OUR POT LAWS SHOULD BE AXED, NOT TOUGHENED UP FOR VOTES

No consensus has been reached over how many people turned up at the
Vancouver Art Gallery for 420, the annual "celebration of cannabis
culture" held every April 20, or as the folks at Frito-Lay call it,
"Doritofest."

Crowd estimates remain as hazy as much of downtown that afternoon.

The Vancouver police pegged the crowd at 5,000 -the lowest of the
published estimates -probably from their petulance at being forbidden
from using dogs and firehoses to disperse all "them damned, dirty stoners."

Relax, I'm kidding.

The police should be praised for their approach of standing around
and keeping the peace while holding their breath instead of diving
into the crowd to make arrests. Given that most people at 420 were in
no condition to follow commands, more aggressive policing would have
led to yet another pricey royal commission of inquiry into police conduct.

Different event organizers claimed crowd estimates of 10,000, 15,000
and even 20,000 happy hempsters, but who can trust their accuracy?

Firstly, they're biased, thinking as they do that everyone in
Vancouver smokes weed. That's a dreadful exaggeration and a tiresome
slander on our fair city. I know for a fact that my Grandma Betty has
never touched the stuff, although at times she probably should have.

Secondly, the organizers all started giggling when they got to "four"
while trying to tally up the crowd on their fingers.

No matter the real figure, dudes and dudettes, the number was a heck
of lot greater than the 4,420 people who got to pick Christy Clark as
our new premier at February's Liberal leadership convention, which
brings me to the slightly more serious point of this column.

In B.C., the number of people who have ever inhaled is greater than
the number of squares . . . sorry, I mean those who haven't sucked a
spliff. As well, way less than half of us believe pot use should be
illegal, according to a 2006 University of Victoria study.

Now, I'm not going to say if I've ever tried the stuff, as I've been
advised there is some risk one can be denied entry into the U.S. for
making such an admission. I'm not sure I could go on knowing I might
never again visit Disneyland.

I do, though, find that rule a little harsh, not to mention
confusing, given the Rolling Stones' frequent visits to the States,
and pretty rich coming from a country whose current and two previous
presidents have reportedly used cocaine.

While I'm not a pot smoker - mostly due to a touch of asthma and not
on any moral grounds -I know a lot of people who hold down very
responsible positions in this province who are. I could name doctors,
lawyers, prosecutors, bureaucrats, business people, politicians,
professors and even guess at a few judges well acquainted with Mary
Jane. And don't get me started on journalists.

According to that UVic study, marijuana use rises with a person's
level of education, which means while they might be dopeheads, most
are not dopes.

Which is why I can't understand or support Stephen Harper's election
promise to crack down on pot smokers, including jailing people for
possession. In B.C., that would mean locking up a lot of people in
pretty senior positions. The jails would need to order the Economist,
The New Yorker and the New England Journal of Medicine to keep the
inmates happy.

Smoking a little pot might not be the best thing for you, but so are
lots of other things that are legal and probably worse, like tequila
or bacon. We need to get over the Victorian, moralistic sensibilities
behind our pot laws, legalize it, and then regulate it as we do
tobacco and alcohol.

People shouldn't over-use marijuana, particularly kids, who I'd
rather didn't use it at all, but Mr. Harper's plan of jeopardizing
people's lives by saddling them with criminal records is overkill and
morally wrong. The state simply should not claim the right to
prohibit pot users, who aren't harming others, from lighting up.

And no, I haven't been smoking something. Justice Donald Taliano of
the Ontario Superior Court came to a parallel conclusion in an April
11 medical-marijuana ruling that will eliminate Canada's pot laws on
July 1 unless Ottawa loosens the rules or appeals.

As well, we can't afford Harper's plan. According to a report last
June from the Parliamentary budget officer, it now costs $343,810 a
year to keep a woman in jail and between $140,527 and $223,687 for a
man, depending on the security level of the prison. Even parole costs
$39,084 a year.

And that doesn't even consider policing and court costs of convicting
people, or the violence and loss of life linked to our modern-day Prohibition.

In his quest for votes, I simply don't want Mr. Harper potentially
jailing my friends, family, colleagues or neighbours, who live
responsible, productive lives and are often leaders in our
communities, if they're caught with grass.

Mr. Harper may not agree with the thousands of people at 420, but
he'd be wise to think of their votes -and the votes of a lot of
decent citizens.

gclark@theprovince.com

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