COURT SMOKES POT LAWS

An Ontario court ruling this week has set the stage for what will
hopefully be a decisive national debate on the country's marijuana's
laws, which make criminals out of ordinary Canadians and deny relief
for thousands of people suffering from chronic ailments.

In a case involving a man who relies on marijuana to ease pain, the
Ontario Superior Court ruled Canada's pot laws were unconstitutional
and it gave Ottawa three months to respond.

The government has three choices: Do nothing, which would effectively
legalize the drug in Ontario; challenge the ruling, which would likely
result in the matter ultimately heading to the Supreme Court of Canada
for a decisive ruling; or rewrite the laws to make it easier for
people to obtain marijuana for medical purposes.

The complainant in the Ontario case has been unable to find a doctor
to give him a medical marijuana licence, which he wanted to deal with
multiple health issues, including fibromyalgia, scoliosis, seizures
and depression.

Many ill people experience the same problem, forcing some of them to
acquire the drug illegally, the judge said.

Canada has allowed the use of marijuana for medical purposes since
2002, but many doctors have been reluctant to write prescriptions,
either because they are uncomfortable with the idea or because they
feel uninformed about the drug itself.

The injustice of the country's marijuana laws, however, also extends
to millions of recreational users, most of whom are working Canadians
who are forced into the shadows because of the criminal sanctions
associated with smoking pot.

The simplest solution for both medical and recreational users is for
the government to legalize the drug and regulate it. Such a measure
would curtail some criminal enterprises, while providing a new taxable
product.

The Tory government of Stephen Harper has been trying to move in the
opposite direction by increasing penalties, but it is out of touch
with public opinion, which largely regards smoking weed as a
victimless crime. It is time, Mr. Harper, to get with the program.