The return of the 'prince of pot' - Marc Emery to Canada has once again raised the important issue of the criminalization marijuana (legalization please).

Yesterday - while stuck at home still recovering from a tonsillectomy - I came across a Sun News TV spot where Justin Ling and Marissa Semkiw discussed the pot issue.

Maybe it was the pain killers - but Semkiw's comments on the criminalization of marijuana were simply shocking and irresponsible (here is a link to the video). Toward the end of the video Semkiw says:

"We are talking convictions here [...] Lets be clear Justin [...] Marijuana is defacto decriminalized - ok - you get nothing more than a slap on the wrist"

What?!?

Lets be clear Semkiw - it is a currently a crime to possess any amount - even a gram - of marijuana. It is an offence to grow pot. It is an offence to sell pot

You are a drug trafficker - according to our laws - when you pass a joint to a friend.

No Marissa - Marijuana is not defacto decriminalized and to call criminal sanctions as a 'slap on the wrist' represents a gross misunderstanding of the consequences of simply being charged (leaving aside the possibility of being convicted) of a drug offence.

Last year approximately 50,000 people were arrested for possessing marijuana. Ultimately 25,786 charges for simple possession of pot were laid by Canadian police forces. The numbers fluctuate from year to year but since 2003 there has been a 60% increase in the number of possession charges laid by police.

Additionally, the rate of laying a charge following an arrest remains virtually unchanged - there has been no real increase in the use of police discretion divert marijuana charges.