VICTIMLESS CRIME

Canada's criminalization of marijuana, ramped up under the Tory
government of Stephen Harper, continues to be undermined in the very
places that backstop the Criminal Code -- the courts. This week, a
judge found a man who openly sold pot to people in need of pain
relief was guilty of a victimless crime.

With no one hurting, no one at risk for Grant Krieger's crime,
Queen's Bench Justice Shawn Greenberg slapped him instead with probation.

In fact, the judge reflected, it seemed that Mr. Krieger was doing
his clients a favour. All who came to the pot advocate, himself
suffering with multiple sclerosis, found a ready source of quality
weed, and would get it free if unable to afford the natural source of
pain relief.

Medical marijuana is available with a doctor's prescription, but
doctors, bereft of scientific evidence on medical marijuana, have
been reluctant to comply.

The judge's comments would be remarkable enough had the charge been
simple possession. But Mr. Krieger was charged with the much more
serious offence of trafficking.

Justice Greenberg's sentencing reflected the attitudes of many
Canadians on the marijuana file, especially given the mess Ottawa has
made of getting it to the sick. Indeed, amid mounting evidence of
pot's lack of harm for recreational users, many Canadians wonder why
it isn't legalized and regulated, as are alcohol and tobacco. Eight
years ago, the Canadian Medical Association called pot an innocuous
drug and warned that possession convictions were a greater harm than
the health effects of moderate use.

The Harper government refuses to pick up the decriminalization agenda
of the former Liberal administration and, in fact, has taken a harder
line on pot. The courts must respect Parliament's right to write the
laws, but Justice Greenberg's decision shows that discretion in
sentencing can go a long way to protest their futility.