DECRIMINALIZATION IS STILL THE RIGHT PATH

The killing of four Mounties at a marijuana grow operation in central
Alberta this week was the biggest loss of life for the national police
force in 120 years. But it would be unfortunate if, as a result of the
killings, Canada weakens in its resolve to decriminalize marijuana.

The decriminalization policy remains the right one, and the Liberal
government in Ottawa should press ahead with its promised bill making
possession of small amounts of marijuana punishable in the same way a minor
traffic offence is punishable -- by a small fine rather than a criminal
prosecution.

The current policy exposes young people to the possibility of a criminal
record for doing something that adults from all walks of life -- business,
politics, the arts -- show by their actions is accepted among society's
establishment. This is harmful and hypocritical. Cannabis-related offences
nearly doubled between 1992 and 2002, and most of the offences involve
possession, not trafficking or importing. Those from 18 to 24 years old had
the highest conviction rate, followed by those from 12 to 17. Any deterrent
effect appears small.

A major concern voiced by law-enforcement agencies is that demand for
marijuana will increase when the drug is decriminalized, and that the
demand will be supplied largely by organized crime, which could grow
wealthier and more powerful as a result. This concern wasunderscored by the
killings of the Mounties.

But the marijuana grow-ops have been big business in Canada for a decade,
long before the federal government began seriously talking about
decriminalization; and the markets for them exist outside this country,
too. The grow-ops are not about to disappear. Instead of wasting police and
court resources on marijuana possession cases, it makes sense to devote
more effort to cracking down on the growers. They cause great harm, not
only to users but to the communities in which they set up. Judges should,
as Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan said yesterday, understand the need
to give growers tough sentences.

Decriminalization is far from ideal, however. The best thing that can be
said about it is that it will do less harm than the alternatives. Its
internal logic is hard to grasp. Use is legal; selling is illegal. It is
one-half of Prohibition. It seems like fence-sitting.

In a perfect world, marijuana and harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin
would be legalized. Those who chose to harm themselves would have the right
to do so. But problems arise. The government would be regulating and taxing
the narcotics industry. It would be seen to be encouraging use of the
drugs. (Especially with the harder drugs, allowing addicts easy access to a
supply without any controls would facilitate addictions; the state would be
an accomplice to great harm. What's more, the public should not be
profiting from the desperation of addicts.) And would organized crime lose
its foothold in the industry? Mobsters would do what they could to compete,
either with lower prices or higher potency, or both. Then, too, Canada's
major trading partner and ally, the United States, would be greatly alarmed.

Criminalizing marijuana use expresses society's moral disapproval, but the
widespread use of marijuana suggests the disapproval is phony.
Decriminalizing it is the least harmful choice.