cannabisnews.com: Fix Marijuana Controls





Fix Marijuana Controls
Posted by CN Staff on April 29, 2003 at 07:32:55 PT
By Sault Star Editorial Staff 
Source: Sault Star
A recent survey of marijuana use in Canada shows current legislation is not doing the job of controlling this psychoactive substance. It also leaves room for hope that with some changes, we may be able to reduce if not eliminate damage. The top concern about pot ought to be health, especially among young people. Besides some studies that point to memory and cognitive impairment, ingestion of marijuana smoke is itself potentially harmful, especially to the lungs. 
So a top priority must remain to educate people about the very real dangers of smoking the drug. Such campaigns must be honest to be effective, and distance themselves from the poor information and disinformation that has characterized so many ludicrous anti-pot drives in the past. While it’s fair to say that marijuana is not among the worst of our worries, we have to keep stressing it’s not good for recreational use and should be avoided. There’s at least anecdotal evidence THC, the active ingredient, helps in treating some medical conditions. To that extent, the medicinal value should continue to be studied with a view to treating marijuana as we do other controlled pharmaceuticals that can be purchased only with a prescription. Senior Health Canada officials have visited the Netherlands to see if we can model our system on the one there, which allows patients to obtain it at pharmacies. We do it with other substances already, including narcotics, and should do the same with pot. Non-medical use still presents problems. While we should continue to caution against it as we do tobacco and booze, we have to change our laws so they can protect us better. This month’s Leger Marketing poll showed more than a third of Canadians aged 18 to 24 have smoked pot in the past year. The proportion declined to 24 per cent for 24-to-34-year-olds, and dropped off as people matured until it was found to be only one per cent of people older than 65. Like so many risky behaviours, marijuana use appears to wane as people grow up. Our laws ought to recognize that and concentrate on protecting youth. Current legislation treats all users as criminals, often throwing them into jail where they can pick up tips from real criminals about perpetrating real crimes. Organized crime has made a killing on illegal pot sales, just as it did during alcohol prohibition days. This source of revenue and grief has to be plugged. The law should change immediately to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, still treating it as a controlled substance subject to confiscation and a fine. Eventually, the state may be able to take over production and distribution among adults. That would generate public revenue to administer the system — which is burning up taxpayers’ money under the current approach — and control contamination of the product. At present, the harm to youth is compounded because they have no idea what might have been mixed with pot by growers or pushers, unwittingly or otherwise. The new law could focus on protecting youth, keeping supplying marijuana to minors a criminal offence with harsh consequences. One of Canada’s greatest hurdles to handling this problem realistically will come from south of the border. If we thought declining to participate in the war on Iraq drew the ire of the U.S., it’s nothing compared to the reaction we can expect from anti-drug czars who stand to lose their budgets and careers if the war on drugs becomes more focused and logical. Source: Sault Star, The (CN ON)Published: Tuesday, April 29, 2003 Copyright: 2003 The Sault StarContact: Ssmstar ssm.southam.caWebsite: http://www.saultstar.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmMadness Prevails in Governments Approachhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16091.shtmlReport Provides Information for a New Drug Policy http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14316.shtmlLegalize Marijuana, Senate Committee Sayshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13989.shtml 
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