cannabisnews.com: Highs and Lows in Pot Debate 





Highs and Lows in Pot Debate 
Posted by FoM on September 22, 2000 at 09:12:38 PT
By Gerald McDuff
Source: Halifax Herald Limited
Act tough on drug trafficking and go easy on marijuana users: That's the course the federal Liberals will likely continue to follow as they claim the political middle ground as theirs. They only seriously began to examine marijuana's potential health benefits in the last few years, but even then people were still being arrested for possession. The government was so uptight that they brushed aside arguments for a broad legalization of its use. Instead, they authorized exclusions for self-treatment with the drug one case at a time and left overall control with police. 
Now marijuana is enjoying a political revival. Possession has become legal since an Ontario Appeals Court judge struck down the federal drug law last July and gave Ottawa a year to rewrite or annul it. Even if the federal government challenges the ruling in the Supreme Court, the Ontario decision may set the trend for the rest of the country. Guilt by association is a problem, too. Marijuana has been cast as the demon weed since the 1930s and linked to out-of-control addicts, the morally suspect and criminal suppliers, such as biker gangs. Obviously, no government wants to be grouped with anyone in that bunch. Add the fact that crime fighting is still popular, even though offences have been dropping steadily. The Canadian Alliance, picking up where the old Reform party left off, has crime busting in its program and is supported by friends in the police lobby. Courts have been lenient in sentencing for the possession of small quantities of pot. Whether they will even hear cases for this offence in the future is far from clear. That may not stop the police from continuing raids of growers, as they did recently in British Columbia. Ontario's provincial police could still be doing their helicopter sweeps of the countryside trying to spot hidden crops. Their model enforcer could be U.S. President Bill Clinton and his war on drugs. Marijuana is on the U.S.'s list of dangerous substances, though there is no evidence the drug is harmful. It's not farfetched to assume the Americans don't mind leaning on their allies and persuading Canada to crack down on marijuana production. In Parliament, the Liberals will have to face down the official Opposition Alliance if they soften their approach towards the use of the drug. The Commons reconvened this week and the government has until the end of the month to contest the Ontario court's judgment. The liberalizing measures the government took even before the court ruling were neither extensive nor overly tolerant. As of Aug. 22, Health Minister Allan Rock had granted 66 exemptions for compassionate purposes, a practice he introduced last year. Health Canada says permissions will continue on an individual basis. Smoking or ingesting the plant can alleviate the symptoms of various diseases, from cancer and AIDS to multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and glaucoma. Intended or not, the federal government set a legal trap for anyone wanting immunity. To be excluded from a criminal charge, sufferers looking for relief must have the gardening skill to grow their own plants. Buying is still illegal. And getting an approval from government is more complicated than simply applying to Health Canada. Even after a supply is found, a doctor has to be certain that marijuana will be a more effective pain or discomfort relief than other medicines or treatments. Only then will a physician support a request for an exemption. One doctor said he has signed off federal exemption applications for several patients. Asked how they got the dope, he rolled his eyes towards the ceiling and raised his shoulders in a classic gesture that meant he didn't know or care about their methods. But chances the sick will go this route are slim if they can get around a drug law that is no longer in force. The federal Public Works Department is expected to award a contract by the end of the year for domestically produced, research-grade marijuana for clinical trials. The product will be distributed by Health Canada to regionally based Canadian Institutes of Health Research that will do tests over five years, financed with grants from a $1.5-million program. While these arrangements are going ahead, there may be comfort for the seriously ill marijuana consumers at some point in the trials: They could be included among "patients unresponsive to usual treatment," according to a department document. Of course, any fine-tuning of marijuana controls could be pointless. Thousands of seeds may already be germinating in sealed basements and makeshift hothouses since the federal law was thrown out. Gerald McDuff is an editor with the Issues Network: http://www.issuesnetwork.com/ Source: Halifax Herald (CN NS)Published: Friday, September 22, 2000 Author: Gerald McDuffContact: letters herald.ns.caCopyright ©2000 The Halifax Herald LimitedWebsite: http://www.herald.ns.ca/ CannabisNews Cannabis Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by bill on September 22, 2000 at 11:13:36 PT:
wrong!!!!!!
  Gerald, it IS farfetched to think " AMERICANS" want to lean on Canada. Our government wants to, but not us. I love my country but despise my government. 
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