Pubdate: Thu, 05 Sep 2002
Source: Daily News, The (CN NS)
Copyright: 2002 The Daily News
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/halifax/dailynews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/179
Author: Canadian Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

SENATORS: LEGALIZE WEED

Committee Report Recommends Legalizing Marijuana

Pot smoking should be legal for any resident older than 16, a Senate 
committee said yesterday in a sweeping recommendation that goes beyond 
decriminalization or even the kind of tolerance in such cannabis-friendly 
jurisdictions as the Netherlands.

The report was hailed by marijuana activists, but fiercely condemned by the 
Canadian Police Association, which called it "a back-to-school gift for 
drug pushers."

Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, chairman of the special committee that drafted 
the report, acknowledged the issue remains in the hands of the federal 
government and said nothing is likely to happen quickly.

A House of Commons committee is expected to issue a report on illicit drugs 
in November. Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said the government will study 
those findings and won't unveil its position before early next year.

Cauchon wouldn't say whether he feels the time has come for legalization, 
but he did suggest current marijuana laws are outdated.

"We must be able to evolve at the pace of society," he said in Quebec City. 
"It strikes me as unlikely that someone could have a criminal record after 
being arrested for simple possession.

"When we have legislation that's not really being enforced because it's no 
longer consistent with social realities, it's important for a government to 
look at and reshape such legislation."

While all political parties support decriminalization, legalization is a 
big step beyond that. The former would make it legal to possess small 
amounts of cannabis for personal use; the latter could see it sold at 
government outlets, even corner stores.

'Less harmful than alcohol'

The report said the current system of prohibition simply doesn't work and 
should be replaced by a regulated system, perhaps like that used for 
alcohol, with cannabis available to anyone 16 or older.

"Scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicates that cannabis is 
substantially less harmful than alcohol and should be treated not as a 
criminal issue, but as a social and public-health issue," Nolin said.

The senators called for an amnesty for the 300,000 to 600,000 Canadians who 
have a criminal record for simple possession of cannabis.

They also recommended improvements to ease access to medicinal marijuana 
for people undergoing cancer chemotherapy or those suffering from glaucoma 
or chronic pain.

Health Minister Anne McLellan said it's "too soon to say" if there will be 
changes to the regulations on medical pot, adding there's a need for 
careful trials.

David Griffin, executive director of the Canadian Police Association, said 
he was appalled by the report.

"Drugs are not dangerous because they're illegal; drugs are illegal because 
they are dangerous," he said. "There is no such thing as safe use of 
illicit drugs, including marijuana."

The association said drugs, crime and violence go hand-in-hand, but Nolin 
said marijuana use doesn't lead to violence, and legalizing it will 
eliminate the organized drug traffickers who may use violence.

Nolin said scientific studies found that cannabis is not addictive and has 
few, if any, long-term effects. The report also concluded that the 
long-held view that cannabis use leads to abuse of such harder drugs as 
cocaine and heroin is wrong.

Nolin said liberalization policies in other countries have produced 
short-term rises in the number of users, but that the effect levelled off 
and eventually dropped.

He said the senators recommended legalization over decriminalization 
because the latter would leave the production and sale of cannabis in the 
hands of organized crime.

Nolin said the idea is not to encourage marijuana use, but to regulate it, 
saving hundreds of millions in annual drug-enforcement costs.

Marc Boris Saint-Maurice, leader of the Marijuana Party, welcomed the 
report, joking that Nolin should become senator for his party. But 
Saint-Maurice didn't see the report as a breakthrough.

"The big challenge, now, is to see those recommendations translated in the 
reality," he said.

Marijuana Banned In 1923

"The government is responsible for that part, and we all know that the 
government don't like to address sensitive issues."

MP Keith Martin of the Canadian Alliance, a medical doctor, called the 
report an important step in reforming drug laws, but said it should have 
gone for decriminalization, not legalization.

"Decriminalization will decrease pot use, unlike full legalization, which 
will only serve to make Canada an even greater haven for organized crime," 
Martin said.

The Senate report said marijuana was banned in 1923 amid "a moral panic, 
racist sentiment and a notorious absence of debate."

The report comes three months before the Supreme Court of Canada is to hear 
a constitutional challenge to the legality of the marijuana laws and 
follows a two-year committee study of public policy related to marijuana.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager