In My View

CANNABIS BILL RAISES MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS

Canada has long been fighting the war against drugs. This geographically
widespread battle, though not as acute as SARS or mad cow disease, entails
detrimental casualties all the same. Despite heated debates in Parliament,
in classrooms and in homes, the solution is not obvious.

A controversial event that drew media attention this week was the proposed
Cannabis Reform Bill. The bill proposes to decriminalize possession and use
of 15 grams of marijuana or less - fines issued similar to a traffic
offence - and at the same time double the maximum penalty (to 14 years
imprisonment) for growers and traffickers of the drug.

Public backlash immediately echoed through newspapers, radio and television.

Bickering over cannabis laws has our province divided. A poll conducted in
January this year for Maclean's and The Province showed that 56 per cent of
British Columbians favoured decriminalizing marijuana, the highest
provincial percentage in Canada. Moreover, the International Narcotics
Control Board states that Canada produces 800 tons of illicit cannabis each
year. Statistics aside, there is no easy way out of this marijuana maze.

Maintaining the status quo seems safe. However, activists on both sides
have revealed loopholes and complexities in the current system that need to
be dealt with, such as medicinal marijuana usage and the failure to reduce
the growing supply and demand.

An increasing number of people now support legalizing marijuana. While the
state could control the quality, quantity, and potency of the drug by
regulating its supply and distribution, this system would send the wrong
signals to youths about the safety and wisdom of taking mind-altering
drugs, and (for those who care) particularly antagonize our closest
neighbour and largest trading partner to the south. Legalization wouldn't
necessarily put a crimp in organized crime, since illicit suppliers would
survive by selling marijuana with a higher potency than permitted, or
selling by abroad.

Hence, the Canadian government settled on the midway method:
decriminalization via the Cannabis Reform Bill. Problems arise. The bill
could backfire on itself. Pot smokers surely won't quit their habits if
this bill becomes law, and since growing marijuana at home means a lengthy
jail term, they must purchase their 15 gram quota from dealers on the
street, in turn endangering their own life and supporting the growth of the
black market.

By no means should grow-ops be encouraged either; they are a fire hazard,
waste electricity and damage homes.

Health Canada has only glanced over briefly the consequences of driving
under the influences of this psychotropic drug. On its Web page, Health
Canada suggests "training law enforcement officers to recognize the effects
of drug impairment." The impracticality of the tactics hint that driving
implications have yet to be assessed.

Wouldn't it be safer for the public if these complications were resolved
before the proposal of the bill? This "ask questions later" strategy will
result in tragedy.

Regardless of how many Canadians smoke marijuana or how modern and tolerant
society has become, the fact that pot is a harmful, dangerous and,
therefore, illegal drug does not change. If it were healthy and beneficial,
there wouldn't be a debate.

My generation is certainly aware of this and so, for us, it all comes down
to what we do best: making the right decision.