EDITORIAL - PONDERING POT

Yes, growing, selling and smoking pot are all illegal in this country. But
despite those laws -- and some would argue, because of them -- the marijuana
business is booming.

And the Sunshine Coast -- where it's possible to live relatively cheaply,
out of sight of neighbours, near boat transport and 40 minutes from the West
Coast clearing house for pot -- has proved a fertile ground.

The local marijuana trade certainly exists.

But whether that's good or bad depends on who you talk to.

Both sides of the "drug war" are apt to exaggerate their casues. The police
who do the busting like to play up the evil-weed angle, whereby every pot
smoker is also a potential heroin addict and the grows are controlled by
organized crime.

Pot advocates play down the dangers inherent in a black market business, the
property damage and potential abuse of the drug.

Reality is probably somewhere in between.

The marijuana trade isl ikely to come under a lot more public debate soon.
Already, the federal health minister has opened the door to legalizing pot
for medicinal use.

With a large chunk of the population acknowleding that they've at least had
a dalliance with the drug added to the fact the plant is easy to grow,
questions about decriminalizing pot for recreational use can't be far
behind.

How far that goes will have a lot to do with shifting public values.

Pot is a drug. But so are cigarettes and alcohol -- with different societal
baggage.

Some argue the marijuana trade might as well be taxed and regulated, saying
that would cut out a lot of the peripheral crime involved.

Getting into the pot trade might simply expand the government's hypocritical
position -- already entrenced in the areas of booze, smokes and lotteries --
of issuing sanctimonious warnings on the one hand and raking in the bucks
off our vices with the other.

Perhaps some kind of "grow your own" arrangement -- with limits on
production -- would be one step towards compromise.

Human nature being what it is, marijuana isn't likely to go away.

When the real pot debate begins, the Sunshine Coast should have plenty to
say.