POT LAWS NEED DEFINITION

Clearly, the war on marijuana is an uphill battle, and one that comes with
its own twists and complications

Recreational marijuana use is increasing in Canadian society, across most
age groups. A 2002 StatsCan survey concluded as many as 12.2 per cent of
Canadians -- more than three million -- were recreational tokers, up from
7.4 per cent in 1989. No doubt there would be more users were it not for
the stigma of illegality. Still, that's an awfully big -- and expanding --
market for marijuana producers, and an awful lot of people willing to skirt
the law to indulge their ... uh, vice.

Which explains why local police services are being kept increasingly busy
pursuing marijuana grow operations and distributors in Canada. According to
Statistics Canada, marijuana grow operations have more than doubled over
the past decade, from 3,400 busts in 1994 to more than 8,000 last year.
Increasingly, police attention has driven them further into hiding and into
the wilderness. And into the North.

In 2004, the Joint Forces Drug Unit -- consisting of Greater Sudbury
Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Ontario Provincial Police --
seized more than $17 million worth of plants in Greater Sudbury. Police
estimate that at best, they find and disrupt 10 per cent of the pot
production in the North, although that is an optimistic goal. That means
the production and distribution of marijuana is worth more than $170
million in this area alone.

Clearly, the war on marijuana is an uphill battle, and one that comes with
its own twists and complications.

Many are sophisticated operations encompassing large fields with thousands
of plants, or hydroponic operations using several homes in an area. As a
Sudbury Star feature story pointed out on Saturday, these operations have
themselves become a danger in the North. The level of investment in these
operations and the degree of security that surrounds them make them
dangerous neighbours.

Often homes have been illegally and sometimes unsafely rewired to power the
lights (which taxpayers pay for) and many premises have been booby-trapped
to keep unwanted visitors away. These dangers add to the difficulty police
face in fighting the war on drugs.

To be sure, it's a fine line police must walk. The production and
distribution of marijuana is becoming harder to interrupt, largely because
demand for marijuana in Canada continues to increase. At the same time,
while users of marijuana are clearly breaking the law as it is written,
they're not breaking the law as it is enforced. Most simple possession
charges have been thrown out of court across Canada, so much so that since
2002 police and prosecutors have all but stopped pursuing them.

It's a clear contradiction: Police work hard to crack down on the supply of
marijuana, while the courts all but ignore the demand side.

The same 2002 StatsCan survey said that almost half of Canadians favour
legalization while more -- some surveys say seven in 10 -- want
decriminalization. The federal Liberals have been promising the latter for
three years; it's time to stop stalling and move this legislation forward.
While it won't make the Joint Forces Drug Unit's job any easier, it would
go a long way to finally giving some definition to Canada's wayward drug laws.