ENDING REEFER MADNESS

Yesterday, Prime Minister Paul Martin brought up a long dormant issue that
many observers thought he had abandoned.

Last year, a proposal that would have reduced the punishment for possession
of small amounts of pot to a small fine withered on the Parliamentary to-do
list. And when Mr. Martin remained mute on the subject throughout the
election campaign, we worried the window of opportunity for pot reform had
closed. Fortunately, we were wrong: Mr. Martin has now pledged to move
forward on marijuana decriminalization.

This is good news for everyone who cares about personal freedom and the
proper allocation of Canada's scarce police resources. As we have written
in this space many times, it makes little sense to criminalize otherwise
law-abiding Canadians simply because they indulge in a substance that is
less dangerous or addictive than either alcohol or tobacco. The idea that
smoking marijuana should be the subject of societal opprobrium has become a
joke: According to a new Statistics Canada study, more than 10 million
Canadians -- 41% of the population aged 15 or older -- has toked up at one
time or another.

But the legislation on the table is only a first step. While we are pleased
that the Prime Minister will move ahead with decriminalization, the new law
will not change the fact that marijuana will still be illegal. That means
many users of the drug will still have to skulk around street corners to
get their product, the profits of the trade will still flow to outlaw gangs
and rivalries among producers will still be settled with criminal violence.

Ultimately, Canada must move to full legalization of marijuana. The
government could then regulate the drug as it does liquor and tobacco.
Ottawa could tax the drug as well. And the attendant revenue would not be
insignificant: According to a Fraser Institute report released last month,
the marijuana industry in British Columbia alone could deposit at least
$2-billion into government coffers.

With his decision to proceed with marijuana decriminalization, Mr. Martin
is taking an admirable and long-awaited first step to modernize our
nation's policy on illicit drugs. We hope more reforms will follow.