HIGHS AND LOWS IN POT DEBATE

Act tough on drug trafficking and go easy on marijuana users: That's the
course the federal Liberals will likely continue to follow as they claim the
political middle ground as theirs.

They only seriously began to examine marijuana's potential health benefits
in the last few years, but even then people were still being arrested for
possession. The government was so uptight that they brushed aside arguments
for a broad legalization of its use. Instead, they authorized exclusions for
self-treatment with the drug one case at a time and left overall control
with police.

Now marijuana is enjoying a political revival. Possession has become legal
since an Ontario Appeals Court judge struck down the federal drug law last
July and gave Ottawa a year to rewrite or annul it. Even if the federal
government challenges the ruling in the Supreme Court, the Ontario decision
may set the trend for the rest of the country.

Guilt by association is a problem, too. Marijuana has been cast as the demon
weed since the 1930s and linked to out-of-control addicts, the morally
suspect and criminal suppliers, such as biker gangs. Obviously, no
government wants to be grouped with anyone in that bunch.

Add the fact that crime fighting is still popular, even though offences have
been dropping steadily. The Canadian Alliance, picking up where the old
Reform party left off, has crime busting in its program and is supported by
friends in the police lobby.

Courts have been lenient in sentencing for the possession of small
quantities of pot. Whether they will even hear cases for this offence in the
future is far from clear.

That may not stop the police from continuing raids of growers, as they did
recently in British Columbia. Ontario's provincial police could still be
doing their helicopter sweeps of the countryside trying to spot hidden
crops.

Their model enforcer could be U.S. President Bill Clinton and his war on
drugs. Marijuana is on the U.S.'s list of dangerous substances, though there
is no evidence the drug is harmful. It's not farfetched to assume the
Americans don't mind leaning on their allies and persuading Canada to crack
down on marijuana production.

In Parliament, the Liberals will have to face down the official Opposition
Alliance if they soften their approach towards the use of the drug. The
Commons reconvened this week and the government has until the end of the
month to contest the Ontario court's judgment.

The liberalizing measures the government took even before the court ruling
were neither extensive nor overly tolerant. As of Aug. 22, Health Minister
Allan Rock had granted 66 exemptions for compassionate purposes, a practice
he introduced last year. Health Canada says permissions will continue on an
individual basis.

Smoking or ingesting the plant can alleviate the symptoms of various
diseases, from cancer and AIDS to multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and glaucoma.

Intended or not, the federal government set a legal trap for anyone wanting
immunity. To be excluded from a criminal charge, sufferers looking for
relief must have the gardening skill to grow their own plants. Buying is
still illegal. And getting an approval from government is more complicated
than simply applying to Health Canada.

Even after a supply is found, a doctor has to be certain that marijuana will
be a more effective pain or discomfort relief than other medicines or
treatments. Only then will a physician support a request for an exemption.

One doctor said he has signed off federal exemption applications for several
patients. Asked how they got the dope, he rolled his eyes towards the
ceiling and raised his shoulders in a classic gesture that meant he didn't
know or care about their methods. But chances the sick will go this route
are slim if they can get around a drug law that is no longer in force.

The federal Public Works Department is expected to award a contract by the
end of the year for domestically produced, research-grade marijuana for
clinical trials. The product will be distributed by Health Canada to
regionally based Canadian Institutes of Health Research that will do tests
over five years, financed with grants from a $1.5-million program.

While these arrangements are going ahead, there may be comfort for the
seriously ill marijuana consumers at some point in the trials: They could be
included among "patients unresponsive to usual treatment," according to a
department document.

Of course, any fine-tuning of marijuana controls could be pointless.
Thousands of seeds may already be germinating in sealed basements and
makeshift hothouses since the federal law was thrown out.