CANADIAN PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE CALLS FOR LEGALIZING MARIJUANA

TORONTO -- A parliamentary committee called for
legalizing marijuana use among adults, increasing pressure on the
government to shift drug laws away from the zero-tolerance policy of
the United States.

The report by the Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs recommended that
Canada adopt a system that regulates marijuana the same way as
alcohol, and expunge criminal records for marijuana possession.

"There is no good reason to subject the consumers of cannabis to the
application of criminal law," said Sen. Pierre Nolin of the
Progressive Conservative party. "In a free society as ours, it's up to
the individual to decide whether to consume cannabis or not."

While not binding, the report will force Prime Minister Jean
Chretien's Liberal Party to explain what provisions it accepts or
rejects and why.

Under current law, marijuana possession is illegal in Canada. Last
year, the government passed regulations allowing eligible medical
patients to grow and possess marijuana, but has yet to create a
distribution network.

Anti-drug groups in the United States say liberalizing Canadian drug
laws would increase access to illegal drugs in the United States.

Nolin, chairman of the Senate committee, said the panel concluded no
evidence existed that marijuana was a "gateway" drug leading to the
use of harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

"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," he said.

Another member, Colin Kenny of the Liberal Party, said the 600-page
report had the committee's unanimous support.

The government would avoid encouraging marijuana use, just as it
refrains from encouraging alcohol consumption, Nolin said.

"No one on the committee wants to see an increase in the use of
cannabis," Kenny said.

Without directly mentioning the United States, Nolin said the
committee's recommendations would be palatable to important allies and
trade partners.

"Our relationships with our friends are solid enough to work out the
implications of what we are doing," he said.

Eight U.S. states have taken some kind of step toward permitting the
medicinal use of marijuana. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year
that there is no exception in federal law for people to use marijuana.