But Dammit, They're Criminals!

Stephen Harper had his band of far-reichers absolutely hate the weed, the pot, the Mary-Jane because, we're told, it causes such great harm to kids who use it. Their solution is to nab as many of those kids as possible and give them criminal records. That makes sense, doesn't it?

It turns out their premise may be shakey. Reuters reports that a Swiss study "of more than 5,000 youngsters in Switzerland has found those who smoked marijuana do as well or better in some areas as those who don't."

From, believe it or not, the National Post:

"But the same was not true for those who used both tobacco and marijuana, who tended to be heavier users of the drug, said the report from Dr. J.C. Suris and colleagues at the University of Lausanne.

The study did not confirm the hypothesis that those who abstained from marijuana and tobacco functioned better overall, the authors said.

In fact, those who used only marijuana were "more socially driven ... significantly more likely to practice sports and they have a better relationship with their peers" than abstainers, it said."

So what, they're still criminals - just socially driven criminals good at sports who get along with their peers.