CRACKING DOWN ON MARIJUANA IS DOPEY

In the closing scene of The Untouchables, Eliot Ness (alias Kevin Costner)
learns that after all the money spent, lives risked, and blood spilled in
the war against bootleg alcohol, the government plans to rescind
prohibition. His response: "I think I'll have a drink."

Marijuana, it seems, is Ottawa's version of forbidden hooch: Police say
illegal pot-growing operations, run by organized crime, are sprouting all
over the city. Illegal "grow houses," they imply, are out of control.

Before assuming a law-and-order crisis, let's remember that "grow houses"
exist because people want marijuana, much as they wanted alcohol even
during Prohibition. Demand for the Canadian weed is at an all-time high in
the United States, Ottawa police say; we'll wager there's a solid market
here, too.

Marijuana is a relatively banal drug. A study released yesterday by
Carleton University psychologists found no lasting effects on intelligence
even among heavy cannabis users. Even the Canadian Medical Association has
suggested decriminalizing it.

Instead, police insist they need more powers to battle this apparent urban
blight. They want to make others help, too: they are encouraging hydro
companies, for instance, to cut customers' electricity on the mere
suspicion that a house may harbour a pot-growing operation. We prefer to
hope for the day when prohibition is lifted. This sort of policing is a
real drag.