HAT POLICE SPEAK OUT AGAINST LEGAL POT

Legalizing marijuana may be up for debate in Ottawa, but for Medicine
Hat police the issue is cut and dried.

"My stance, and I will repeat this many times, is that I don't support
legalizing the possession of marijuana," city police chief Normand
Boucher said Thursday.

"I have never tried it, I have absolutely no urge to try it and I
don't consider marijuana part of a healthy lifestyle. There are
repercussions, one of which is proceeding to other drugs."

The marijuana issue wafted to the forefront again Wednesday, when a
Senate committee issued a report recommending pot smoking be legal for
anyone over the age of 16. The report also recommends erasing criminal
records for possession of cannabis.

In the days since, politicians, pot advocates and police around the
nation have spoken out for or against the issue.

A House of Commons committee will release a report on illicit drugs in
November, and the issue will be before the Supreme Court in a December
challenge to existing possession, cultivation and trafficking laws.
The government is expected to unveil its position sometime in the new
year.

Boucher said decriminalizing or legalizing the drug could have an
impact in many areas of society.

"Imagine a 16-year-old smoking a few joints and going back to school,
never mind driving, never mind being attentive in any duties and
jobs," he said.

"Fourty-five minutes ago I stopped this fellow who was stoned out of
his mind. Can you imagine if we compound this with more drivers at a
time when we're trying to reduce impaired driving?"

Medicine Hat Police Association president Sgt. Lindsay Fraser said the
association takes a tough stance on the issue as well.

Fraser said the national police association passed a resolution at a
recent conference against the legalization of "all illegal drugs, and
marijuana in particular."

"(We're) not in favour of legalizing any illegal drug. Our frontline
police officers see firsthand on a daily basis the impact drugs have
on our society," he said. "We believe drugs are illegal because they
are harmful, they present adverse health effects."

Fraser said the legalization of marijuana is a concern to police
officers and should be to citizens as well.

"Is a home-grow operation good in your neighbourhood? I suggest that
it's not," he said. "If we make drugs more readily available, I
suggest the crime rate will go up. If it becomes easier to get, the
demand will go up."

In the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program, Const. Dellrae
Sharpe said kids are taught that marijuana is one of "the gateway
drugs" -- a substance that often leads people to try harder drugs.

"Alcohol, tobacco and marijuana are the normal drugs that kids start
out using, and often lead to using stronger drugs," she said. "They're
all addictive drugs, and all three can have tragic effects. Legalizing
marijuana is a huge issue, an absolutely huge issue, and as a DARE
officer I would have serious concerns about it."

Boucher said he also has health concerns about people smoking weed,
especially in the wake of recent anti-tobacco trends.

"There is a bylaw that came into effect recently banning smoking, and
this goes contrary to that movement," he said.

"When young kids try drugs they know it's against the law, and they're
hiding constantly. They know they are in peril of being caught," he
said.

"Eventually they get fed up with being under constant suspicion and
they grow out of it. If you didn't have that fear would you grow out
of it? Or would you be a more frequent user and for a longer period of
time? That's the question."