POSSESSION ISN'T CRIMINAL

Six hundred thousand Canadians have a criminal record because they
were convicted of simple possession of marijuana. For having
quantities that amounted to half a joint or a few seeds, thousands of
people have had their lives and careers harmed.

Forced to admit on job applications that they have a criminal record,
unable to travel freely to the United States, it must feel unfair to
hear their political leaders admit that not only did they smoke
marijuana in their youth, they did it more than once. Ralph Klein,
premier of Alberta, was one. Others included federal NDP leader Alexa
McDonough and Newfoundland Premier Brian Tobin.

Canada should decriminalize simple possession of marijuana and simply
fine those who are apprehended with it. Canadians continue to be
caught up in the web of the criminal-justice system - in 1998, 19,200
adults and young people were charged with possession - to no useful
purpose. An astonishing 70 per cent of drug-related charges in 1997
involved marijuana. About 2,000 Canadians went to jail on simple
possession charges that year.

With political leaders admitting openly to previous marijuana use, it
is hypocritical to pretend that the country is trying to save its
youth from the ravages of inevitable drug addiction.

U.S. statistics published in 1997 show that for every 100 people who
use marijuana, 28 go on to try cocaine; 12 use cocaine a dozen times
or more; only one keeps using it weekly. Alcohol is still the drug
that serves as a gateway to all drugs.

Drug addiction is a serious social and medical problem, but it is not
likely to be solved by continuing to criminalize marijuana possession.

When it comes to marijuana, Canada has followed the example set by the
United States for too long. The United States launched its policy of
zero tolerance in 1988, promising no mercy. Within 18 months, it was
backtracking into a relatively lenient approach in which people were
cited and released without their property confiscated. Forfeiture
laws, which allow the state to seize property, are now applied mostly
against large-scale drug dealers and money launderers.

The energy that is wasted on people carrying half a joint would be
better spent on combating the propagation of HIV among intravenous
drug users. The rate of new infections among IV drug users is 10 per
cent in Vancouver, the highest rate in the Western world. In 1998,
there were 371 drug-related deaths in British Columbia.

We do need to take drugs seriously, of course. While simple possession
should be decriminalized, trafficking in pot still deserves stiff
criminal penalties. Marijuana, which has become far more potent in
recent years, should not become a legal product. If it were,
governments would inevitably tax the product heavily, and criminal
elements would continue a contraband trade.

Marijuana should be made available, on the other hand, to people
suffering illnesses such as multiple sclerosis whose symptoms are
relieved by the drug. It should be a relatively straightforward
process to control who has access to marijuana. The great majority of
Canadians would like to see marijuana made available to cancer
patients to help control pain.

Public support for the decriminalization of marijuana has never been
higher in Canada. Countries such as Great Britain, Switzerland,
Germany and the Netherlands have all provided more humane and safer
frameworks in which to deal with drug use. It's time to try something
new.