THE WRONG COURSE ON MARIJUANA

Treating Users As Criminals Has Been Costly, Damaged Lives and
Accomplished Nothing

It's disheartening to see Canada sliding backwards on drugs,
embracing policies that have been proven to do considerable damage
while accomplishing nothing.

Policies like treating marijuana possession as a criminal offence.

The former Liberal government sensibly introduced legislation in 2003
to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. But it was
never passed and the Harper government is committed to treating
possession of the drug as a crime.

The approach fails any common-sense test. Consider the results of
four decades of enforcement: Hundreds of thousands of otherwise
law-abiding Canadians with criminal records; an uncounted fortune
spent on the costs of policing and prosecution; and a huge criminal
network that thrives because of the government's approach.

Yet despite all those costs, the United Nations Office of Drugs and
Crime reported this month that Canada has the highest rate of
marijuana use in the developed world. One in six adults between 15
and 64 used pot at least once during 2005. That's about one-third
higher than the rate in the U.S., the runner-up. (And another country
focused on criminalizing marijuana.)

By contrast, in the Netherlands, where marijuana is legal and
accessible, use of the drug was less than half as prevalent. That
mirrors the Canadian experience of the last few years, when
enforcement has been reduced in anticipation of the legal change.
Marijuana use has actually declined.

There are sound reasons for concern about marijuana use and its
effect on health, particularly for adolescents.

But as a public-policy problem, it ranks far behind other illegal
drugs and, for that matter, alcohol. The fact that 3.8 million
Canadians used marijuana in 2005 -- more than the entire population
of B.C. -- suggests it does not pose an imminent threat to our health
and well-being. (Practically, any effort to make criminals of almost
four million Canadians is doomed to failure.)

Yet while heroin and cocaine wreaked havoc on individuals and
communities -- look at Victoria's downtown -- StatsCan reported this
week that 60 per cent of drug-related charges last year involved marijuana.

The Liberal legislation was a useful step. Possession of a small
quantity of marijuana -- half an ounce or less -- would no longer be
a criminal offence, though people could still be ticketed and fined.

Even that's a compromise. If government was concerned about organized
crime's role in marijuana production and trafficking, it could
decriminalize possession of a small number of the plants. Gangs would
lose a lucrative profit source.

It's been 37 years since the federal LeDain Commission recommended
decriminalization of marijuana. In that time we have spent a vast
amount of money and made criminals out of hundreds of thousands of
Canadians. Marijuana use has increased, criminal gangs have
flourished and other drugs have devastated our communities.

It is foolish to continue down such a destructive, costly path.