COMMON SENSE GOES UP IN SMOKE

HANDS UP, anyone who's EVER tried marijuana.

It's OK, this is a completely anonymous survey. But in case anyone is
watching you read this column, just raise your hand mentally.

Whoa! There sure are a lot of you. And from all ages and walks of life. I
see lawyers and doctors, college professors and politicians. Carpenters,
taxi drivers, mechanics, bricklayers, salesmen, athletes and actors; in
fact, the list goes on and on. Why, there are even some journalists in the
group.

Next question. How many of you still smoke an occasional joint?

Hmmm. Nowhere near as many hands this time. Though I note that those with
their arms still up are, for the most part, decidedly younger.

OK, anyone here ever get busted by police for dope possession?

Uh oh. The smallest group yet, but still there are thousands of you,
saddled with criminal records which, in many cases, ruined future plans or
lost you your jobs.

Last question. How many of you have ever used harder drugs?

Hands up, now, so I can see. Why, just a small fraction of you!

If one could do such a survey of all 30 million Canadians, available
statistics indicate the results would be pretty similar to my fictional
account. Perhaps a quarter of all adults have ever tried marijuana; less
than a third of them remain current users. The recent Senate committee
report recommending dope be legalized found that up to half of young people
under age 25 have tried marijuana.

The same Senate report said 30,000 Canadians face criminal charges each
year for simple possession of the illegal drug; three-quarters of them end
up with criminal records.

When you strip away the emotion and the unfounded fears - which I'll
address in a moment - what you're left with is that last cruel, senseless
fact: Thousands upon thousands of citizens are branded as criminals every
year because they were unlucky enough to be caught doing something that
millions more get away with, possessing small quantities of marijuana for
personal use.

Our current drug policy towards marijuana tragically commits police efforts
and court resources to destroy many otherwise law-abiding lives.

In the last 40 years, commission after commission, in country after
country, have recommended criminal penalties for personal marijuana
possession be drastically reduced or eliminated. Where pot has been
decriminalized, every comprehensive follow-up study has found no increase
in marijuana use:

In Australia, two territories - South Australia and Australian Capital
Territory - removed criminal penalties in 1987 and 1992. Offenders face
only a small fine or caution. A government-funded survey in 1996 found no
substantial difference in reported usage rates.

In Holland, where personal marijuana use has been legally tolerated since
1976, several studies since then have shown marijuana use is no higher
there than in other European countries, and significantly lower among youth
than in the U.S.

Even in the U.S., where drug laws are generally stricter, 11 states had
decriminalized marijuana by 1979. Offenders there are fined. Federally
funded researchers subsequently determined marijuana usage among high
school seniors was no higher in those states than in the rest of the country.

In the Netherlands, authorities have contended that making marijuana an
illegal substance actually gives it an extra allure that many teenagers are
drawn to as an act of rebellion.

There are also no documented facts to support the myth - despite what
police swear, without evidence - that marijuana is a "gateway" drug,
leading users to abuse of harder substances like cocaine and heroin. In
fact, numerous studies on the subject have come to the exact opposite
conclusion.

Despite the overwhelming evidence, however, politicians in Canada have been
loathe to touch the controversial topic, even though the country's
nonsensical laws have destroyed thousands of innocent lives.

Marijuana use is a health issue, not a crime.

I hope Mr. Chretien is listening to the Senate on this one.