« Chavez has high hopes for medical marijuana | Main | Smells more like political agenda »
Criminalization of cannabis a destructive and costly path
By Hempology | July 20, 2007
Times Colonist, BC
July 20, 2007
The wrong course on marijuana
Treating users as criminals has been costly, damaged lives and accomplished nothing
It’s disheartening to see Canada sliding backwards on drugs, embracing policies that have been proven to do considerable damage while accomplishing nothing.
Policies like treating marijuana possession as a criminal offence.
The former Liberal government sensibly introduced legislation in 2003 to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. But it was never passed and the Harper government is committed to treating possession of the drug as a crime.
The approach fails any common-sense test. Consider the results of four decades of enforcement: Hundreds of thousands of otherwise law-abiding Canadians with criminal records; an uncounted fortune spent on the costs of policing and prosecution; and a huge criminal network that thrives because of the government’s approach.
Yet despite all those costs, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime reported this month that Canada has the highest rate of marijuana use in the developed world. One in six adults between 15 and 64 used pot at least once during 2005. That’s about one-third higher than the rate in the U.S., the runner-up. (And another country focused on criminalizing marijuana.)
By contrast, in the Netherlands, where marijuana is legal and accessible, use of the drug was less than half as prevalent. That mirrors the Canadian experience of the last few years, when enforcement has been reduced in anticipation of the legal change. Marijuana use has actually declined.
There are sound reasons for concern about marijuana use and its effect on health, particularly for adolescents.
But as a public-policy problem, it ranks far behind other illegal drugs and, for that matter, alcohol. The fact that 3.8 million Canadians used marijuana in 2005 — more than the entire population of B.C. — suggests it does not pose an imminent threat to our health and well-being. (Practically, any effort to make criminals of almost four million Canadians is doomed to failure.)
Yet while heroin and cocaine wreaked havoc on individuals and communities — look at Victoria’s downtown — StatsCan reported this week that 60 per cent of drug-related charges last year involved marijuana.
The Liberal legislation was a useful step. Possession of a small quantity of marijuana — half an ounce or less — would no longer be a criminal offence, though people could still be ticketed and fined.
Even that’s a compromise. If government was concerned about organized crime’s role in marijuana production and trafficking, it could decriminalize possession of a small number of the plants. Gangs would lose a lucrative profit source.
It’s been 37 years since the federal LeDain Commission recommended decriminalization of marijuana. In that time we have spent a vast amount of money and made criminals out of hundreds of thousands of Canadians. Marijuana use has increased, criminal gangs have flourished and other drugs have devastated our communities.
It is foolish to continue down such a destructive, costly path.
Topics: Articles | Comments Off
Comments are closed.