DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA, VANCOUVER MAYOR SAYS

But Philip Owen Tells A Senate Committee That Hard Drugs Need A Different
Approach

Vancouver Mayor Philip Owen added his name Wednesday to the list of those
who believe that marijuana should be decriminalized. But he told a special
Senate committee reviewing Canada's anti-drug laws that hard drugs such as
cocaine and heroin need a different approach. Owen was one of the few
speakers who told the committee he doesn't believe the "war on drugs" has
been lost. The city, its police force, social workers and others strongly
believe in a comprehensive drug policy that revolves around prevention,
treatment, enforcement and harm reduction, he said. But he admitted in an
interview that policy doesn't necessarily apply to soft drugs such as
cannabis, and he told the committee that legalization of such drugs is
likely inevitable. Owen said in the interview that he personally favours
decriminalization of marijuana, but supports the police department's
program of busting marijuana-growing operations, given that laws exist that
must be enforced. "It is not if we will do it [decriminalize marijuana], it
is when will we do it," he said. "I think the public wants to have public
discussions about soft drugs and hard drugs separately. I support that
public discussion." His comments struck a chord with committee member
Senator Pat Carney. "Philip Owen hit the nail on the head when he said
there were two debates that need to happen, one around soft drugs and the
other around hard," she said during a break. The common theme of many of
the speakers -- who included doctors, drug abusers and lawyers -- is that
drug abuse is largely a personal medical and societal problem, rather than
a criminal one. Although the committee is interested in the issues around
hard drugs, it was formed with the intent of reviewing Canada's anti-drug
laws, particularly as they apply to cannabis.

The committee is expected to table its report before the Senate in August
2002. Dr. Mark Tyndall, director of epidemiology at the B.C. Centre for
Excellence in HIV/AIDS, told the senators there was no better example of
the conflicting problems facing abusers than what happens at his agency.
The centre has been following 1,400 injection drug abusers in the Downtown
Eastside since 1996. Most are on some form of social assistance. Almost all
have now tested positive for hepatitis C. Nearly half are HIV-positive.
They face a revolving door in which they overdose, are patched up by
doctors and returned to the same environment where they overdosed in the
first place, he said. He said that while Vancouver is light years ahead of
the United States in recognizing drug addiction as a medical problem rather
than a law-enforcement issue and has invoked a number of harm-reduction
strategies such as the needle-exchange program, the city still isn't close
to solving its problem. "It is ironic that we expend most of our efforts
and nearly all of our resources on combatting crime, reducing public drug
use, restricting prostitution and treating drug-related illnesses as we
allow the underlying causes of this problem to go largely neglected."
Hilary Black, founder of the B.C. Compassion Club Society, which
distributes cannabis for medicinal purposes, said her group fears
government and corporate intervention when the drug is decriminalized. The
club's proposal for a research project with some Vancouver scientists was
turned down because it refused to allow the use of a placebo, she said,
adding that helped reinforce distrust of government involvement. Health
Canada's priority is to fund research that will result in patentable,
marketable products, she said. "These legal products can be used to fortify
the oppression of access to unprocessed cannabis.

Those who need medicinal cannabis must have the option to use manufactured
products or whole plant medicine as they wish, not as determined by a
political agenda," she said. The societal culture against legalization of
drugs isn't limited to cannabis. David Mossop, a lawyer with the Community
Legal Assistance Service, said public opposition has made it impossible so
far to open safe injection houses, even though they would help reduce the
number of overdoses. Dean Wilson, a member of the Vancouver Area Network of
Drug Users, told the committee addicts resent the way governments and
social agencies take an elitist approach to dealing with them. - - - WHAT
THE SENATORS HEARD ABOUT SOFT DRUGS "Prohibition is not protecting
Canadians from the evils of cannabis; prohibition is destroying Canadians'
lives.

The stigma, shame and criminal record can ruin one's ability to succeed in
life, families are torn apart by children being seized, or a parent may be
taken away. So many good people are caged in jail, people we need in our
society.

The laws, not the plant, cause what violence there may be around cannabis."
- - Hilary Black, founder and co-director of the B.C. Compassion Club
Society. "Vancouver has been the site of a horrible natural study in drug
use and more recently, HIV and hepatitis transmission. If we continue to be
stalled in providing even the most modest services and interventions, we
will be known as the city that did nothing when the epidemic occurred." -
Dr. Mark Tyndall, director of epidemiology at the B.C. Centre for
Excellence in HIV/AIDS. "We live in a society where drug use is common.

Legal drugs are everywhere and readily available to help us through the day
if we need them -- to kill the pain, keep us awake, to help us sleep and so
on. As with licit drugs, illicit drugs are also here to stay and are an
issue that we will have to come to grips with and . . . learn to manage in
a way whereby harm to individuals and communities as a result of substance
misuse is reduced. Acknowledging the problem is the first step to problem
solving and I believe that in Vancouver we have done that." - Donald
MacPherson, drug policy coordinator, city of Vancouver. "Our justice system
and prisons are filled with people that would not have had any contact with
the system had we treated the issue as a social problem. We must remember
that drugs do not cause social ills but are a coping mechanism used by some
to deal with those ills." - Dean Wilson, Vancouver Area Network of Drug
Users. "Over the last four years, the city of Vancouver and its citizens
have come to realize that we cannot ignore the illegal drug problem and
associated property crime in our community.

We can neither incarcerate our way out of it nor can we liberalize our way
out of it. We cannot ignore it. We need to manage it through a
comprehensive system of care that leads to safe and healthier communities."
- - Vancouver Mayor Philip Owen. " I am not alone when I go on the record in
support of the removal of criminal penalties for small private possession
of cannabis as a means of reducing the economic costs of law enforcement,
and the social costs of arrest of people who are otherwise not criminally
involved." - Inspector Kash Heed, commanding officer of the vice/drug
section, Vancouver police department. "All that is lacking is the political
will. The federal government should not only license safe injection
facilities forthwith, but they should also fund them as well. Addicts may
have charter rights to treatment and to safe injection sites." - David
Mossop, Community Legal Assistance Service.