MARIJUANA FOOFARAH

The Canadian Government has proposed to decriminalize the possession of
small amounts of marijuana.

They still want to discourage its use and they still want it to be illegal.

They say police officers have been reluctant to pursue users because it
means too much of the officer's time being spent in court.

They propose to have a small fine that would be like a ticket. They will
also mount educational campaigns.

Will this mean many tickets being issued?

Will it be like parking tickets where it does not matter how many tickets
offenders get, as long as you pay them, or will it be like speeding
tickets, where the more the speeder gets, the more expensive it is for
insurance. It really can not be like either, because, if this proposal goes
forth, the possession of small amounts of marijuana will be a ticketed
offense only for those with money.

The government is trying to make the argument, if a person has enough money
to buy marijuana; they have enough money to pay a fine. There are many
people in our society who simply don't have money, yet they might have drugs.

We will be forced to either criminalize people for not paying their fine or
we will have to say, it is not a crime to possess small amounts of the
marijuana drug if you are poor. Neither makes sense.

Look at the image of people abusing alcohol in the slums of big cities.
Think about the image of the down-and-outer, begging for money with one
hand and a bottle of wine in the other.

While that is not the typical alcohol user, that user does exist.

The same scenario exists in the world of marijuana users.

The abuse of alcohol and cigarettes is not illegal, yet its use is
discouraged. Discouragement has been successful in reducing usage and
abuse. The use of recreational drugs is something to be discouraged in our
society. It does not mean it has to be an offense.