cannabisnews.com: When Will The Haze Clear?





When Will The Haze Clear?
Posted by FoM on November 09, 2001 at 09:50:23 PT
By Stephen Kimber 
Source: Halifax Daily News 
How is it that one baby step on the long and winding road from reefer madness to some semblance of soft-drug sanity has been transformed into a giant leap for all mankind?It has been nearly 80 years since Canada first banned the sale and consumption of marijuana under the 1923 Opium and Drug Act and nearly 30 since a royal commission revisited the issue and recommended reversing that decision. Where are we now? 
Well, consider that most adult Canadians younger than 60 have at least tried marijuana, that most of us inhaled, that many of those who did so enjoyed it enough to do it more than once and that a good number of good Canadians — 1.5 million of us, according to the estimate of the Canadian Medical Association — continue to smoke it now and again without ill effect ... unless, of course, they happen to be among the 25,000 Canadians arrested each year for simple possession of marijuana.Even the right-wing Fraser Institute says Canada’s war on drugs has been a costly, ineffective and abysmal — if you’ll pardon the expression — bust.The Economist, the respected British-based magazine of international business and economics, would agree. It recently went so far as to lay out a compelling case for eventually legalizing all drugs.According to one recent poll conducted by the University of Lethbridge, 47 per cent of Canadians — nearly half of us — now favour the outright legalization of marijuana.So why all the fuss about Canadian Alliance MP Keith Martin’s private members’ bill to “decriminalize” marijuana possession?Instead of ending up — as 600,000 Canadians already have — with a criminal record that could land you in jail for up to five years and bar you from becoming a doctor, lawyer, architect or other professional simply because you got caught with a joint or two, Martin’s proposed law would make smoking up a civil rather than criminal offence with fines of up to $1,000 instead of jail time as the penalty for getting caught.It’s a start, but a ridiculously small and tentative one.The list of those who favour decriminalization is long and diverse. The Canadian Medical Association, which concluded that the health effects of moderate marijuana use are “minimal,” supports decriminalization. As does the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, which argues that busting ordinary people for small quantities ties up scarce police resources that could be put to better use catching real criminals.Many politicians, including Progressive Conservative Leader Joe Clark, have already climbed aboard the decriminalization bandwagon. And both of the Liberal cabinet ministers whose portfolios would be most affected — Justice Minister Anne MacLellan and Health Minister Allan Rock — have mused openly about the need for a public debate on the issue.Given all of that — and the reality that polls show 65 per cent of Canadians favour decriminalization — the wonder really is that Martin’s bill isn’t government legislation. And that it doesn’t go much further in recognizing reality.Ah, well, perhaps when the haze clears ...Note: Is there anybody left who doesn’t want to decriminalize pot? Newshawk: puff_tuffSource: Halifax Daily News (CN NS)Author: Stephen Kimber Published: Friday, November 09, 2001Copyright: 2001 Parker Barss DonhamWebsite: http://www.canada.com/halifax/dailynews/Contact: http://www.canada.com/halifax/info/contactus.htmlRelated Articles & Web Site:FTE's Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmCops Take Pot-Shots at Lax Drug Lawshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11273.shtmlCriminal Possession Law is Reefer Madnesshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11272.shtmlChasing Potheads Called Waste of Timehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11258.shtml 
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Comment #2 posted by johnrambo on November 09, 2001 at 18:29:53 PT
most excellent !
I hope you're right! but i hope it's more like a few weeks.. . . :P heh
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Comment #1 posted by SirReal on November 09, 2001 at 14:51:51 PT:
Sanity runs amuck to the north!!!
I hope the American media never covers these stories until full legalisation occurs....Americans, upon learning that here its a crime and there its a right, will blow a gasket and blow out the old guard in Washington in a single year
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