USING POT NO CRIME, SAY 57% OF CANUCKS

A pair of national surveys prove Canadians would support the
decriminalization of pot, according to an advocacy group. The National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORMAL) said a new SES
poll shows that 57% of those polled think that adults who are caught
with small quantities of marijuana should be left alone and not face
criminal charges.

It also shows 28% think clamping down on dope smokers is a bad use of
law enforcement resources.

The poll of 1,000 Canadians is considered accurate plus or minus 3.1%,
19 times out of 20.

"Our poll shows that the majority of Canadians agree with us.
Marijuana should be taxed and regulated like beer and wine," said
NORMAL spokesman Jody Pressman.

"Government control over the sale and distribution over marijuana
would generate billions of dollars in revenue for social programs and
eliminate the criminal involvement in the marijuana trade."

The federal government wants to eliminate criminal charges for
possession of 15 grams or less of pot as part of its proposed new
legislation, Bill C-17.

Pressman called on the feds to ditch the proposed new law
altogether.

NDP House Leader Libby Davies said the poll shows a majority of
Canadians believe that current laws are out of step.

"Canadians don't want to see the criminalization of marijuana users in
this country. Public opinion is ahead of where many politicians are
and I think we should be listening to the Canadian public," she said.

The SES poll reflects a similar trend found by the Canadian Addiction
Survey released this week that showed drug use among Canadians between
the ages of 15 and 24 has doubled in the last 10 years.

That survey showed that 14% of Canadians said they smoked pot some
time over the past year, compared to 7.4% in 1994. Overall, 45.5% of
Canadians said they had smoked pot some time in their lives - almost
double the number of people who answered that question a decade ago.