Pubdate: Mon, 16 Jul 2007 Source: Truro Daily News (CN NS) Copyright: 2007 The Daily News Contact: http://www.trurodaily.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1159 COMMON WEED, COMMON USE The numbers don't paint a clear picture of marijuana use in this country, but they're enough to make people sit up and take notice at least. The UN's 2007 World Drug Report found 16.8 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 15 and 64 used pot in 2004 aE" the highest rate among developed nations. By comparison, 12.6 per cent of American respondents said they have tried pot. Britain (8.7), France (8.6), Germany (6.9), and especially Japan (0.1) all reported much lower rates than Canada. The stats don't tell us how many of those who admitted using pot use it regularly, occasionally or just rarely. But it does suggest that Canadians are relatively open about acknowledging the substance as relatively common and not the stuff of back alleys. News of the higher-than-average use has people again talking about the relative illegality. Senator Larry Campbell says too much time and effort is being wasted with criminal prosecutions for minor amounts of the drug while organized crime reaps massive profits from the drug's cultivation. Treat it like alcohol with production controlled and sales regulated, the senator said, and "tax the hell out of it." In contrast to an apparently increasing acceptance are numbers speaking of arrests. They went down a couple of years ago when the Liberals introduced a bill to decriminalize small amounts. The Tories, when they came to power, scrapped the proposed legislation and following that arrests for possession again spiked. People might well ask whether said arrests are saving people from themselves or just sapping police energies that could be used better elsewhere.This is somewhat less an age issue than at one time, since about 50 per cent of people who toke are over the age of 30. But, no surprise, it's often the younger people who get caught. Any changes might need to happen in baby steps, but it's long overdue that possessing small amounts not be dealt with as a criminal act. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek