POT LAWS NEED THOROUGH OVERHAUL

Coleman Should Be Pushing Ottawa For Change, Not Harassing B.C.'S Municipal
Politicians

To a tough former cop like Solicitor General Rich Coleman, watching people
buying pot over the counter is an affront.

Coleman says it's still against the law for marijuana to be sold, but
that's not entirely true. The sale of marijuana for medical purposes is
legal. But because the government hasn't been able to supply the drug to
those who need it, the Ontario Court of Appeal has essentially said they
can get it wherever they can find it.

So "compassion clubs" have been operating openly in Victoria and Vancouver,
distributing pot to users who simply are asked to sign a bit of paper
saying they need it for medical purposes. Police in Vancouver last week
finally began charging some, but when police in Victoria have laid charges
the courts have stayed them.

Provincial court Judge Loretta Chaperon, who stayed charges of possession
laid against two men running Ted's Bookstore on Johnson Street, said she
was satisfied they were operating a compassion club "to provide persons
with a medical need with a safe, reliable supply of marijuana."

In Vancouver, owners of a number of stores on Commercial Drive have
acknowledged selling pot over the counter with the tacit approval of some
city councillors. Coleman accused city politicians of a "ho-hum" attitude.
He noted that the stores are operating under city bylaws, and a council
committee said it will decide next month whether their licences should be
taken away.

The day after the solicitor general made his comments, Vancouver police
raided a Commercial Drive cafe where marijuana was being sold openly, and
charged six people with trafficking.

Coleman should be hounding the lawmakers in Ottawa, not city politicians.
Prime Minister Paul Martin has said he will bring in a bill to
decriminalize the possession of small amounts of pot this fall, but seems
reluctant to stick his neck out too far.

Everyone knows the law has to be changed. Distribution for medical purposes
is a shambles. One-third of patients acquiring marijuana grown under Health
Canada supervision are sending it back because it's too weak and burns too hot.

In Quebec, the government is pardoning first-time possessors of small
amounts of pot. Statistics Canada says almost three in 10 teenagers are
using it. And the law is being enforced so arbitrarily that while
store-owners are not being prosecuted for selling the drug, others are
being sent to prison for three months for passing a joint around.

Decriminalizing possession of a few grams won't stop trafficking. Users
will still be breaking the law. Enforcement will go up because police will
feel the punishment is more appropriate. Fines will be as arbitrary as
convictions are today.

In 2002 the Senate said pot possession should be made legal and producers
licensed. Something has to be done to end the present farce. But Martin's
over-cautious approach won't be nearly enough.