IT'S CANADA'S BUSINESS

If the United States sometimes has a reputation for acting like a nosy oaf,
an example of why can be found in the threats of the Bush administration to
impede the flow of Canadian goods into this country if our northern
neighbor decriminalizes possession of small amounts of marijuana.

That's what the government of Prime Minister Jean Chretien wants to do. The
Canadians want to treat most marijuana users as they would those with
traffic tickets, fining them for the infractions. They're being rational.
The weed will always be around (it can be grown about as easily as
dandelions) and some silly people will smoke it. But there is little to
suggest that any republic will collapse because of that reality. Indeed,
there's long been plenty of pot smoking and growing in the United States.
(Welcome to Vermont.)

Canadian officials do realize that marijuana use is not good for you. (Nor,
of course, is tobacco.) Thus they'd like to amplify a national campaign
against drug use as part of decriminalization. And they'd increase
penalties for illegal growers and traffickers. Decriminalizing small-time
possession would free up resources -- in time and money -- for more
important government activities -- which means most activities!

Understandably, American officials worry that the Canadian plan might cause
more marijuana to be smuggled into the United States. Perhaps, but that's
our problem, not Canada's, which has every right to establish its own laws
in these matters.

For that matter, substantial quantities of heroin and cocaine are pouring
into Canada from the United States. The Canadians put up with the flow from
the elephant to their south with minimal complaining.

Americans wouldn't tolerate being subjected to another country's laws in
something like drug policy. But apparently it's all right the other way around.

Although its economy recently has generally done better than ours, Canada
has recently suffered blows because of the SARS outbreak in Toronto, a
mad-cow disease case and a higher Canadian dollar, which makes its goods
more difficult to export. The last thing it needs is an unfair crackdown on
its exports to a "drug war"-obsessed United States seeking to control some
of Canada's own lawmaking. U.S.-Canadian relations have been a beacon of
prosperous peacefulness for almost 200 years. Let's not damage them with an
extra-territorial obsession with pot.