Pubdate: Fri, 06 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: Peter McLaughlin TORIES WON'T ENTER POT DEBATE The Tories may be smoking in the most recent opinion poll, but Premier John Hamm and Justice Minister Michael Baker were staying upwind of Wednesday's Senate committee recommendation to legalize pot. The pair refused to be pinned down by reporters yesterday on where they and the government stood on the contentious issue. Baker said the matter falls entirely into federal jurisdiction. "My personal opinion isn't relevant," he said following a cabinet meeting. "This is not an issue where my personal view of whether marijuana should or should not be legalized is the issue. The issue is what Nova Scotians want and what Canadians want." Baker said penalties imposed by the courts for marijuana possession are generally minimal. "What we're really talking about here is not a situation where the penalties are significant; it's the criminal-record issue," he said. The Senate committee recommended that pot smoking be legal for anyone older than 16, arguing the current system of prohibition simply doesn't work and should be replaced by a regulated system. Scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicates cannabis is substantially less harmful than alcohol and should be treated not as a criminal issue, but as a social and public-health issue. Hamm declined comment on the Senate report, but said cannabis should only be legal as a medication. "The issue of marijuana is one I'm only interested in in terms of the medical use of marijuana," he said. "I mean, we have a number of drugs that are used, for example, for the control of pain that find their way onto the streets. We cannot use that as a reason not to use a genuine therapeutic agent that this well may be." Hamm said he's against the use of recreational drugs. - --- MAP posted-by: Alex