Pubdate: Thu, 02 Aug 2001
Source: Daily Herald Tribune, The (CN AB)
Copyright: 2001 The Daily Herald Tribune
Contact:  http://www.bowesnet.com/dht/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/804

DECIDING THE PLACE OF MARIJUANA

Canadian Society Is Debating Pot's Place - Medical, Decriminalized, Or...

Marijuana has been in the news more and more recently, but it has 
transcended the crime log and moved to the health and political pages once 
again.

Earlier this week, marijuana became prescribable by physicians to ease the 
pain of chronic sufferers and for other patients who, the medical doctor 
feels, can benefit from the numbing effect of the drug.

Canada has become the first Western democracy to take this step, and it has 
been met with a lot of criticism by those who feel the new law will promote 
wider use of the drug and, in some cases, turn doctors into - ostensibly - 
pushers. They say MDs will be put in the position of feeling compelled to 
sign off on pot prescriptions. In past, physicians have come under fire for 
too easily prescribing drugs such as valium and prozac without giving it 
much of a thought. Critics again feel the new law will do the same for pot.

In addition to the medical developments, Red Deer city recently council 
talked about decriminalizing marijuana, but the feds won't allow it since 
they make the laws that govern its use.

But no one in Red Deer was calling for legalization of marijuana. What they 
were calling for is decriminalization. And make no mistake, the difference 
isn't one of semantics. Legalization would put marijuana in almost the same 
ballpark as alcohol.

Decriminalization would only mean that those arrested for smoking or 
possessing marijuana would be given a ticket and fines. If the Criminal 
Code was changed, pot smokers would no longer have criminal records if 
caught enjoying the "herb".

Police spend tens of millions of dollars to enforce marijuana laws that 
simply aren't enforceable. Police just can't keep up.

Police will maintain the power at their discretion - depending on the case 
- - to charge users and growers with criminal offenses. The change in the 
legislation would give them more latitude in how to deal with minor offenders.

Ultimately, Canadians have to decide what role marijuana will play in its 
society. Will the evolution stop here, keeping pot in a category with other 
prescription-only drugs such as morphine, or will it take another step and 
look at decriminalization, in hopes of taking the burden off of law 
enforcement and even raising a little bit of extra revenue while at it.

A number of American states have decriminalized pot. Their enforcement 
costs have dropped by hundreds of thousands of dollars and in some cases, 
by millions. Beyond what was spent on enforcement, the fines have increased 
government revenues considerably. The change also allowed police forces to 
redirect the money spent on marijuana enforcement into the pursuit of more 
insidious drugs and the courts are no longer choked with simple possession 
cases.

But, and it's a big but, Canadian society must ask itself if it is prepared 
to allow another controlled substance to become socially acceptable. We all 
know the damage that alcohol can and does do. The escapism that these 
controlled substances offer has little benefit to society as a whole. 
Beyond what it does to some family units, both substances take a heavy toll 
on our health care system. Marijuana is said to be 10 times more 
carcinogenic than tobacco.

Before we allow another controlled substance to gain a form of acceptance 
in this country, we must weigh the actual monetary costs against the 
abstract social costs.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth