MAINE HAS IT RIGHT

Simple Possession Of Pot Has Not Been A Criminal Matter In This Border
State For Nearly 30 Years

Wondering what life would be like if marijuana was decriminalized? Just
look over the U.S. border -- to the state of Maine. Our nearest American
neighbour decriminalized marijuana in the mid-'70s, almost 30 years ago.

Possessing less than 35 grams of marijuana is a civil violation in Maine,
punishable by a fine. That's more than twice as much as the 15 grams of
marijuana that Ottawa is proposing to decriminalize.

Are Canadian border towns constantly having to deal with problems spilling
across the line? Police Chief Jean Real Michaud of Grand Falls, N.B., which
lies just a few wooded kilometres from the U.S., says he has not had any
problems with Maine's marijuana laws. In fact, he didn't even know it's
decriminalized.

"We have quite a few visitors," Michaud said, "but so far we haven't had
any problems with that."

Calm Over The Border

Things are calm on the other side of the border, too. Only 80 people were
arrested by state police for drug crimes in 2001, and the grand total of
marijuana seized by state police was 5.8 kilograms.

Almost 1.3 million people live in Maine, but only 1,740 are in jail. And
Maine ranks an impressively low 48th out of the 50 states for violent crime.

"Everyone knows someone who smokes pot," says Cindi Ellen O'Connor of the
Maine Chapter of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws.

"Do you think they should be put in jail? And for how long? The penalties
are so much greater than any possible harm it can do ...

"Alcohol is far more dangerous. Lots of people say, 'I've smoked marijuana
recently, but I've never woken up wondering what I did last night.'"

The Canadian Senate is of the same opinion. After months of research, the
special committee on illegal drugs last September found that: "Scientific
evidence overwhelmingly indicates that cannabis is substantially less
harmful than alcohol and should be treated not as a criminal issue but as a
social and public health issue." The committee also said that marijuana is
not a "gateway" to harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

Civilization has not come to an end in Maine. In contrast, the state
appears to now take marijuana in stride. It is no longer wasting copious
amounts of money and energy on a hopeless and hypocritical battle to keep
people from enjoying marijuana.

Compare that with Canada's recent record. Someone was arrested every 10
minutes for a marijuana-related crime in 2001 -- a total of 49,639 Canadians.

The federal Justice Department says that 600,000 Canadians have criminal
records for marijuana possession. Having a record can hurt your chance at
schooling, jobs and travel.

Come To Senses

Maine, 11 other U.S. states, and many European countries have come to their
senses and stopped calling simple possession of marijuana a crime. It is
high time we did the same. Or will hundreds of thousands more Canadians
with small amounts of marijuana be punished by criminal records and jail time?

Prime Minister Jean Chretien's swan song presents us with a rare opportunity.

If we do not take the reasonable step of decriminalizing small amounts of
marijuana now, it could easily be 10 or 20 years -- or more -- before the
chance comes again.