cannabisnews.com: Senators Want Pot Legalized





Senators Want Pot Legalized
Posted by CN Staff on September 04, 2002 at 23:12:56 PT
By Kim Lunman
Source: Globe and Mail 
Ottawa — A Senate committee recommends legalizing marijuana and putting its distribution in the hands of the state, a controversial position that has touched off a national debate on the drug's use and sparked criticism from the United States.The 600-page report issued Wednesday concluded that marijuana is not harmful and should be readily available to cannabis consumers.
"Scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicates that cannabis is substantially less harmful than alcohol and should be treated not as a criminal issue but as a social and public-health issue," said the committee's chair, Progressive Conservative Senator Pierre Claude Nolin. "It is certainly less grave than alcohol and tobacco as far is health is concerned."The committee is calling on Ottawa to make marijuana legal for those aged 16 and older under a system that would make the drug as easy to buy as cigarettes and alcohol. It is also calling for an amnesty for anyone ever convicted of marijuana possession. Marijuana has been prohibited in Canada since 1923.But opponents of legalization were quick to contradict the report's findings and the Canadian Police Association denounced it as "a back-to-school gift for drug pushers."John Walters, director of the U.S. National Drug Control Policy and President George W. Bush's drug czar, issued a statement from the White House disputing the report's findings that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol."We know that marijuana is a harmful drug, particularly for young people," he said. "We also know that if you make it more available, you'll get more marijuana use. More use leads to more addiction and more problems. That's why we're focusing on informing people about the harms of marijuana."While both Canada and Britain have recently signalled a desire to relax policies on marijuana, the U.S. Republican administration has shown no signs of backing away from its hard-line war against drugs. Earlier this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a ruling that marijuana is a dangerous drug with a high potential for abuse.The Senate committee has issued its controversial findings after two years of studying drug policy and interviewing 234 witnesses across Canada and around the world.The report's recommendations include:• Providing amnesty for any person convicted of possession of cannabis under current or past legislation. Approximately 600,000 Canadians have been convicted of the offence. About 25,000 people are charged annually.• Revising medicinal-marijuana provisions to provide greater access to those in need.• Amending the Criminal Code to lower permitted alcohol levels to 40 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in the presence of other drugs, including cannabis.• Introducing legislation to stipulate conditions for obtaining licences for producing and selling cannabis.Mr. Nolin said the Senate committee is urging the federal government to act on its recommendations as soon as possible."In many ways, prohibition is a cop-out. I would like to say to the government, 'The ball is now in your court.'The committee's deputy chair, Liberal Senator Colin Kenny, said making pot legal will actually result in the decreased use of marijuana. "No one wants to see an increase in use of cannabis," he said. "The attractiveness of the substance is it's illegal."The senators estimate it costs Canada up to $1.5-billion annually to prosecute drug charges. Almost a third of those cases involve marijuana charges.Not surprisingly, marijuana proponents embraced the report. "It's well-researched," said Marc-Boris St-Maurice, head of Canada's Marijuana Party. "The recommendations are excellent. But now it's a question of pressuring government into turning it into legislative reality."But David Griffin, executive officer for the Canadian Police Association, which represents 28,000 members, criticized the report."There are too many politicians playing scientist," he said. "Today's report ignores countless studies about the harmful effects of marijuana."Justice Minister Martin Cauchon has said he is considering decriminalizing marijuana possession by removing it from the Criminal Code and making it an offence punishable with a fine instead of a criminal record.Before making a decision, he will review the Senate report as well as that of a House of Commons committee studying the non-medical use of drugs. That report is due in November.Randy White, vice-chair of the House of Commons committee, denounced the Senate report's recommendation to allow 16-year-olds to legally smoke pot. "You can't even buy cigarettes or alcohol in Canada until you are 18, but it would be okay to light up a joint?"Federal Health Minister Anne McLellan said she would have to review the report before making any decisions."Clearly, I will take seriously those recommendations that deal directly with my department," she said. Mr. Nolin said it's time to steer away from "a regime where we stick our heads in the sand, like ostriches. We are aware that several hundred thousand Canadians are using cannabis. The hypocrisy of the current system is not the way to go." From Thursday's Globe and Mail Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author: Kim LunmanPublished: Wednesday, September 4, 2002Copyright: 2002 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.ca/Related Articles:Legalize Marijuana, Senate Committee Sayshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13989.shtmlPot Should Be Sold to High Schoolers: Senate http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13988.shtmlThe Special Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13987.shtmlPot Less Harmful Than Alcohol: Senate Report http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13986.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by kaptinemo on September 05, 2002 at 06:55:44 PT:
Rumbles from the North
And heard very clearly, indeed, in Washington DC...which is why I view some of the shenanigans with the DEA engaging in knowingly and arrogantly conducting illegal entrapment operations in Canada with some sense of forboding. It seems every time we get close, something very bad happens. Many of us here remember what happened on September the 10th of last year, when Governor Johnson soundly trounced Asa Hutchinson in a historical first debate between our two forces at such a level of government. But because of the terrible events of the following day, only we and the DEA remember that occasion. Now we have another historic event, truly a surprise when nearly everyone, Canuck and Amie, expected the Canadian Senators to wimp out and make mealy-mouth noises about 'decrim'. They stood up as people possessing a pair do, and said the word: 'legalization'. The very word that antis are Pavlovian conditioned to foam and fulminate to their utmost upon hearing...and true to their strict programming, we witnessed that, too.The summer has been 'hot', this year...and we have a few weeks left of it. I wonder what comes next...
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Comment #4 posted by Ethan Russo MD on September 05, 2002 at 05:53:16 PT:
Excellent CBC Video Report Online
http://www.cbc.ca/clips/mov/hunter_pot020904.movThis summarizes the suggestions and initial reactions. I'd like to see it on network news on this side of the border.
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Comment #3 posted by Dark Star on September 05, 2002 at 05:38:43 PT
Institutionalized Lying
"We know that marijuana is a harmful drug, particularly for young people," he said. "We also know that if you make it more available, you'll get more marijuana use. More use leads to more addiction and more problems. That's why we're focusing on informing people about the harms of marijuana."It is too bad that lies and slander on this level of government are not federal crimes or labelled crimes against humanity. It is also too bad that the World Court cannot indict such criminals of the international War on Drugs.
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Comment #2 posted by goneposthole on September 05, 2002 at 04:55:48 PT
It's the cops
Cannabis is a substance that helps the human condition.It always has and always will. Free Cannabis
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Comment #1 posted by jvthc on September 04, 2002 at 23:38:01 PT:
Well....
It's obvious that John Walters didn't read one page of the summary, let alone the report, before he made his replies.I assume, too, he has no intention of reading it. Obviously, too, he hasn't read any of "our" reports on the subject, either.His mind was already made up before any of the studies began. Griffin's charge that "Politicians" are "playing scientist" is a real mis-spoken reply; the studied referred to scientific studies for their research. The politicians didn't play scientist, they performed the roll of researcher on behalf of their government duty, learning FROM the scientists what the truth about drugs are.Then, too, the report predicts these reactions. 
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