LEGISLATORS, MEDIA MORE ADDLED THAN POTHEADS

Once again we are treated to the spectacle of Vancouver attempting to lead
the way in national drug policy, and once again it's a slapstick comedy.

Soon after Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell sheepishly announced the city's
shoot-up site was a bigger "success" than expected (meaning lots more
junkies using this taxpayer-financed "service"), it was "revealed" that
there has been a plan all along to open a "safe" crack-smoking room, which
has already been built. This aspect of the plan appears to have collapsed
under the weight of its own ridiculousness but, not to worry, it will be
back eventually.

And then a pot retail shop called Da Kine is "revealed" on Commercial
Drive. Once the city media were led by the hand to the story, the mayor
found out, and shrugged it off. Then the police admitted they had known for
some time. Then B.C.'s Solicitor General felt moved to issue a statement
that the Narcotic Control Act is still in effect, even in Vancouver, and
that selling marijuana is in fact still illegal. Then the store was busted.

Regular folks, especially those seeing this store operate unmolested all
summer, could be forgiven for concluding that marijuana had been legalized.
Some of the young people I've heard from seem convinced it's legal now.

Why? Well, for one thing, the former Prime Minister said simple possession
would be decriminalized. That legislation, launched with fanfare, was left
like other bills to die on the order paper, leaving the impression that the
federal government was interested in a short-term publicity hit, not actual
governing.

Some of these young people may also have seen a recent program on CBC's
"all-news" channel called Play Goes to Pot. The host of this
taxpayer-funded public television "news" program sported a custom-printed
"Play Goes to Pot" T-shirt and microphone, both decorated with big green
marijuana leaves. He gleefully interviewed pot activist Marc Emery and his
guests as they took part in a marijuana tasting that involved smoking huge
joints and making increasingly incoherent comments on the taste and "buzz"
of the various strains on hand.

The striking thing about this show, aside from the use of plastic bags to
deliver "supertokes" to the giggling participants, and the enthusiastic
approval of the host, was the sheer quantity consumed. It was the dope
equivalent of guzzling Jack Daniel's out of the bottle. What's a kid to
make of a show like that, or of a federal government like ours?

The kid, or for that matter adult, is likely to conclude that Canadian law
is a joke, and he or she would be right.

Like many Canadians, I support legalization of marijuana. Unlike more
dangerous narcotics, evidence suggests it is generally harmless if used in
moderation. As a practical matter, it's too easy to produce locally to be
successfully banned, wasting valuable police resources. Now if we just had
a federal government that would take action in a serious, orderly way, and
restore confidence in the law.