STOREFRONT A BAD POT JOINT

One of the happier coincidences of the last two weeks was the issuance of a
demolition notice to the owners of a building next to Chez Marijane. This
means the operators of the Plateau storefront, which passes itself off as a
marijuana cafe, have another handy reason to close it for their own good.

In the days since its opening, Chez Marijane - in fact the administrative
office of the Bloc Pot Party with a fresh paint job - has been visited daily
by the police. This is hardly surprising, since the officers at nearby
Station 38 need to do little more than look out the window to see people
breaking the law. Media photographers have also been visitors, eager to
record pot-smoking scofflaws.

But does this kind of political theatre forward the decriminalization cause?
The federal government has dithered for years on the matter, fussing with
medical exemptions while courts show less and less enthusiasm for treating
simple possession as a criminal matter.

Still, it is clear from the commitments made by outgoing Prime Minister Jean
Chretien (and even their lukewarm reception by his successor, Paul Martin)
that a new pot bill will likely pass in the coming months.

If the Martinized bill resembles the Chretien-authorized version that
expired along with Parliament last month, small-time users caught with less
than 15 grams would be fined but not charged.

This represents a reasonable compromise in a nation that is not convinced
that marijuana should be smoked or sold in public.

If smoke-blowing shenanigans are kept to a minimum, Canadians will quietly
endorse the new law.

Then Bloc Pot activists can find another party.