COURTS

Potsmoking driver said safer than one who talks on phone

A psychiatrist at the trial of a London hemp shop owner says he tried
marijuana once: 'I just felt silly.'

By Michelle Shephard
Free Press Reporter

A driver talking on a cellular phone is more of a menace on the roads than
one who has just smoked a marijuana joint, an expert witness testified at a
London trial Wednesday.

Heinz Lehmann, who said he has been practising psychiatry since 1937, said,
"I would rather get in a cab and have him smoke a marijuana cigarette than
use a cellular phone."

Lehmann was testifying as an expert witness at the trial of London hemp
store proprietor Chris Clay on charges of possessing and trafficking in
cannabis sativa seeds and seedlings.

Lehmann, who has a lengthy resumé of experience in New York, Ontario and
Quebec, is a professor at McGill University in Montreal. He said he is an
advocate of the legalization of cannabis.

FINDINGS DEBATED: He testified two of the major but often debated
findings in his studies were that marijuana is not addictive and does not
inflict mental damage or create a psychiatric illness.

"I've never had an opportunity to treat someone with a marijuana
addiction," Lehmann said, indicating he has treated nearly 20,000 patients
in his lengthy career.

Alcohol, nicotine, tranquillizers, cocaine and opiates (such as morphine or
heroine) were some of the substances he cited as addictive.

Under questioning of defence lawyer Paul Burstein, Lehmann also discussed
study findings that quashed theories of a tolerance developing from
marijuana use and the gateway theory that marijuana use will lead to
other drug experimentation.

Lehmann said there was no evidence showing marijuana promotes criminal or
aggressive behavior or decreases a person's motivation.

"I am convinced (decreased motivation) is not due to excess marijuana use .
. . but excess marijuana use is a consequence of a personality disorder,"
he told the court.

Lehmann laughed when asked whether he has smoked marijuana and admitted to
once trying it in Puerto Rico when it was legal.

"I had to be taught to inhale which was quite an ordeal . . . and then I
just felt silly," he said.

Lehmann also referred to a report where adolescents were studied those
who experimented with marijuana and those who didn't since they were
children.

The study showed the majority of 18yearolds who had smoked marijuana had
better social skills and were better adapted.

Witness Eric Single, a preventive medicine and biostatistics professor at
the University of Toronto, testified about the societal costs of substance
abuse. Referring to a study he worked on concerning
the costs in Canada in 1992 (the report was released in 1995) he said of
the total cost of all substance abuse was $18.45 billion. Illicit drugs
compared to high alcohol and tobacco cost reached a total of $1.37
billion.

Single also said a Health Canada opinion poll stated that 69.1 per cent of
Canadians object to the current cannabis laws of imprisonment upon
conviction.

The trial continues Monday.

________________________________________
Hemp Nation * http://www.hempnation.com/
Chris Clay * chris.clay@hempnation.com
Constitutional challenge is underway!