Law enforcement agencies in southeast Saskatchewan were back in the news last week for a couple of drug busts.
First there was the arrest of three people following search warrants in Carlyle and Arcola. Then there was the arrest of a man in Bienfait following an investigation by the Estevan Police Service and the Estevan RCMP.
Each arrest resulted in significant amounts of drugs being seized, and in the case of the arrests in the Carlyle area, firearms were seized as well.
Of course, these arrests yield the usual assortment of comments on social media, ranging from good job for the police, to comments about the character of those involved in the drug trade.
You rarely hear a murmur from those defending the people who were arrested.
The fight against drugs is moving into a new stage right now, as Canada prepares to be just the second country in the world to legalize marijuana. It’s a political and legal landmine of an issue that has yielded lots more unanswered questions for law enforcement officials and Canadians as a whole.
But until July 1, 2018, marijuana will be illegal in this country, unless you have a permit for medicinal marijuana, and recent arrests have shown police won’t be lax on the issue in the next 14 months.
For those trafficking marijuana before next July, and those who sell it without a licence after the legalization date, you can be sure the punishment will be stiff if there is a conviction.
Some have questioned whether the fight against drugs should continue, or if it should be abandoned all together. They believe we might be better off if other narcotics, such as cocaine, methamphetamines and heroin, were legal, and our law enforcement priorities were directed elsewhere.
Fortunately, there doesn`t seem to be much credibility in their arguments, and there isn`t much support from Canadians, either.
Do we really want to see the drug trade legal in Canada? Most sensible Canadians would say no.
Do we really want the government to be able to regulate the sale of drugs and enjoy the revenues from taxation? Again, most Canadians would likely say no.
There is absolutely nothing that’s redeeming about legalizing cocaine or other drugs.
The legalization of marijuana is difficult enough as it is. Are we going to look back on this 30 or 40 years from now, and wish we could have had a mulligan on this issue? Will there be higher health-care costs moving forward because marijuana use will become more prevalent once it is legal?
Decriminalization of marijuana makes sense. The government should take the step of making it punishable by a ticket, rather than with charge. It would free up the court system, allow the police to focus on other pressing issues, and also create a deterrent for marijuana use.
But instead the government decided to go from outlawing marijuana to making it legal.
However, a full-fledged legal drug market would be among the biggest mistakes the government could ever make. It would likely be political suicide for a government to move in that direction.
Marijuana is likely to be the stopping point for legalized drugs in Canada, regardless of what some people would like to see.
