PEOPLE SHOULD BUTT OUT

Um, what was I going to talk about, oh yeah, the decriminalization of pot...

Last week, a committee of the House of Commons said people in possession of
small amounts of marijuana should not be charged with a criminal offence.
Last month, the Senate released a report calling for the weakening of laws
against casual marijuana use. Recently, B.C. Solicitor General Rich Coleman
stated that he wants to go out and fight the "war on drugs" - including
marijuana - because it reeks of organized crime and is more potent than ever.

It seems the "left coast" government is out in right field on this one.

Current trends in the upper levels of government are that federal marijuana
laws are too harsh and too costly. While the federal committee stated that
it was concerned with the dangers of pot use, including memory loss and
lung cancer, it stated that the punishment exceeds the crime. Some 30 per
cent of Canadians have admitted to using the drug.

As well, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) is joining in the
fight against unfair marijuana laws this week in multiple court cases being
heard by the Supreme Court of Canada. They are arguing that the possession
law is unconstitutional because it violates the guarantee of life, liberty
and the security of person, and that the law is out of the jurisdiction of
the federal parliament. The core of their argument is that marijuana use is
a matter of personal choice.

According to BCCLA president John Dixon, the marijuana law has done more
harm than good.

"Thousands of Canadians have had their lives irreparably harmed by this
injustice," said Dixon. "Not to mention the millions of dollars we
foolishly spend on enforcing this. The continued existence of this
prohibition brings the justice system into disrepute and is a fiscal black
hole for Canadians' tax dollars."

However, Coleman doesn't see it that way. It appears he's on a moral high
ground, where money grows on trees. He feels pot is "hurting our kids, it's
hurting our communities, and its time we stood up to it."

Coleman, a former RCMP officer, said marijuana fuels the drug trade across
the U.S. border as it trades kilo for kilo for hard drugs such as speed and
methamphetamines. However, has Coleman or other "War on Drug" pushers ever
considered that the black market trade they are so fiercely against may be
fueled by the very laws they espouse? The real issue is one of supply and
demand.

The United States recently condemned the federal committee's recommendation
that pot be decriminalized. But it is looking elsewhere to deal with its
own problem. It's like blaming the taste of booze for alcoholism. There is
an inherent, insatiable desire that will always demand, and propagate,
illegal drug trade. This lesson was learned with prohibition in the early
1900's.

The bottom line is that the war on drugs is simply not working. Marijuana
grow-ops are said to be the second-most profitable industry in B.C. -
behind forestry. Pot use is so open, accepted and prevalent among young and
old that even B.C.'s police don't bother with most simple possession cases
- - as even Minister Coleman admits.

Let's keep our law enforcement focused on the illegal activities that
threaten society and the public's safety.