to come.

What do you think? Send us your opinion in a Letter to the Editor at 33
MacKenzie St., Sudbury, P3C 4Y1, or fax it to 674-6834 or email it to
editorial@thesudburystar.com