Liberals should ignore temptation of automatic pot pardons

Everyone knew that using marijuana came with some risk, writes Michael Ashby.

The debate over pardons for pot offences is another example of politicians and activists making much ado about nothing.

They should ask themselves if a pardon in these cases is the right thing to do. Is it fair? Is it worth the limited time and energy our government has to get things done? In other words, should people who knowingly broke the law receive an automatic pardon, simply because we finally realized weed is no big deal?

If there was no legal channel for removing criminal records, the issue might hold weight.

But a pardon for a pot conviction is not a difficult thing to obtain, even under the more punitive approach introduced by the Conservative government back in 2012.

A person convicted of an offence under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act can get a pardon, now called a record suspension, by submitting the application to the Parole Board of Canada. They do not even need a representative. They can simply download the application forms and follow the steps through to the end. If they meet the criteria — meaning the sentence is complete and they’ve stayed out of trouble for a certain amount of time — they are almost guaranteed to receive a pardon and have the criminal record sealed.

I don’t think that’s terribly unfair.

Of course the activist will howl: “They should never have been charged in the first place!” Politicians will score points: “The prime minister is failing the people!” And the police will go on arresting marijuana users until the law is changed because, in reality, Justin Trudeau has no authority to tell the police which laws to uphold and which ones not to.

So what is the right thing to do here? In my opinion the law is the law, and although I agree that policing marijuana is a big waste of time, no one in a democratic society gets to pick and choose which laws apply to them. If they did, we’d have an actual problem on our hands.

Now consider this. A pardon will cost about $800 in government fees if you apply on your own. If you want someone to represent you it will cost a little bit more, or maybe a lot. Now add up all the money the average smoker spends on his or her habit and decide for yourself if people who knowingly break the law — while spending thousands of dollars on drugs — deserve to have $800 in government fees automatically waived.

Do they deserve it more than, say, a single parent convicted of shoplifting formula?

I agree that we should stop arresting people for possession of marijuana, although it seems unlikely to happen. But automatic pardons are a waste of time the government should quietly ignore.

Besides, I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t aware that smoking a joint came with some risk. We all knew it, and we all did it anyway. If we got caught we were just unlucky, or stupid, or both. But none of us deserved a get out of jail free card back then. And we certainly don’t deserve a free pardon right now.

It’s time to change the law and get on with other issues already.

Although I agree that policing marijuana is a big waste of time, no one in a democratic society gets to pick and choose which laws apply to them.