EVERYONE'S DOING IT

A new study that found Canadian teens smoke more pot than cigarettes
didn't seem to surprise anyone -- not addiction experts, not parents,
not police and not educators. The only people with their heads in the
sand on the issue are political leaders, who seem to fear that
modernizing the laws on cannabis might lead to reefer madness and
ultimately the collapse of western civilization. More likely, they
fear it will cost them votes, but that concern should wane as today's
young people evolve into voters.

The study by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse said marijuana
smoking has been on the rise among teenagers, while cigarette use is
declining. In other words, society has succeeded in damping demand for
the legal product through strict regulation, taxation and education,
while failing to have any impact on use of the illegal, unregulated
product.

It's time to bring marijuana out of the darkness so that it, too, can
be subject to a variety of regulations and standards. That's not an
endorsement of marijuana use. It merely recognizes that the drug has
become part of our culture and, as such, its use should be normalized.
Too many good young people have already been saddled with criminal
records and the courts have better things to do with their time.

The former Liberal government of Paul Martin had tabled a motion
before Parliament to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of
marijuana for personal use. It was a start, but, regrettably, the
present Conservative government abandoned the bill, presumably for
political reasons, rather than reasons of health and safety.

But with nearly 50 per cent of 18- and 19-year-olds smoking marijuana,
old-fashioned political concerns no longer seem valid. Indeed, open
contempt for the law against marijuana now seems contagious. A law
that nobody wants can only make legislators and police look foolish in
the end, while undermining respect for the law in general.

Armed with new information, Prime Minister Stephen Harper should
reopen a dialogue on the issue of decriminalization. He might just
find it is one of the few issues where all-party agreement is
possible. Everyone could relate to that.