POT HOLES IN HARPER'S DRUG POLICY

This week the Tories outlined their strategy for fighting the "war on
drugs" here in Canada. This new policy is just one of many that makes
me happy to have voted for the Liberals.

Stephen Harper has emphasized how this new policy will focus on
prevention as much as punishment, that there will be more resources
made available to addicts, and tougher punishments for producers and
traffickers. Harper has forgotten one important thing though: not all
drugs, nor the people who use them, are the same.

I'm all for a crackdown on the "hardcore" drugs that are being used
in Canada. Someone who cooks up a batch of crystal meth in his
kitchen should be locked away, that garbage destroys lives. People
who sell cocaine, heroine and crystal meth should face much harsher
drug laws here in Canada. They are all highly addictive substances
that affect everyone in this country because it's always the
taxpayers that foot the bill for trials, police task forces or rehab centers.

I'm sick of the government telling us what substances we can abuse
our bodies with based on how much money they make. All these drugs
are illegal because the government doesn't control them or collect
tax revenues from the sale of these narcotics. They really don't care
about our health, that's not the issue (although they might claim it
is). They collect money from illegal activity by auditing people who
work in criminal enterprise though, so why not cut out the middleman?

There is so much blatant hypocrisy when it comes to the government
and the issue of the drug trade in Canada. Harper talks about how
drug use in Canada takes a toll on health care and public services.
Tobacco use kills thousands of Canadians each year and costs the
taxpayers millions of dollars and it's a legal substance. So don't
stand there with your three hundred dollar haircut, paid for by the
public no less, and tell me that the reason why you're cracking down
on the drug trade here is because of our well-being. I don't buy it,
not for a second.

What really irks me is the fact that possession and/or distribution
of marijuana also falls under this new law. I'm all for the
legalization, not decriminalization, of pot. I believe that this is
one illegal substance that should not be categorized along with
other, more serious drugs.

The benefits of legalizing marijuana are numerous. By producing and
selling it, the government cuts the dealers out of the equation, and
the millions upon millions of dollars that would otherwise go into
their pockets would go back to public service, hopefully. The
Conservative government loves to talk about how many minors smoke pot
in Canada. If we have to go buy our dope from an SAQ style business,
you can bet your ass that kids will have infinitely less access to
the "drug". Drug dealers don't ask for i.d., but the cashier at the
government sponsored dope shop will.

Furthermore, the prospect of legalizing marijuana destroys the
gateway drug argument. The only reason why grass can be talked about
as a gateway drug is because people believe in scapegoatting instead
of personal accountability. It also has to do with being a by-product
of your surroundings. The more time you spend with people who deal
with illegal substances, the more likely you are to be around other
drugs besides weed. It doesn't mean you're going to do them, but you
are exposed to an element that you otherwise wouldn't be if you did
not smoke pot. I know a lot of people who smoke weed, and I also know
people who use drugs like cocaine. The pot smokers I know have been
exposed to other drugs at one point or another in their lives, but
not all of them hopped on the white pony.

Marijuana is not the only reason why people do other drugs. There are
addicts and users out there who don't like pot and the effect it has
on them. Furthermore, if you could go out and buy weed at the store,
the criminal element that would expose you to more serious drugs no
longer exists.

Hypothetically speaking, you wouldn't be able to buy an eight ball at
the cannabis cafe. There you have it, weed would no longer be
stigmatized as being the source of other drug problems.

We need to re-evaluate how we deal with drugs in our society. The
traditional "war on drugs" that the U.S. has been fighting, and
losing for years now should not be a system we try to emulate here in
Canada, unless Stephen Harper likes throwing away millions of
dollars. There is no way to win a "war on drugs," it is an absurd notion.