Pubdate: Fri, 23 Apr 2010
Source: Metro (Ottawa, CN ON)
Copyright: 2010 Metro
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/Ottawa
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4032
Author: Steve Collins

Urban Compass

DUMB AND DUMBER MARIJUANA LAWS

On Tuesday, a mass of dope fiends gathered on Parliament Hill to 
flagrantly smoke marijuana - and the rest of Ottawa barely noticed.

Annual 4-20 decriminalization demos have gone on for years and 
they're no longer news. Apart from an alarming rise in the prevalence 
of bongo drums, no incidents or arrests were reported here or at the 
majority of smoke-ins across the country. (In Toronto, one person was 
injured in a fight and another was arrested with what appeared to be 
a firearm).

In my neighbourhood, especially when the weather improves, it's not 
uncommon to catch a whiff of someone's weed as they stroll down the 
sidewalk. This experience doesn't fill me with fear of drug-fuelled 
crime. Instead, it reminds me that on the whole, this is a safe 
enough city in which to walk around whilst buzzed, which is as good a 
measure of a community's health as any.

We don't have the reputation of smoky Vancouver, but Ottawa strikes 
me as a relatively stoner-friendly city. This is not to say that 
everybody's doing it, or that it's good for those who do, but it's 
not widely considered a menace.

 From Parliament Hill, though, we hear different, dumber ideas. While 
the protesters puffed, federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson held a 
press conference to once again tout more "tough on crime" legislation.

Among the Tory prescriptions, better described as hopelessly 
incoherent on crime, are harsher penalties for marijuana growers and 
dealers. If we increasingly can't be bothered to arrest users, 
though, why attack their suppliers?

The only result of their nefarious activities is that people smoke 
weed, apart, of course, from the outrageous profits that flow to 
criminal organizations simply because pot is illegal. If I were a 
Hell's Angel, I'd vote Tory.

The next day, coincidentally, embattled former Conservative MP Rahim 
Jaffer, fresh from his plea bargain on drunk driving and cocaine 
possession charges, appeared before a parliamentary committee. He 
claimed, under oath, that he'd never taken any illegal substance.

During the last election, Jaffer attacked his NDP opponent over her 
party's support of marijuana decriminalization, trotting out the 
usual folderol about keeping our schoolchildren safe from the demon 
weed. But since marijuana is as illegal for an adult as it is for a 
kid, it's often easier for kids to get their hands on than alcohol.

No matter how often it hits, it's hard not to be discouraged by the 
realization that your government's policies make no more sense than 
your idiot roommate on his third bowl and second consecutive viewing 
of The Wizard Of Oz.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart