DOPEY SITUATION

Marijuana Madness Prevails In Government's Inept Approach

In 1972, the drug-addled Rolling Stones were still considered a threat to
society as they barnstormed across North America.

That same year, Jean Chretien was Indian Affairs minister in a Trudeau
government toying with the idea of decriminalizing marijuana, but begged
off over fears of angering the U.S.

The LeDain Commission had called for decriminalizing personal cannabis use,
a recommendation ultimately ignored.

Fast-forward 31 years and some things remain frozen in time, others do not.

A government headed by the same Chretien is said to be readying legislation
that would eliminate criminal penalties for possessing small quantities of
cannabis.

But what ultimately emerges could be coloured by those enduring concerns
over a possible backlash from a country that eagerly imprisons for life
growers of a drug casually and unobtrusively consumed by many.

A common sense law enshrining civil liberties and the concept of personal
control over one's body will be under siege by the land of the brave and
home of the free.

We're to bow to the advice of a nation that incarcerates more people for
drug offences -- nearly half a million -- than Europe imprisons for all
infractions.

By contrast, Canada's courts, time and again in recent months, have seen
the nation's current prohibition law for what it is -- irrelevant and unjust.

Decriminalization, we're still told, will lead us down the slippery slope
to a holocaust of substance abuse.

The truth is, prohibition has never been a powerful deterrent to the use of
cannabis.

Those choosing not to partake do so on a more personal basis, whether over
health concerns or a preference for beer.

People will either smoke it or they won't and even a widely-perceived
greater societal acceptance of cannabis -- largely through advocacy for its
medical use -- hasn't led to an increase in consumption.

Then there's the contention decriminalization will be introducing a new
wrinkle into the substance abuse pantheon.

Sorry to break the obvious news, but that reality has existed for quite
some time now; cannabis use has been present in virtually every
socio-economic group for years.

If a recent poll commissioned by Sun Media is to be believed, 58% of
Canadians are now convinced the actual legalization of the substance won't
lead to more widespread use of hard drugs.

It's a telling statistic confronting a powerful myth critical to
maintaining the legal status quo.

Study after study in recent years has debunked the charge; tolerance for
marijuana use in the Netherlands has been accompanied by a noticeable
retreat in hard drug consumption there.

And it's interesting to note marijuana use among young adolescents in the
Netherlands is lower than in the U.S.

Tobacco and alcohol -- both unlike marijuana, actually toxic -- are more
likely "gateway" drugs.

As for impaired driving, getting behind the wheel under the influence of
any mind-altering drug is never a good idea, but research has shown
cannabis to be far less dangerous than alcohol.

The Sun poll also found only 14% of Canadians insist marijuana should
always be illegal, while 40% believe it should be either legalized or
decriminalized for recreational use.

And 43% believe it should be legalized for medical purposes.

Those results are even more significant, considering 56% of those same
Canadians insist they've never smoked the herb.

A massive, costly and destructive law enforcement industry has grown
addicted to a drug that won't go away.

What's worse, the obsession with the impossible task of stamping out the
use of marijuana is sweeping up medicinal users into its dragnet.

We're faced with the outrageous and ridiculous scenes of police officers
and prosecutors hounding the sick because they seek relief from a plant.

It's time to take a different approach by lessening our dependence on law
enforcement by leaning more on harm reduction through education, treatment
and prevention.

The government's inept approach to regulating marijuana so far is reflected
in its attempts to grow the drug for experimental medical purposes.

To no one's surprise, it's been plagued with incompetence.