Pubdate: Tue, 07 Jan 2003
Source: Langley Advance (CN BC)
Copyright: 2003 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.langleyadvance.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1248
Author: Troy Landreville
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

IT STILL WON'T BE LEGAL

Marijuana advocates who use Holland as a poster child of the legalization 
of the drug probably haven't spent much time in Amsterdam's red light 
district at night.

Dutch coffee shops sell marijuana and hashish cigarettes separately in 
small plastic tubes for roughly $5 Canadian apiece. Herbal ecstacy, magic 
mushrooms, hashish brownies, and "Space Cake" wrapped in thin plastic as 
well as drug paraphernalia were offered in small shops sandwiched between 
porn shops, bars, and coffee houses. Tourists and locals browsed in these 
stores so casually, you'd think they were buying a pair of sunglasses or 
postcards. During the afternoons, 20-something, wannabe-hippy, tourists sat 
on high barstools, smoking their drugs while chatting quietly, as their 
thick dreadlocks spilled over their eyes.

Yet that small section of Amsterdam, which was dusty and dirty during my 
visit a couple of Octobers ago, took on a sinister feel once darkness 
ruled. That's when the district showed its true face to me. I was in the 
company of a dozen people, and it took us about a microsecond to agree that 
there were certain alleys we shouldn't stroll through. In an area where 
anything goes, including open drug use, it seemed to me like a modern day 
version of Caligula's Rome.

That is one of the reasons why I find it interesting that 56 per cent of 
British Columbians favour decriminalizing marijuana, according to a poll 
conducted by the Vancouver Province, Global TV and MacLean's magazine.

Marijuana may be a less socially destructive drug than alcohol, which has 
shattered the lives of countless families. But would decriminalizing the 
drug - simply due to some members of the public's ignorance of the term - 
send a message to people that smoking pot in public is acceptable? Would it 
also send a message to kids that soft drug use is okay?

A parliamentary committee recently recommended that possession of up to 30 
grams of marijuana should be treated as a regulatory offence, and shouldn't 
land someone a criminal record. Canadian Justice Minister Martin Couchon 
appears to agree. He has promised to ease marijuana possession laws this year.

But users should recognize the difference between "decriminalization" and 
"legalization." The committee made it clear that it is not talking about 
legalizing marijuana. Even if the marijuana is "decriminalized" in the near 
future, if you are caught with small amounts of the drug, you'll have to 
pay a fine. The only difference is, you won't have to go to court and you 
won't be burdened with a criminal record.

A friend of mine told me that he saw a man openly smoking pot just outside 
the doors of a public establishment during a New Year's Eve bash.

The man told onlookers that, "soon, this will be legal."

The government, if it chooses to take this bold step of decriminalization, 
has a responsibility to set the record straight.
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