CURRENT LAWS ONLY WORSEN THE HARM CAUSED BY DRUGS

Let's make our position on marijuana perfectly clear.

We advocate decriminalization, even legalized regulation, but not because
we want everyone to roll up a fatty and celebrate.

Indeed, we prefer legalized regulation of most recreational drugs because
it has become obvious that severe criminal sanctions against the marketing
and distribution of those drugs only do more harm.

We say harm because there is ample evidence that all recreational drugs -
including alcohol and tobacco - have plenty of potential for harm.

A recent editorial in the British Medical Journal, for example, noted that
regular cannabis use has been linked to increases in schizophrenia and
depression. Smoking pot has also caused emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Cancers of the lung and tongue have also been reported among pot smokers.

On a brighter note, no evidence yet suggests that pot smoking leads to
coronary artery disease, which led the editorial's authors to conclude that
more studies on the effects of cannabis are necessary.

But even if deaths attributed to cannabis turn out to be but a fraction of
those caused by tobacco, "smoking cannabis would still be a major public
health hazard."

We don't think that making criminals out of pot smokers is the best way to
deal with that hazard. Prohibition didn't do a lick of good with respect to
the alcohol hazard. All it did was foster organized and bloody crime and
siphon off expensive police resources into a futile battle. Pretty much the
same thing has happened with pot prohibition.

In this enlightened age, we believe that adults should have a right to
choose their own poisonous diversions. The state, though, should do
everything within its power to ensure that people make enlightened choices.

In Canada, our regulators do a pretty good job of ensuring that smokers and
drinkers know the risks. Tobacco, in particular carries graphic warnings.
Only illiterate dolts can be excused from knowing that booze and tobacco
are addictive and can cause a range of debiliating diseases resulting in
early death.

Unfortunately, the myth prevails that pot is completely benign. Of course
that's the kind of myth the tobacco industry nurtured for a long time.

Indeed, many young people are sucked into believing that the smokeable form
of any drug is safe, according to Margaret Howard of the Victoria Youth
Empowerment Society.

We're not suggesting for a moment that pot equates with highly addictive
crack or crystal meth. Our suspicion is that a weekly toke is probably no
more deadly than a weekly shot of whisky or a daily glass of wine. Or even
the occasional dab of butter. All vices ought to be taken in moderation or
not at all.

For the small percentage of addictive personalities, though, one hit just
leads to the next. We may question the logic of ex-heroin addict Randy
Miller, when he told Belmont students last week that almost all junkies
tried pot or booze before graduating to the harder stuff. (Almost every
adult these days has tried one or the other or both, and the vast majority
didn't turn to heroin or crack.) But we cannot question that Miller didn't
go through a personal hell.

Our present laws aren't doing a good job of dealing with drug addiction
problems. It's hard to imagine that allowing adults to smoke pot would make
that worse, especially when coupled with solid scientific information about
the hazards. In our view, packages of legally marketed pot would carry
warnings, as do cigarette packages. And the laws prohibiting the sale of
pot to minors would be just as strict.