Where There's Smoke ...

[boulder]

Source: Edmonton Sun

 

The decriminalization of simple possession of small amounts of marijuana - as proposed by federal Justice Minister Martin Cauchon - has a certain amount of appeal. And taken in isolation of other Ottawa Liberal initiatives, it appears to be at least worth looking at.

 

Sure we can understand Alberta Justice Minister Dave Hancock's concerns - echoed by many Canadian police officials - that pot smoking is a stepping stone to harder, far more addictive drugs which require large amounts of money to purchase and generally lead to criminal activity.

 

But with the political acceptance of marijuana as a valid treatment for some forms of chronic pain - the medical jury is still out until the feds can come up with some valid clinical studies - continuing to include possession of pot as a crime may appear hard to justify. On the surface at least.

 

But with all things the federal government does these days, the downgrading of the offence of marijuana possession to something closer to a speeding ticket has its ironies and inconsistencies.

 

The most obvious is the effect it will have on the already soured relations the federal Liberals have with our American cousins and the further crackdown on travel to the United States that this will almost inevitably entail if Ottawa goes ahead with the plan.

 

While the feds are actively contemplating taking marijuana possession out of the Criminal Code to supposedly spare thousands of Canadian pot users the burden of a lifetime criminal record, the same government, in a few days, intends to turn an even larger number of Canadians into instant criminals for not registering their shotguns and sporting rifles by Jan. 1.

 

A confusing message if there ever was one.

 

And while the crackdown on drivers impaired by alcohol is one of the major ongoing policing initiatives in the country these days, the feds appear to be loosening their grip on another mood-altering drug. By turning a pot- possession offence into little more than a user fee - similar to the City of Edmonton's escort licence - a barrier to increased marijuana usage has been removed.

 

Presumably this includes use behind the wheel for which there is no specific penalty.

 

But likely the most negative consequence is the effect Cauchon's proposed changes will have on the United States which has a low tolerance towards drug use.

 

Since the Sept. 11 attacks - and the Liberals' less-than-sympathetic response - keeping the free flow of goods and people between Canada and the United States has constantly been under threat.

 

American drug officials have already warned Ottawa there could be negative consequences for relaxing the country's drug laws. Hopefully the feds have thought this through. But we doubt it.

[Gruntus]

While the feds are actively contemplating taking marijuana possession out of the Criminal Code to supposedly spare thousands of Canadian pot users the burden of a lifetime criminal record, the same government, in a few days, intends to turn an even larger number of Canadians into instant criminals for not registering their shotguns and sporting rifles by Jan. 1.

 

A confusing message if there ever was one.

 

Am I the only one not confused by this ? I'd kinda like to think posession of cannabis and posession of unregistered firearms are quite different things in terms of their social effects. Bitches about censorship notwithstanding I'd applaud any Governmebt that made grass less illegal and guns moreso.

[pipeman]

I'm with ya there Gruntus. I never had a problem with the crackdown on guns. However like most of these types of laws they are mostly inneffective, because it relies on criminals obeying the law!

 

So law abiding citizens who were collectors or target shooters had to give up their guns while the criminals continued on as usual.