THE SENATE ON DRUGS: FINALLY, COMMON SENSE

It has taken 135 years, but the Canadian Senate has finally taken a
leadership role.

Its recommendation to decriminalize marijuana is well-considered and
appropriate for these times, and should be acted on by parliament.

The reason is an ironic one: By declaring marijuana a controlled substance
rather than an illegal one, it will be easier to keep it out of the hands
of minors.

Of the corrupting substances that children are exposed to, marijuana is the
one most easily obtained. In spite of hundreds of millions of dollars spent
enforcing drug laws and penalizing transgressors, minors - no, children -
can readily buy the stuff without proof of age, in small and affordable
quantities and, worst of all, on credit.

Generally, it is easier for minors to buy pot than alcohol or tobacco.
These latter substances are sold in portions that, while affordable to most
adult users, require considerable team-building among young teens to garner
the $7 or $10 for a minimum purchase.

Once that's achieved, they have to find a compliant adult to break the law
for them or rustle up the fake identification. (A rule requiring two pieces
of ID would bust up that little racket.)

A joint acquired with no money down soon becomes an obligation that a child
cannot fulfill. It is frequently this debt that expands a dealer's network,
or is the first pull to prostitution.

Controlling the sale of marijuana wouldn't have an immediate effect on
grow-ops or pot production in general because that industry is geared to
export to the U.S. In the U.S. jail sentences for pot production make the
risk-to-profit ratio not worthwhile, so Americans tend to concentrate on
higher-value drugs like ecstasy. But Canadian action could roll-up the
domestic dealer network because most pot-peddlers don't have the guts to
last in the white-powder world.

Pot should be sold in liquor outlets, where security is in place and access
is controlled. It would be prudent to restrict the partaking of marijuana
to private property. Consumption of alcohol is banned in most public places
and smoking frowned upon nearly everywhere, so it shouldn't be too
difficult to maintain the clandestine aura of pot-smoking because behaviour
modification isn't required.

The government should be able to make marijuana a legal substance, collect
billions in tax and maintain a posture that it is an undesirable product.
After all, it is successfully criminalizing a legal substance - tobacco -
and enjoying modest success in, if not keeping it out of the hands of kids,
at least making it too much work for all but the hooked.