LAW MORE HARMFUL THAN MARIJUANA

The special Senate committee which recommended legalizing marijuana
possession reminded us again that current laws prohibiting its use do
not work, have not worked and will never work.

That's because the current law is flagrantly ignored. Millions of
Canadians smoked pot last year, according to the committee's research.
Millions will smoke it this year. And millions more in the years to
come.

Despite this widespread use, we continue to pretend something can be
done about it. We spend hundreds of millions of dollars on enforcing
an unenforceable law. We saddle young people with criminal records
that do far more harm than marijuana itself.

If anything, our attempts at prohibition have made the illicit drug
trade worse. Our efforts to stem the flow of marijuana in the face of
an undiminished demand has raised prices and brought in a violent
criminal element.

What the committee is recommending is radical. Legalization is a far
cry from the decriminalization that the LeDain commission recommended
30 years ago. It means acknowledging that marijuana is no more harmful
than alcohol or tobacco.

That won't sit well with some people. Why add yet another "acceptable"
vice to the mix?

Research shows the health risks of marijuana are less than those of
either tobacco or alcohol. And even if they were not, the fact remains
too many people simply do not care.

The radical nature of the recommendation also means running the risk
of angering our neighbours to the south, who are waging a war on drugs
without thought to the consequences of their actions.

Washington may not be pleased if we legalize marijuana, but
legislators there don't seek our counsel before drafting laws and
neither should we.

There is another way of looking at this risk, though. When the U.S.
foolishly attempted to prohibit the use of alcohol and Canada didn't,
our example eventually helped show American legislators the error of
their ways.