DON'T FEAR THE REEFER

A Progressive Government Would Support Legalizing Pot

Premier John Hamm and his government are far more conservative than
progressive in shying away from a Senate committee's well-researched and
reasoned report calling for the legalization of marijuana. I fear our
Tories are lost in the haze of "reefer madness."

A week ago, Hamm refused to comment on the Senate report, and said cannabis
should be legal only as a medication. Justice Minister Michael Baker
sidestepped the question of repealing Canada's antiquated cannabis laws,
calling it a matter for the federal government to decide.

However, the Senate report -- go to www.parl.gc.ca, then follow the links
to committee reports -- recommends Ottawa hold a top-level conference with
provincial and municipal leaders next year to establish a five-year action
plan on drug policy.

As well, the report calls for the creation of a National Cannabis Board
with federal and provincial representation. The board would monitor the
production and sale of marijuana, and set tax levels on the narcotic.
Provinces would also participate in developing prevention and treatment
options for people who smoke too much pot.

So the Nova Scotia government could find itself pulled into the fray, like
it or not, if the federal government heeds the Senate report. And it seems
almost certain the feds will act in some way. On the very day that Hamm and
Baker were avoiding the issue, federal Justice Minister Martin Cauchon
publicly stated that decriminalizing marijuana might be a "first step" in
reforming drug laws. He promised to ready a new policy for early next year.

"To keep it the way it is now doesn't make any sense to me in the year
2002," Cauchon said. "The legislation in place is sort of disconnected with
Canadian reality."

Indeed, the Senate report estimates that as many as two million Canadians
have smoked pot in the last year and up to 100,000 use it daily. Yet
despite such wide acceptance, taxpayers spend about $500 million a year on
drug enforcement against marijuana. Between 300,000 and 600,000 Canadians
are shackled with criminal records for simple possession of the sweet leaf.
Police make 20,000 new arrests each year.

All this wasted effort over a plant that is far less addictive than alcohol
or tobacco, and not nearly as bad for your health. An herb that at its best
makes you happy and horny, and at its worst makes you mildly paranoid and
sleepy.

This futile war against Canada's own citizens -- including Nova Scotians --
should be a matter of concern for the Hamm government. It's consuming
precious provincial tax dollars for policing and corrections that could be
better spent on hospitals and schools, or at least on fighting real crime.

Heck, what better way to deal a blow to organized criminals than to hand
the lucrative marijuana trade to struggling farmers and licensed merchants?

Of course, the official police position -- as repeated by Halifax Regional
Police spokesman Sgt. Don Spicer -- is that marijuana is a "gateway drug."
Cops use that phrase to perpetuate the myth that pot somehow compels users
to try harder drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, peyote and Colorado toad venom.

But pot is a "gateway drug" to crack in the same way shoplifting is a
gateway crime to bank robbery, and guppies are a gateway pet to piranhas.
One doesn't naturally lead to the other, thanks to free will and common
sense. The police know that, and so do our provincial politicians.

The federal government will loosen marijuana laws in the next few years,
and a progressive premier would seize the day and prepare a strategy to
exploit the financial potential. New regulatory and monitoring agencies
will need a home. Agricultural opportunities outside of Flin Flon
mineshafts will become available.

But even more fundamentally, the Nova Scotia government has a duty to
champion the freedom of Nova Scotians. As the Senate report eloquently
explains, Ottawa has no business trying to "impose a particular way of life
on people."