WE SHOULD LIGHTEN UP ON POT SMOKING

There's no doubt that smoking marijuana is a health risk and a vice, but
possessing small amounts of the drug shouldn't result in a criminal record.

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon's proposed changes to Canada's drug laws
are on the money because prosecuting users is a waste of valuable police
and court time.

Cauchon is essentially hinting at the decriminalization of marijuana
possession, making it an offence punishable by a fine instead of a criminal
record. A chunk of a user's wallet would still deter its use without the
legal hassle of hiring lawyers and being banned from entering the United
States.

At least 1.5 million Canadians smoke marijuana, according to the Canadian
Medical Association Journal. A higher proportion than the national average
inhales cannabis in B.C. Every user is a potential criminal under the
existing law.

Once convicted users are barred from travelling out of the country. They're
ineligible for jobs in some fields. Criminal record checks forbid them
from volunteering as a parent driver on school field trips.

The laws aren't being enforced consistently across the country, Cauchon
says. Police in some areas across the country appear unwilling to tag a
criminal record on someone just because they're indulging a vice.

Even so, millions of dollars worth of resources are still being squandered
on a relatively minor offence. There's no forcing it back in.

B.C. is the province regarded as having the most lax enforcement. Of 9,520
drug charges in 2000, 61 per cent were for cannabis. Of the 5,840 cannabis
charges, more than a third were for simple possession.

Meanwhile, trafficking, cultivating and importing are the source of most
drug-related violence.

Police should focus their attention on heroin, cocaine and other drugs that
have a more damaging effect on users.

It's time to change priorities.