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CANADIAN CANNABIS CHRONOLOGY
by CanWest News Service
07 Mar 2004
Calgary Herald
1908 The new Opium and Narcotic Act creates the framework for
prohibiting illicit drug use in Canada.
1922 Social reformer Emily Murphy's book The Black Candle sounds an alarm
about drug addiction in Canada. One chapter is devoted to "Marahuana: A New
Menace."
1923 The addition of "Cannabis Indica" to the federal schedule of
prohibited drugs makes marijuana illegal in Canada.
1932 Marijuana cigarettes are seized by police for the first
time.
1938 Reflecting "reefer madness" scare, Toronto Daily Star runs story
from U.S. headlined, Marijuana Smokers Seized With Sudden Craze to
Kill.
1961 Canada signs UN Convention on Narcotic Drugs, toughens laws for
possessing, cultivating and importing marijuana.
1966 The number of cannabis-related offences nationally exceeds 100
for the first time.
1973 With thousands of young Canadians being convicted annually for
smoking pot, the federal Le Dain Commission recommends ending criminal
charges for marijuana possession. The report is not
implemented.
1980 A growing consensus in Canada on decriminalizing marijuana
possession is derailed by U.S. declaration of war on drugs under new
president Ronald Reagan.
1984 New Brunswick premier Richard Hatfield is charged -- but later
acquitted -- of possessing marijuana after a small bag of dope is
found in his luggage just before being loaded onto a plane during a
royal visit by Queen Elizabeth.
1992 Marijuana activist Umberto Iorfida is charged with promoting use
of illicit drugs. The case is thrown out of court two years later by a
judge who rules it an infringement of free speech.
1992 Federal Conservative government introduces bill to double
penalties for marijuana possession, but it dies when they are defeated
in 1993 election.
1998 Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati is stripped of his Olympic
gold medal after testing positive in Nagano, Japan, for trace levels
of THC, marijuana's chief intoxicant. The decision is reversed a day
later after Rebagliati claims he inhaled second-hand smoke at a party.
2000 The Ontario Court of Appeal declares the federal law prohibiting
the possession of marijuana unconstitutional and gives Ottawa a year
to amend it. The legislation is deemed a violation of the rights of
sick people using marijuana for medicinal purposes.
2001( July ) Canada becomes the first country in the world to legalize
the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
2002 Special Senate Committee on illegal drugs sparks national debate
by recommending legalization of marijuana.
2003Ontario judge rules Canada's law on possession of small amounts of
marijuana is no longer valid, dismisses charges against Windsor, Ont.,
youth.
2004 Liberal government introduces Bill C-10, which decriminalizes
possession of small amounts of marijuana.
 MAP posted-by: Richard Lake
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