HAZE OBSCURES REAL DANGERS

Potheads Bask In Pipe Dreams While New Laws Are Mulled

Is The Grass Getting Greener In Canada?

The push to issue tickets for minor marijuana possession has received a
shot in the arm from what would seem an unlikely source -- Alberta Justice
Minister Dave Hancock.

"There are a number of things you could look at in terms of reform,"
Hancock told the Sun.

"If you had a minor possession charge, perhaps it's something that could be
ticketed rather than involving a court appearance."

The minister's musings come hot on the heels of reports last month that the
Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police would conditionally endorse
government legislation that would create a lesser charge for possession of
small amounts of marijuana.

Before the hempheads begin firing up their bongs in celebration, they
should take note that the justice minister and the chiefs merely want to
make drug enforcement more effective.

Hancock explained he is just looking for ways to streamline the process to
avoid wasting court time and police resources.

"That doesn't take away from the question of the seriousness of cracking
down on drugs," he said, emphasizing that he doesn't want to give the
impression he condones even minor drug use.

In fact, he considers it a major part of the problem.

Ditto the police chiefs.

"We have to do everything we can to protect our children from the scourge
of drug use," Calgary Police Chief Christine Silverberg said last week. "I
have not wavered on my position at all that legalization is inappropriate
and we have to fight hard in both the areas of supply reduction and demand
reduction."

So why all the talk of reduced penalties for minor possession?

It might have something to do with signs that the incidence of marijuana
use is reaching the level it was at in the '70s. A study in Ontario last
November showed the number of teens who have smoked marijuana has gone from
13% in 1993 to more than 30% last year.

The current court process for minor possession charges costs both police
and courts a huge amount of time and money that could be better spent going
after the growers and dealers. These low-life capitalists -- part of a
multi-billion dollar industry -- are the real villains.

Issuing tickets would enable the courts to order counselling and
rehabilitation.

There is also the question of saddling impetuous youths with a criminal
record that will haunt them forever.

If Stockwell Day had been caught toking on that joint 30 years ago, he
might not be campaigning today for the leadership of the official
Opposition and as the potential prime minister of this country.

Why, even Sue Olsen, Alberta Liberal justice critic and former police
officer, admits she experimented with the drug in her youth.

For a simple possession charge, "the reality can be struck home" through
ticketing, Olsen insists.

Perhaps so, but the real challenge in all of this is to educate our
teenagers on the true impact of the drug before they decide to try it.

The issue of marijuana use has become hazy in the last couple of years,
with a push to legalize it for medicinal purposes and a campaign by chronic
potheads to paint marijuana as some benign wonder drug.

The government has already permitted a few people stricken with diseases to
use marijuana to relieve their pain and suffering. It has also launched
studies into its use for medical purposes.

That's not enough for some dopers, who want to be able to grow and use the
stuff for everything from headaches to "havin' a bad day, man."

The medical community is divided over the use of pot as medicine, but some
facts about the drug remain certain.

It is classed as a hallucinogen, in the same category as LSD and magic
mushrooms. Its active ingredient, THC, is addictive and carries the worst
of two other addictions -- the intoxicating lure of alcohol and the health
risks of cigarette smoking.

Those who've had a friend become a chronic, heavy user will have sadly
watched that person become slow-witted and lethargic.

Marijuana use exposes teenagers to the criminal fringe of society and makes
them vulnerable to more addictive and dangerous drugs.

Just last weekend, Toronto's police chief pleaded with the prime minister
to ride with him to see the effects of the drug pedlars.

Chief Julian Fantino pointed out that from 1987 to '92, the feds spent an
average $40 million a year on drug prevention as part of Canada's war on
drugs. That has decreased to almost zero today, Fantino said.

That is a crime all by itself.