MIDDLE ROAD ON MARIJUANA

LAST WEEK, the U.S. Supreme Court did not "ban" - as headlines suggested -
the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

But it did clarify a point of law. In effect, it ruled that the U.S. federal
government is still within its rights to prosecute people who grow or sell
medical pot, even in those 10 states which have a legal framework allowing
citizens to do just that. While the judges did not strike down the state
statutes, they acknowledged that these are superseded by federal ones.

The court, in fact, stressed that it was not weighing in on the therapeutic
merits of cannabis. The author of the majority opinion even expressed some
sympathy for the chronic-pain sufferers who toke up.

That hint of compassion in the judicial opinion should not be all that
surprising. Polls show that American and Canadian attitudes are not that
dissimilar when it comes to pot policy.

But the more mellow spirit out there has yet to waft into the halls of
Congress or into the White House. In the wake of the Supreme Court decision,
this is clearly where advocates of medicinal pot should focus all of their
lobbying efforts.

While the U.S. federal government has some catching up to do vis-a-vis
public attitudes, especially in the more liberal states, Canada should be
careful not to get too far ahead of public opinion here.

Much like California, Ottawa has recently allowed people with medical needs
to smoke marijuana if they can get a prescription, although the system as it
now operates is far too bureaucratic to be much help to patients.

Our federal government is also considering liberalizing the recreational use
of marijuana, by moving from criminal sanctions for simple possession to a
fine-based regime. This, too, makes a fair amount of sense as long as you
can get the parameters right.

But it's a whole other kettle of fish to go from decriminalization to
full-blown legalization of marijuana, as Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell
openly advocated last week.

Armed with a 67-page report from the city's drug prevention co-ordinator,
Mr. Campbell argued marijuana should go the way of alcohol. That is to say,
the state should legitimize its consumption, control its distribution and
impose levies.

"We tax the living hell out of that and put it into health care," said Mr.
Campbell, who believes this would put organized crime out of the business.

But are Canadians ready to see pot outlets become as commonplace as liquor
outlets? Are they ready to watch cannabis producers battle for market share
in sexy TV ads? How about festivals and community events displaying the
slogan, "Brought to You by B.C. Bud"?

This is what full legalization might entail. The day may come when folks
might shrug this off, but we're not there yet.