WHY ADD TO WOES BY LEGALIZING POT?

A Daily News editorial by Robert Koopmans

The debate about the perils and benefits of decriminalizing marijuana will
continue to smoulder in the new year.

Inevitably, advocates of a more lenient approach to possession and use of
marijuana will liken the risk of the drug to alcohol, suggesting it is no
more dangerous than bottled spirits sold legally on many a street corner.

And of course they are right -- weed isn't more dangerous than booze. Can
there be a more compelling reason to limit the ability of people to grow
and smoke it?

Police say alcohol is the No. 1 cause of criminal death on our roadways.
That means more people die because of impaired driving than because of
speeding or other forms of bad driving.

Every holiday season, RCMP mount enforcement programs to stop drinking
drivers from inflicting horrific damage on innocent lives.

Every year they catch too many drunks.

After decades of high-profile campaigns, it's safe to say that drunk
driving is not just an awareness issue. People drive drunk knowing it's wrong.

It seems they can't stop.

Alcohol is also responsible for a great number of other criminal
activities. People often associate crime with drugs like heroin and
cocaine, but sit in a provincial courtroom some time and listen to the
offences committed by people confounded by alcohol.

Men beat their wives and mothers hit their children. Teens steal from their
parents and strangers rob from others to pay for another drink. Alcohol
abuse is a serious problem for the majority of people called to stand
before a judge.

The emotional crimes committed by drunks are also terrible. Inhibition
slips away with every sip and hurtful words spill easily from lips.

And there are health effects. The personal price an alcoholic pays in lost
vitality is steep, and taxpayers bear a high cost to heal bodies ravaged by
alcohol.

Marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol, you say. We should hope not.

If the leafy plant possesses just a fraction of alcohol's ability to ruin
lives, provisions to lessen the sting of drug laws should be most soberly
considered by lawmakers.

As society grapples daily with the ill effects of alcohol, do we really
want to encourage the use of another mind-altering, health-destroying
substance?

Let's think carefully before putting another addictive substance in our
homes and before our children. How many ways do we need to legally destroy
ourselves, in the name of a good time?

Surely one is enough.