CANADA LOOKS OBJECTIVELY AT MARIJUANA

For non-violent offenders with chronic substance abuse problems, drug
treatment is a cost-effective alternative to incarceration.
Unfortunately, drug courts are being misused for political purposes.
Record numbers of citizens arrested for marijuana possession have
been forced into treatment by the criminal justice system. The
resulting distortion of treatment statistics is used by shameless
drug warriors to claim that marijuana is "addictive."

Zero-tolerance drug laws do not distinguish between occasional use
and chronic abuse. The coercion of Americans who prefer marijuana to
martinis into taxpayer-funded treatment centers says a lot about
government priorities, but absolutely nothing about the relative
harms of marijuana. For an objective take on marijuana, look to Canada.

After months of research, the Canadian Senate concluded in 2002 that
marijuana is relatively harmless, marijuana prohibition contributes
to organized crime, and law enforcement efforts have little impact on
patterns of use. In the words of Senator Pierre Claude Nolin,
"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."

The following U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

Administration report verifies my claims regarding government coercion:

http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k2/YouthMJtx/YouthMJtx.htm.

and http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k5/MJreferrals/MJreferrals.htm.

For more information on the Canadian Senate report, go to

http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/ille-e/press-e/04sep02-e.htm.

ROBERT SHARPE

Policy Analyst,

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, DC