Pubdate: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 Source: Medicine Hat News (CN AB) Copyright: 2004 Alberta Newspaper Group, Inc. Contact: http://www.medicinehatnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1833 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion) DON'T WHACK WEED LAWS Let's clear the air concerning all this talk of decriminalizing possession of marijuana. In May 2003, the federal government introduced its cannabis reform bill. The bill aims to decriminalize possession of marijuana and hit people caught with 15 grams or less of the plant with a fine instead of criminal charges. Department of Justice Canada spokesperson Patrick Charette said the proposed bill was designed to free up resources spent combating marijuana possession so law enforcement officials could combat harder drugs. Charette's head must be in the clouds. According to Maclean's magazine's three-part cover story in August on the cannabis scene in Canada, B.C. bud is creating such a buzz in the U.S. it is now displacing brands entering that country from Columbia and Mexico. Quebec and Manitoba marijuana follows closely behind. Feeding that demand are Canada's hydroponic grow operations, which are being run with ruthless efficiency and have been taken over in alarming numbers by organized crime. The side effects are shootings, bombings and other attacks. In the Toronto area, police officials and representatives from the Canadian Criminal Intelligence Service met at the end of May with MPs to brief them about the growing problems such as execution-style slayings occurring in the York and Peel regions because of the marijuana grow houses springing up. (There are an estimated 10,000 grow houses in these areas alone.) And to think, marijuana supporters will tout the weed as a "harmless drug." In September 2002, the Canadian Senate's Special Committee on Illegal Drugs reported marijuana does not lead to crime and is not addictive. The committee said its report was based on scientific evidence. Had the committee picked up a 1998 copy of the Paediatrics Journal, it would have found an article stating: - -- Marijuana is an addictive, mind-altering drug capable of inducing dependency. - -- Marijuana should not be considered an innocuous drug. - -- There is little doubt that marijuana intoxication contributes substantially to accidental deaths and injuries amongst adolescents. A magazine written by doctors. It doesn't get any more scientific than that. So, those 1.5-million Canadians who, according to the Canadian Medical Association, smoke marijuana recreationally, can keep on spending their free time high above the law. But when it comes to talk of Canada decriminalizing marijuana, let's hope it's nothing more than politicians blowing smoke. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin