ENFORCING THE LAW IN 'VANSTERDAM'

VANCOUVER - The owners of Da Kine Smoke and Beverage Shop wanted to
make a point. They sold marijuana over the counter for months, openly
violating drug laws and essentially challenging Vancouver's police
officers to take action. When the SWAT team didn't swoop in with guns
blazing, they sought media assistance to provoke liberalization of our
supposedly archaic drug laws. This triggered endless editorializing,
during which this newspaper stated that, because police were no longer
willing to uphold drug laws, the only sensible course of action was to
end the "pointless prohibition" of supposedly "harmless,
non-addictive" marijuana.

But just as pot buyers were forming queues 30-people deep, police
raided Da Kine, seizing drugs and arresting six. Apparently, it's
still illegal to sell marijuana ... even in the city now called
"Vansterdam."

The laws governing possession of marijuana aren't perfect, and it's
beyond ridiculous to expect police to oversee or charge casual
marijuana users in the privacy of their own homes. But in a clumsy
way, the law asserts the message that marijuana use doesn't benefit
anyone or any society. Marijuana isn't the harmless drug that Baby
Boomers recall from 25 years ago. Thanks to scientific progress and
genetic modifications, it's been remade into a far more potent and
addictive drug. Consequently, prohibition may be the best means we
have to limit and control marijuana use in the next generation.

The media may proclaim marijuana's safety, but buyers at Da Kine sign
an "application for registration," agreeing that the benefits of
marijuana outweigh the medical risks associated with its use.

Medical risks? When illegal drug sellers are trying to protect
themselves from being sued for the results of marijuana use, are
Canadians content to ignore the same risks when changing our drug
laws? Twenty-five years ago, levels of THC (the active chemical
ingredient in marijuana) hovered around 0.5% to 2.0%; they can now be
as high as 35%. "B.C. bud" consistently registers at 25%. Varying
levels of THC make it difficult for researchers to document or
standardize reactions, but one scientific relationship is clear: As
THC increases, so do marijuana's addictive qualities and health risks.

Consequently, The New England Journal of Medicine says smoking five
joints a week is the equivalent of smoking a pack of cigarettes per
day. (Anti-smoking lobbyists can do the calculations on how much that
will cost our already overburdened health care system.) Neurotoxicity
& Teratology reports that exposure to marijuana in the womb increases
chances of hyperactivity and social problems; The National Academy of
Sciences says marijuana can cause cancer, lung damage and babies with
low birth weights. Circulation reported a five-fold increase in heart
attack risks; the British Medical Journal revealed an increased
incidence of schizophrenia and depression; and a Dutch study shows
cannabis smokers are seven times more likely than other people to have
psychotic symptoms.

Far from being over, the medical debate is just beginning.

Is it addictive? The Odd Squad, police officers whose work with drug
addicts in Vancouver's East Side was just dramatized on a CTV movie,
The Life, adamantly oppose decriminalization. Al Arsenault, a member
of the squad, says pot has created thousands of addicts. If society
sends kids the message that marijuana is safe, use will increase, kids
will drop out of school and create a new generation of addicts. He
believes marijuana is one of the top drugs pushing people into rehab;
and the Canadian Medical Association acknowledges that "cannabis is an
addictive substance."

Is prohibition pointless? The Vancouver Board of Trade and city
tourism officials don't think so. Drugs are giving the city a
"lawless" reputation and visitors don't feel safe as they witness our
unabashedly open drug culture. Using logic that only an ardent liberal
could follow, Mayor Larry Campbell responded to this complaint by
emphasizing Vancouver's growing appeal to drug tourists. He eagerly
claimed that letters from visitors show a three-to-one ratio in favour
of marijuana cafes -- and most are from grateful Americans who no
longer have to travel to Amsterdam for drugs.

The local business association and proprietors near the drug cafes
have worked hard to create a family-oriented community and are "livid"
that this latest "business craze" is permitted to exist. Residents
worry about their children as impaired users drive the streets. A
recent survey reports marijuana use is highest among people aged 15 to
24, so decriminalization will significantly harm teenagers by
facilitating their access to drugs. The Da Kine cafe itself is within
blocks of an elementary school, high school and community centre.

Law enforcement resources are not being wasted by the prohibition of
the possession of marijuana. Statistics prove that Vancouver police
have essentially stopped laying charges against possession of drugs.
In 1992, 29% of drug charges were for marijuana possession; in 2000,
4%. Contrary to current thinking, turning a blind eye to drug use
hasn't yielded anything but more drug use.

Maybe the decriminalization of marijuana wouldn't exacerbate public
health problems and create a new generation of addicts. But maybe it
would. The bottom line is: We just don't know and, until we do, it
hardly seems like a progressive idea.