REFORM REGRESSIVE LAWS ON MARIJUANA POSSESSION

The numbers tell the story clearly: drug-related crime is at a 20-year
high in Canada; most of the cases involve marijuana possession and the
most likely offenders are teenagers and young adults.

The 2002 report released by Statistics Canada on Monday reinforces the
argument to decriminalize marijuana.

It speaks of a massive and expensive police effort for little or no
gain at the lowest levels, while criminal gangs reap massive profits
and fight lethal battles for market share at the other pole.

Seventy-five per cent of the 93,000 drug-related incidents reported by
police in 2002 involved marijuana.

About 72 per cent were possession offences. Most involved young adults
aged 18 to 24, followed by youths aged 12 to 17, Statistics Canada
reported.

Sanctions imposed on thousands of Canadian teens for these crimes far
outweigh the less-than-dread consequences of youths sparking up an
occasional joint.

Many of the thousands of young Canadians convicted annually for simple
possession will be marked for life: branded with a criminal record,
restricted from travelling to places like the United States and other
nations in an increasingly global economy.

Decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana would lift
that enormous burden. It would also free up precious police resources
for more important and dangerous crimes. It would take away a big
chunk of the market for criminal gangs that makes the dope trade so
lucrative and so dangerous.