cannabisnews.com: Don't Bogart Those Police Dollars Don't Bogart Those Police Dollars Posted by CN Staff on June 02, 2003 at 07:56:43 PT By Samuel Porteous Source: Globe and Mail The current debate on the decriminalization of possessing marijuana has tended to focus on whether the drug is medically harmful or may lead users from cannabis products to harder drugs. It also has focused on the "message" that decriminalization would send our youth. Relatively little attention, however, has been paid to the grittier financial question of whether all our current focus on a relatively mild drug makes sense when Canada's policing, prosecutorial, and judicial resources have bigger fish to fry. Statistics show that over the past decade, 20,000 to 30,000 charges are laid every year for simple cannabis possession. These constitute about half of all drug-related offenses recorded in Canada. Compare those statistics to the number of charges relating to white-collar and environmental crime and you will see a huge difference. We live in a country where minor pot cases are pursued with diligence, while white-collar-crime divisions of many major police forces must turn away cases involving theft of less than $250,000 because the forces do not have the resources to pursue them. At the same time, our environmental law enforcement structure, split across federal and provincial jurisdictions, is chronically underfunded and understaffed. What message does that send?The message seems to be that Canadian law enforcers do what is easy. And that's not good. White collar and environmental crimes have enormous political, economic and health consequences for this country. The public holds a persistent perception that white-collar crimes -- essentially the crimes of the powerful -- go unpunished, and this undermines faith in government. Many environmental crimes have insidious impacts on the health of individuals and their surrounding environment for generations. Yet these crimes receive relatively little attention, money and resources because they are complex areas involving multiple jurisdictions and powerful interests. In contrast to white-collar and environmental criminals, pot smokers are easy targets.Imagine what could be accomplished if the considerable policing, prosecutorial and judicial resources currently tied up in cannabis-related charges were directed toward white-collar and environmental crime. What is the value of hundreds of pot possession convictions compared to a single successful investigation and prosecution of a major white-collar crime that has an impact on the value of shares held by pension funds or the capture and containment of a significant environmental criminal?As to those who express concerns regarding organized crime, if the government really wanted to push the criminal element out of the cannabis equation, it would also decriminalize minor cultivation of cannabis -- something the proposed legislation has chosen not to do. To remove the stigma of criminal prosecution for minor cultivation would remove the necessity for casual marijuana consumers to interact with the criminal world, thus reducing demand for supply from this group. This would also reduce the opportunity for cannabis to act as a gateway drug to harder illicit drugs, since fewer people will be interacting with the criminals who supply those far more harmful substances.An added benefit of decriminalizing minor cultivation would be the removal of these casual consumers and cultivators from the seriously violent climate surrounding harder illicit drugs. This drug-related violence has always justified the significant police attention directed toward those producing, distributing, dealing and consuming substances such as cocaine, heroin and the high potency cannabis produced by large-scale hydroponic growth operations.The decriminalization of minor cannabis possession and cultivation would have a very fortunate equalization effect as well. At the moment, the laws against cannabis possession and cultivation are enforced in very different ways, depending on where you live in the country. Cannabis use in Vancouver and other parts of British Columbia is much higher than in the rest of the country. Yet the official attitude toward it is ambivalent -- simple possession, in an increasing number of cases, no longer results in charges being laid. Police admit that if they were even to begin to try processing simple possession charges there, the volume would be so significant the system would not be able to handle it.Beyond provincial differences, there also are differences in enforcement between rural and urban settings, and even different enforcement between neighbourhoods within a particular city. University students engaging in a youthful indiscretion on campus are much less likely to be confronted by the police -- and much less likely to endure the criminal record that may follow -- than individuals of similar age engaged in similar activities in the less privileged wider urban environment.The opponents of decriminalization are right to ask about the message that decriminalization of cannabis possession will send to the youth of this country. The message is that we are finally starting the process of getting our policing and prosecution priorities straight.Unfortunately, until such time as the government finds the courage to also take the next logical step of decriminalizing small-scale cannabis cultivation, Canadians will not see the full benefits of the decriminalization process.Samuel Porteous, a risk analyst for a major international consulting company, is author of the 1998 Report on the Impact of Organized Crime prepared for the federal Solicitor-General that examined the relative impact of eight organized crime-related activities, including illicit drugs and white-collar and environmental crime.Note: Decriminalizing marijuana will free up resources to fight real crime, says crime analyst Samuel Porteous.Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author: Samuel PorteousPublished: Monday, June 2, 2003 - Page A11 Copyright: 2003 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmTimid Half-Measure Will Failhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16460.shtmlSenate Report on Cannabis: Get Whole Story http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14319.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by ekim on June 02, 2003 at 19:28:06 PT Great wisdom being ignored Imagine what could be accomplished if the considerable policing, prosecutorial and judicial resources currently tied up in cannabis-related charges were directed toward white-collar and environmental crime. What is the value of hundreds of pot possession convictions compared to a single successful investigation and prosecution of a major white-collar crime that has an impact on the value of shares held by pension funds or the capture and containment of a significant environmental criminal? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment