PIPE DREAM

We've all heard about how some Canadian senators have been caught sleeping
on the job or not showing up at all -- for years. Now we think we know the
reason for such lethargy and truancy. It must be something they're smoking.

How else to explain the conclusions drawn by a special Senate committee
report released yesterday recommending that marijuana be legalized.

That's right, the upper chamber of (cough, cough) sober second thought
isn't recommending decriminalizing marijuana.

It is recommending making it completely legal.

You know, putting it in packages, selling it at corner stores (marijuana
marts perhaps?) and, of course, collecting taxes from it.

It's kind of like putting the cart before the horse in all respects.

Firstly, this is a government that has been talking and talking and talking
for almost 10 years now about making medicinal marijuana available to
severely ill Canadians, but still has done virtually nothing to make that a
reality. Surely that should come first.

Currently, every political party is in favour of decriminalizing the simple
possession of marijuana to save our police and courts from being bogged
down with such minor "crimes" in order to take care of more serious crimes.

And with good reason. The cost of drug enforcement runs at $1 to $1.5
billion a year with a third of that related to cannabis. About half of the
90,000 drug incidents reported each year involve pot and up to 600,000
people have criminal records for simple possession.

As Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said, our laws no longer reflect our
reality. "When we have legislation that's not really being enforced because
it's no longer consistent with social realities, it's important for a
government to look at and reshape such legislation," said Cauchon.

Decriminalizing marijuana would make it possible for police to simply issue
tickets -- similar to speeding tickets -- to people who possess slightly
more than allowed under the law or for smoking in inappropriate places.
That means people caught with small amounts of marijuana would not face
prosecution, jail and a criminal record.

But legalization would simply legitimize something that should be
discouraged. After all, have we learned nothing about tobacco? And while
marijuana is no worse than alcohol, it still has detrimental effects on
heavy users.

Lethargy and truancy being just two of them.

Just ask the Senate.