cannabisnews.com: A Drug Test To Watch A Drug Test To Watch Posted by FoM on July 29, 2001 at 07:14:44 PT A Times Editorial Source: St. Petersburg Times The United States has exported its drug-war mentality to other nations through heavy-handed persuasion and intimidation, and every year we scrutinize our handiwork. An annual report issued by the State Department comments on the drug enforcement efforts of other countries. In it, nations that don't follow the U.S. model of zero tolerance and are experimenting with alternatives to a punitive approach to the drug problem are lectured in a patronizing, we-know-better-than-you tone. The United States has exported its drug-war mentality to other nations through heavy-handed persuasion and intimidation, and every year we scrutinize our handiwork. An annual report issued by the State Department comments on the drug enforcement efforts of other countries. In it, nations that don't follow the U.S. model of zero tolerance and are experimenting with alternatives to a punitive approach to the drug problem are lectured in a patronizing, we-know-better-than-you tone. For example, last year Switzerland was condemned for supplying heroin to addicts in a program to provide for their health while they battle addiction. The report said: "The U.S. will continue to express concern that Switzerland's heroin treatment program is not in the long-term interest of Swiss society." It may or may not be. But at least the Swiss are willing to experiment with alternatives to its present system. Now it looks like Canada could be moving toward a review of its anti-drug policies, and U.S. officials are not happy about it. The Canadian government is working on regulations to license marijuana growers who cultivate small quantities of the drug for medicinal purposes. The country's health officials say the new regulations should be in place by next month. Acceptance of medical marijuana has made substantial inroads in Canada in recent years. Currently more than 250 people have government permission to use it for relief from such symptoms as the nausea caused by chemotherapy and the wasting that accompanies AIDS. But it is estimated that as many as 400,000 people in Canada use marijuana for medical reasons. Once growers are allowed to supply the drug, it is expected that many more medical users will apply for government permission. Unlike our U.S. Supreme Court, which recently ruled 8-0 that federal controls on marijuana trump efforts by the states to allow its legal distribution for medical purposes, an Ontario court of appeals ruled last year that Canada's government must modify its marijuana laws to make the drug accessible for users with chronic or terminal illnesses. But one side effect of this acknowledgement that marijuana may offer some limited medical benefits is a growing chorus of voices calling for its decriminalization. A committee has been formed in Canada's House of Commons to examine the possibility of moving in that direction, with proponents of decriminalization coming from some surprising quarters, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and a Parliament member from the neo-conservative Canadian Alliance. By modifying the punishment for being caught with marijuana from a criminal sentence to a civil fine, police say they would be freeing up law enforcement resources to deal with more significant crimes. There are an estimated 1.5-million recreational marijuana users in Canada, out of a population of 30-million, and in 1999 marijuana possession arrests topped 39,500. Not surprising, the chorus of naysaying is coming from its neighbor to the South. According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. government officials are decrying decriminalization in Canada, calling it a "disaster" for our countries' relations, and saying they fear a flood of marijuana coming across the border. But if Canada does flirt with decriminalization, it could be an experiment worth watching. In the United States, 704,000 people were arrested in 1999 for a marijuana offense, 88 percent of those for possession only. According to NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, we spend $1.2-billion annually incarcerating these men and women and another $6- to 9-billion finding and arresting them. There must be a better way to control a drug used by 18-million Americans annually. Maybe Canada will find it. Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL)Published: July 29, 2001Copyright: 2001 St. Petersburg TimesContact: letters sptimes.comWebsite: http://www.sptimes.com/Related Article & Web Site:Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmCanadians To Get Licenses To Smoke Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10229.shtmlCannabisNews Articles - Canadahttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=canada END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by mayan on July 29, 2001 at 13:13:39 PT BEWARE The U.S. Government is losing it's grip on the global front,but you can bet they'll try to tighten it on it's own citizens.Our government is in a serious case of denial. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by lookinside on July 29, 2001 at 12:13:32 PT: remember... the heavy handed tactics of the u.s. guvmint during the vietnam buildup of the late sixties and early seventies? thecampus riots that punctuated that period?...the ostracizingof the soldiers that came home?(unjustly, but thepoliticians and generals didn't spend alot of time oncollege campuses in those days...the foot soldiers goingback to college were easy targets)if other countries continue to ignore the U.S. guvmintsveiled threats, we might find ourselves invading canada,holland, and other more enlightened countries...more likely,we will become ostracized from the rest of theworld...sanity is breaking out beyond our borders...someone quoted something like:"nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come."drug legalization is such an idea... [ Post Comment ] Post Comment