Pubdate: Fri, 23 Nov 2012
Source: Metro (Ottawa, CN ON)
Copyright: 2012 Metro
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/Ottawa
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4032
Author: Rosanna Haroutounian

CANNABIS LAWS FLAWED, BASED ON PREJUDICE: LAWYER

Ottawa lawyer Eugene Oscapella will be giving a presentation at this 
Sunday's cannabis convention about why he thinks there should be 
changes made to Canada's cannabis policy.

"The policies and laws we've had to deal with cannabis in the past 
hundred years have been seriously flawed and have caused tremendous 
harm to users, their families, their communities, and society in 
general," said Oscapella.

Oscapella said the prohibition of cannabis has created a black market 
that is a major source of income for organized crime in Canada. He 
also said pot laws have imposed unwarranted criminal records on 
Canadians, who have difficulty working and travelling as a result.

"We have demonized some drugs and lionized others," said Oscapella. 
"We are much less critical of alcohol despite the damage it causes."

Oscapella said the prohibition of cannabis in 1923 was not based on 
scientific evidence, but on inaccurate information, prejudice, and 
racial stereotypes.

"If there is a problem with cannabis, we can deal with it quite 
adequately through the health and social systems. We don't need to 
deal with the criminal justice system," said Oscapella. "If you do 
harm to somebody under the influence, that's another issue."

Oscapella said the government is ignoring evidence from a 2011 report 
by the Global Commission on Drug Policy that says the current system 
of using criminal law to deal with drugs in society is flawed. The 
commission sent an open letter to the Canadian government in 
February, asking it to reconsider mandatroy jail sentences for minor 
cannabis-related offences under Bill C-10.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom