cannabisnews.com: Liberals' Pot Policy is a Half-Baked Sham Liberals' Pot Policy is a Half-Baked Sham Posted by CN Staff on May 04, 2003 at 08:33:50 PT By Linda Williamson -- Toronto Sun Source: Toronto Sun Two developments last week demonstrated there's a right way and a wrong way to deal with the still-divisive issues surrounding marijuana laws in this country. The first was the special six-part Sun Media series "Canada Goes to Pot," which concluded yesterday. The second was Jean Chretien's oh-so-jocular announcement at a Liberal fundraising dinner in Ottawa confirming that, yes, the Liberals are indeed just weeks away from decriminalizing possession of small amounts of pot. This memorable moment was greeted by whoops and cheers by the room full of well-heeled Liberal supporters. "Don't start smoking right away," joked the PM. "We're not legalizing it. We're decriminalizing it." Whatever - it got a laugh. In that one moment, the PM summed up everything that infuriates me about the marijuana issue. To wit: we can't seem to have a serious debate about this without a whole lot of silly nudge-nudge, wink-wink. That's what I liked about the Sun series, spearheaded by reporter Jason Botchford, who examined pot use and laws from Amsterdam to Alabama, Toronto to Vancouver. For once, the discussion delved beyond the usual polarized rhetoric and aired some real concerns of real Canadians. Some of the findings about real Canadians surprised me. Like the Leger poll that found 56% of us have never tried pot. Age, of course, was a key factor, and age 45 was the apparent dividing line. Below 45, a majority had tried pot, though most had given it up long ago. I found this enlightening, given the "everybody does it" attitude that tends to surround the pot debate. Liberal leadership candidate John Manley (who's 53) even alluded to that last week, confessing that he'd never toked, but "I regret that, now, because apparently it's de rigueur." Hardy har. Apparently he was responding to rival Sheila Copps' giggling that she had "absolutely!" smoked up in her youth. Why do these Liberals think this is all so darn funny? Maybe they read the Sun poll numbers showing a whopping 83% of Canadians agree the pot laws should be changed. But the truth is, we are far from unanimous on what kind of change we want. Take medical use of marijuana, which 43% of Canadians think should be allowed. The feds have failed miserably in providing a legal supply. Sick people still have to buy pot illegally. Doctors still worry about side effects from such an unregulated and potent drug. Funny stuff, eh? Or take organized crime - please. Chretien said with a straight face that while this new law will mean pot smokers will no longer face "unnecessary" criminal records for possession (can't argue with that - our poll found only 14% of Canadians support such a severe penalty), it will at the same time discourage kids from smoking dope and crack down on the criminal drug trade. Yeah, tell us another one. No wonder cops like Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino are tearing their hair over what they see as a political stunt that changes little in the real world of crime. Cops in most major jurisdictions already turn a blind eye to simple possession, which Fantino has no problem with. But, he told Botchford, "I don't think we can be doing this without addressing the business end of marijuana - the organized crime," which provides the bulk of the drug supply. 'Blink and wink' "If the government wants to blink and wink and turn its backs on organized crime and endanger the lives of ... law-abiding citizens, then they should just legalize it and get it over with and the police will be done with it." Ah, but the Liberals won't go there, meaning they'll disappoint some 20% of Canadians, according to our poll. And they'll seriously annoy American law enforcement, too, though I don't see that as a huge concern, apart from causing border delays. (As I see it, drug smugglers are criminals, period, and any Canadians who are dumb enough to travel internationally with weed deserve what they get.) Yes, yes, continent-wide legalization could end the costly, deadly war on drugs, but let's get real: no government on this planet is ready to go that route yet. Least of all our Liberals. And why should they? That would be seriously difficult, groundbreaking policy which would stir up a lot of controversy and, frankly, wouldn't buy a whole lot of votes. At least, not a whole lot more than the ones they'll get from this half-baked sham of a drug policy that pleases no one (for proof, just check out today's letters to the editor, opposite). I don't know about you, but I don't find that cheery at all. Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)Author: Linda Williamson -- Toronto SunPublished: Sunday, May 4, 2003 Copyright: 2003 Canoe Limited PartnershipContact: editor sunpub.comWebsite: http://www.fyitoronto.com/torsun.shtmlRelated Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmColumn: Time To Get Off The Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16164.shtmlPot Needs To Be Made Completely Legal http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16163.shtmlCanada's Marijuana Control is Going Up in Smokehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16152.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by WolfgangWylde on May 04, 2003 at 13:27:10 PT Yo, Linda... "no government on this planet is ready to go that route yet." Jeez, do a little research - Switzerland. Duh. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by JSM on May 04, 2003 at 12:01:56 PT Debate This is what prohibitionists fear the most - an honest open straight forward debate on this policy. Thank you Canada for showing the way again. Eventually we will follow you. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment