PHYSICIANS CALL FOR DECRIMINALIZATION

The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is among a growing number of
organizations supporting the decriminalization of pot. It notes that
about 400,000 Canadians use cannabis for medical reasons.

The CMA calls the health effects of moderate use "minimal" and
estimates that 1.5 million Canadians smoke marijuana for recreational
purposes. The real harm is the legal and social fallout, it says.
"About half of all drug arrests in Canada are for simple possession of
small amounts of marijuana: about 31,299 convictions in 1995 alone.

"Many lead to jail terms or fines and all result in that indelible
social tattoo: a criminal record."

Marijuana is also far less addictive and far less subject to abuse
than many drugs now used as muscle relaxants, hypnotics, and
analgesics. The chief legitimate concern is the effect of smoking on
the lungs, says the CMA

"Cannabis smoke carries more tars and other particulate matter than
tobacco smoke. But the amount smoked is much less, especially in
medical use, and once marijuana is an openly recognized medicine,
solutions may be found such as vaporization, tinctures, extracts and
oils."

In 1985, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of
synthetic THC for treatment of nausea among cancer chemotherapy patients.

In 1960, an average marijuana cigarette contained 0.2 per cent
THC.

Today, the level of THC in an average joint is between five and 14 per
cent.