Urban Compass

DUMB AND DUMBER MARIJUANA LAWS

On Tuesday, a mass of dope fiends gathered on Parliament Hill to
flagrantly smoke marijuana - and the rest of Ottawa barely noticed.

Annual 4-20 decriminalization demos have gone on for years and
they're no longer news. Apart from an alarming rise in the prevalence
of bongo drums, no incidents or arrests were reported here or at the
majority of smoke-ins across the country. (In Toronto, one person was
injured in a fight and another was arrested with what appeared to be
a firearm).

In my neighbourhood, especially when the weather improves, it's not
uncommon to catch a whiff of someone's weed as they stroll down the
sidewalk. This experience doesn't fill me with fear of drug-fuelled
crime. Instead, it reminds me that on the whole, this is a safe
enough city in which to walk around whilst buzzed, which is as good a
measure of a community's health as any.

We don't have the reputation of smoky Vancouver, but Ottawa strikes
me as a relatively stoner-friendly city. This is not to say that
everybody's doing it, or that it's good for those who do, but it's
not widely considered a menace.

From Parliament Hill, though, we hear different, dumber ideas. While
the protesters puffed, federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson held a
press conference to once again tout more "tough on crime" legislation.

Among the Tory prescriptions, better described as hopelessly
incoherent on crime, are harsher penalties for marijuana growers and
dealers. If we increasingly can't be bothered to arrest users,
though, why attack their suppliers?

The only result of their nefarious activities is that people smoke
weed, apart, of course, from the outrageous profits that flow to
criminal organizations simply because pot is illegal. If I were a
Hell's Angel, I'd vote Tory.

The next day, coincidentally, embattled former Conservative MP Rahim
Jaffer, fresh from his plea bargain on drunk driving and cocaine
possession charges, appeared before a parliamentary committee. He
claimed, under oath, that he'd never taken any illegal substance.

During the last election, Jaffer attacked his NDP opponent over her
party's support of marijuana decriminalization, trotting out the
usual folderol about keeping our schoolchildren safe from the demon
weed. But since marijuana is as illegal for an adult as it is for a
kid, it's often easier for kids to get their hands on than alcohol.

No matter how often it hits, it's hard not to be discouraged by the
realization that your government's policies make no more sense than
your idiot roommate on his third bowl and second consecutive viewing
of The Wizard Of Oz.