CANADA'S POT CONUNDRUM

The only appropriate message for those obsessed with the idea of
making pot legal is get a life.

Last week I wrote a story that resulted in a letter advocating that
Canada take a strong stand against marijuana production.

This is not a wonder drug that deserves to be made legal; nor is it a
great evil that we should allow to be controlled by criminals.

Canada does need to take a strong stand on pot and perhaps that stand
has to happen in the context of decriminalization, not legalization.
This city is a good example of the failure to either put the
resources into effectively stamping it out or finding a balance that
decriminalization could bring.

The Hells Angels are just one of a number of crime groups swirling
amidst the numerous independent growers making millions of dollars
from growing marijuana. As a commodity that can bring very lucrative
profits, it is a market not jealously guarded but violently guarded
by those who control of it.

It is perhaps proof of the theory put forth by Karl Polanyi, in his
brilliant economic history The Great Transformation, that unregulated
markets will eventually destroy themselves and the society connected
with them. The violence is how gangs regulate the marijuana market to
keep it from destroying itself.

There seem to be several different types of pot smokers. There are
the heads, who just want to get high and eschew anything that has
responsibility attached to it. There are the medicinal smokers, who
find relief from pain in conditions like MS, cancer and arthritis.
Then there are the casual smokers, for whom pot functions as alcohol
does for other people. It's relaxing and serves as an anodyne to the
stresses of every day life.

Canada seems to be not at a crossroads in connection with marijuana
but a conundrum. While making it legal is plainly stupid, we have
come about as close to decriminalizing it as possible without
actually doing so. But actually decriminalizing it would cause some
serious problems with our neighbour to the south.

The United States' official stance is that marijuana is a drug and as
such must be fought against and stamped out with illegality and harsh
penalties. This is not a position that we should dismiss as the
stance of an uptight profit-driven upper class. The experience with
alcohol since the end of prohibition has been a dismal one.

Booze accounts for a vast amount of trouble, from drunk driving to
domestic abuse and a host of other costly ills. Alcoholism remains a
problem in this society. To allow pot smokers any more latitude on
top of that is troublesome. If as North Americans we can't handle our
booze (another jealously guarded and heavily promoted market) the
chance of being responsible with pot is unlikely.

The current state of affairs is perhaps the best one, except for the
fact that it is fueling gangsters and their violent activities.
Because it remains illegal and difficult to get, the problems related
to smoking remain below the surface.

It is unfortunate that kooks like Marc Emery have made an ideology
out of pot. His whining about going to jail because he broke the law
is unsavoury. His argument seems to be that just because he thinks
pot ought to be legal he should be exempt from being prosecuted.

The letter writer is correct. Pot is no panacea and also has its
risks that we also need to educated about. And yes, until the laws
change, those breaking them should suffer the consequences.