POT LAW TOO HAZY FOR COPS

Good for Toronto police chief Julian Fantino and his counterparts across
the province.

They have taken a logical and sensible step in deciding not to lay charges
for simple possession of marijuana, meaning under 30 grams.

Instead, a record will be made of the incident, the circumstances
documented and the drugs seized, but no charges will be laid.

The move is a wise one because it will put the pressure to make sense of
our marijuana laws back where it belongs - on federal politicians and the
courts.

A good sign the cops are on the right track is that their announcement has
been criticized by both federal Justice Department officials and defence
attorneys, albeit for opposite reasons.

The Justice Department, which is appealing a recent Superior Court ruling
striking down the law on simple possession, says the police are treading
too softly.

Meanwhile, defence lawyers say by even recording the details of the bust
for possible future prosecutions once the law is clarified, the police are
going too far. In their view, there is no longer a law against simple
possession.

Meanwhile, various judges across the province have been dismissing or
staying cases awaiting a ruling from the higher courts.

We agree with the cops. Why waste time, resources and manpower pursuing
these cases as criminal offences, with little chance of success, while the
feds continue to suck and blow at the same time?

That is, by appealing to have the existing law upheld while at the same
time moving to decriminalize simple possession and reduce the penalty to a
fine, as opposed to a criminal record and possible jail time.

The police don't make the laws, they enforce them. If the law is
unenforceable because of the actions - or lack thereof - of the federal
government in the face of previous court rulings, that's not the fault of
the police.

Meanwhile, the cops have been given no tools to deal with such problems as
people driving under the influence of marijuana.

No wonder they've thrown up their hands.