cannabisnews.com: Doc Says Pot Less Harmful Than Booze and Tobacco





Doc Says Pot Less Harmful Than Booze and Tobacco
Posted by CN Staff on June 07, 2002 at 21:03:35 PT
By The Canadian Press
Source: Canadian Press 
Marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco and should be decriminalized, a federal committee examining the country's drug policies was told Friday. "If we discovered three drugs today and they were alcohol, tobacco and marijuana, there isn't an expert in the country who would recommend that marijuana be the one that is banned based on individual and societal harm," Dr. Patrick Smith of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto told the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs. 
Smith said removing marijuana possession from the Criminal Code and making it an offence punishable by a fine would not have any impact on its use. And decriminalization would allow police to focus drug enforcement efforts on growers and dealers, Smith added. But a counsellor who treats alcoholics and drug addicts called marijuana a harmful drug that must be curtailed. "It's our experience that of the people who are cross-addicted, 95 per cent of them started with cannabis or marijuana," said Randy Cormier. "There's no question that cannabis use destroys families, lives, relationships, results in increases in petty crime, results in poor work performance leading to loss of employment, is as deadly as alcohol if combined with driving and is the gateway to more serious drug use." Windsor police Staff Sgt. Danny Woods said efforts should be stepped up against growing operations, and that decriminalization would not alleviate the problem. "We know that there is violence associated with growing operations as well as other crimes which are often used to fund these growing centres," he said. "We expend a lot of time and manpower and we don't believe the problem will go away by legalizing cannabis." The committee will table its final report in August. Complete Title: Doc Says Pot less Harmful Than Booze and Tobacco; Calls for LegalizationWindsor, Ont.Source: Canadian PressPublished: Friday, June 07, 2002Copyright: 2002 The Canadian PressRelated Articles & Web Site:Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmRCMP Officer Testify Against Decriminalizing Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13044.shtmlRedefining a Crime http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12743.shtmlCanada: The Debate Over Decriminalization http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12697.shtmlShould We Treat Pot Like Tobacco? Senators Ask http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12696.shtml 
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Comment #13 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on June 08, 2002 at 15:47:14 PT
Mother's milk leads to EVERYTHING - G. Carlin
  Don't vote against ALL incumbents. Just MOST of them. Get rid of Bob Barr and Dianne Fienstein and that jerk in Ohio... Souter? There's too many to name. But not all of them deserve your anti-vote. Remember the heroes like Frank Boyle of Wisconsin, and all those who have put forth medical marijuana legislation.  See how your elected official voted:
http://www.mpp.org/USA/supporters.html
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Comment #12 posted by bongathon on June 08, 2002 at 08:07:03 PT:
yeah right
it is my experience that of the people who are cross-addicted to alcohol and prescription pills, 95% of them started with MILK.abolish MILK!
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Comment #11 posted by BGreen on June 08, 2002 at 07:35:23 PT
dailynews.yahoo.com
Find it for yourself.
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Comment #10 posted by BGreen on June 08, 2002 at 07:34:15 PT
Try this link
oops!
Pulled Bowel Drug Back on Market with Limits
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Comment #9 posted by BGreen on June 08, 2002 at 07:30:20 PT
Try this link
It doesn't require you to register first to be able to read it.
Pulled Bowel Drug Back on Market with Limits
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Comment #8 posted by 2Spooky on June 08, 2002 at 07:18:04 PT
Speaking to the issue of safe drugs....
Here's a story showing the hypocrisy of the FDA.They let a drug go back on the market the is PROVEN to have adverse reactions and kill people!!!http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/08/health/08DRUG.html?todaysheadlines
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Comment #7 posted by BGreen on June 08, 2002 at 06:59:51 PT
Did anybody hear Bush say
nuculor instead of nuclear in his speech?The asshole who has his finger on the button can't even pronounce nuclear!
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Comment #6 posted by BGreen on June 08, 2002 at 06:52:52 PT
"But a counselor who treats ..."
Obviously more highly trained than a medical doctor, which is why he speaks for everybody:""It's OUR experience that of the people who are cross-addicted, 95 per cent of them started with cannabis or marijuana," said Randy Cormier."Here's this "professional," who's qualifications are so admirable that they're not even mentioned, spouting this newly created "cross-addiction" BS, lying as if his job was at stake. Maybe he's "cross-addicted" to power and money, plus he has the unmittigated gall to profess to speak for every "counselor."
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Comment #5 posted by letsgetfree on June 08, 2002 at 06:47:56 PT
actually
"There's no question that cannabis use destroys families, lives, relationships, results in increases in petty crime, results in poor work performance leading to loss of employment, is as deadly as alcohol if combined with driving and is the gateway to more serious drug use." I would question every single assertion made here. I am a stand up citizen who happens to smoke pot. I have no wish to try crack or smack so F U beotch
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Comment #4 posted by Lehder on June 08, 2002 at 06:35:02 PT
Any Questions?
"There's no question that cannabis use destroys families, lives, relationships, results in
   increases in petty crime, results in poor work performance leading to loss of
   employment, is as deadly as alcohol if combined with driving and is the gateway to more
   serious drug use." Does anyone imagine that drug-law reform or even a free society will survive in Canada as the United States slips into dictatorship? Only the November elections bar our final descent into full dictatorship, and you had better vote against somebody, against anybody and everybody. At the beginning or middle of October, after the 9/22 German elections but before the American vote, count on the delivery of a sensationalized event or extraordinary government lie that will guarantee the most mindless election in American history. It's been a long time since we've received any answers, and soon the time for questions may soon be over with too.The reorganization plan was unveiled with virtually no advance
          notification to Congress, or even to the cabinet officers whose
          departments and responsibilities would be radically altered. The House
          and Senate Republican leaders were reportedly informed on Wednesday
          evening, 24 hours before Bush gave his nationally televised speech.
          Democratic congressional leaders learned of the plan the same day it was
          presented to the country.          
Bush’s nationally televised speech Thursday evening was true to form: a
          string of platitudes, non sequiturs and lies delivered in a barely literate
          fashion. He spoke for only 11 minutes, with less than half of this time
          devoted to the subject of what he called “the most extensive
          reorganization of the federal government since the 1940s.”
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/jun2002/bush-j08.shtmlThank you, ladies and gentlemen, glove dolls of Congress, gullible Americans. No more questions.Vote with p4me and against all incumbents.
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Comment #3 posted by xxdr_zombiexx on June 08, 2002 at 06:10:59 PT
deja vu?
(doc zombies reads this story through a cloud of freshly exhaled potsmoke.)Have I not heard this somewhere before?
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Comment #2 posted by gloovins on June 08, 2002 at 04:32:48 PT
Canada -- are you for real?
"We expend a lot of time and manpower and we don't believe the problem will go away by legalizing cannabis." Yeah, cause then you'd have to find THE REAL CRIMINALS (i.e. terrorists, pedolphiles, CORRUPT politicians, etc.) Mr policeman! No No We Can't have that!Get a clue -- tax & regulate Canada, c'mon we're counting on you. (Our government is hopeless). 
http://www.lp.org
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Comment #1 posted by p4me on June 08, 2002 at 00:02:01 PT
Who can argue with that?
 Marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco and should be decriminalized, a federal
   committee examining the country's drug policies was told Friday. Like always all the government figures are od but the Center for Disease Control says that tobacco deaths from 1995-1999 and smoking related illness cost the nation $150 billion a year: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/overview/oshaag.htmAlcohol must be some terrible scourge even above tobacco because it was the substance the country sought to prohibit by constitutional amendment. Think of the children the prohibitionist say well how about fetal alcohol syndrome:http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fact/tfashrs.htm Yeah make stuff up on marijuana about birth defects and do not talk about the terrible situation of the child born with all kinds of birth defects. Well anyone that wants can search for the evils of alcohol so why add words to the millions already out there.The American governments drugs of choice need to change and change this election. The best way to do that is send every official running for reelection home where he will have time to call his ganster party officials and tell them of the new tone of the American voter.If we could hang some of them it sure would cut down on all those fat retirement packages Congress gets.1
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