HIGH TIME FOR CHANGE

You'd think the entire country was going up in smoke.

Marijuana smoke that is.

When the federal government introduced legislation to decriminalize
marijuana yesterday, the outcry was deafening.

We agree with one Liberal who said the government's biggest mistake was to
refer to this law change as "decriminalization," rather than "sentencing
reform."

Under the legislation, marijuana will still be illegal, but possession of
15 grams or less will be punishable by a fine, instead of a jail term.

Possession of amounts greater than that could bring stiffer charges and
jail terms, depending on the circumstances.

What's more, the maximum sentence for growers will double to 14 years and
dealers will face a maximum of life in prison.

Combine this with $245 million over five years to beef up law enforcement
efforts and fund education, research and treatment programs aimed at
curbing drug use, and this makes nothing but sense.

Few people are jailed for simple possession of marijuana these days anyway.

Critics who suggest a cloud of marijuana smoke will now appear over Canada
are ignoring this reality.

The fact that advocates of legal marijuana aren't happy with this proposed
legislation should reassure those who fear this will unleash a flurry of
pot smoking.

Not that there aren't any shortcomings in the law change.

It does fail to address the very pressing issue of making marijuana
available to people who need it for medical reasons.

Provisions against marijuana-impaired driving need to be strengthened as well.

And the fines for mere possession are too low. As police point out, a
teenager could fork out more cash for a traffic offence than for simple
possession of pot.

Certainly, refinements are in order, but this much-needed change merely
represents current reality and will free up police and court resources to
deal with more serious and destructive crimes.

Critics of this new law should put that in their pipe and smoke it.