MARIJUANA DEBATE TO BE SPARKED AGAIN

The Marijuana Debate Will Light Up Once Again In Canada.

Prime Minister Paul Martin announced on July 23 that his party will
re-introduce legislation for the decriminalization of possession of
small amounts of marijuana.

That means instead of being nailed with a criminal offence for
carrying the currently illicit drug, the possessor would simply be
handed a fine.

While that move is a step in the right direction, what is getting
little play in the media is how medicinal use of marijuana will be
dealt with under Martin's proposal.

The medical benefits of pot are quite controversial. Evidence of its
effects is only anecdotal, but users maintain that the drug is helpful
in the treatment of ailments ranging from chronic back pain to phantom
limb syndrome.

So who are we to tell these people it doesn't?

Currently, a person can apply to Health Canada for a permit to
cultivate and possess marijuana. A government sponsored growing
operation hidden deep below the ground in Flin Flon Manitoba was aimed
at providing a site for research on the drug and to provide it to
medical users. But that turned out to be a fiasco.

Now, Martin would like a second growing operation to be in place.

Some speculate that this move, if it occurs, could pave the way to
eliminate compassion clubs, non-profit agencies that provide marijuana
to people who can prove they need the drug by providing a doctor's
note.

New legislation should legitimize these organizations, and the
government should pursue further study into the medical benefits of
pot. Money spent on a second growing operation, which will likely be
guarded like a prison, would be far better used on research into this
potentially beneficial medicine.

Governments must realize that prohibition rarely works. It didn't work
on alcohol, and it isn't working on marijuana.

Jasper provincial court heard last week that a Hinton man grew his own
pot to avoid associating with the criminal element (see story on page
3). Unless laws are created to regulate this drug, users for medical
and recreational purposes alike will continue to be lumped in with
criminals who commit serious crimes.

Martin seems to at least be making an effort in this respect, but
Canada still has a very long way to go.