MARIJUANA IS PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE: SANSFACON

Former federal researcher steers clear of decriminalization question
in McGill talk

Forget decriminalizing marijuana; we need new public policy, says an
expert on crime and former federal researcher.

Daniel Sansfacon, who was the director of research for the Senate
Special Committee on Illegal Drugs, spoke Tuesday at McGill on the
need for a new cannabis policy in Canada.

Sansfacon addressed the common misconception that public policy and
criminal law are one and the same. He explained that many options are
available to the government for addressing the problems associated
with marijuana use - beyond simple changes to the criminal code.

"It would seem like criminal law is the public policy tool," said
Sansfacon, but noted that other tools do exist, including health care
and education. "Tinkering with the criminal law is useless. Criminal
law turns [those who use cannabis] into victims - it tries to protect
them from themselves."

In September 2002, the Senate committee published a report that
identified cannabis as a social and public health issue, rather than a
criminal issue. The committee recommended a public health approach and
advanced opinions they had heard from wide variety of sources. The
committee did not address the issue of decriminalization, nor did
Sansfacon identify it as a key piece of the puzzle during his lecture.

Sansfacon explained that there are currently no tools for "ethical
communication" between treatment centres, different levels of
government, and Canadian citizens. He also addressed the problem of a
lack of data on cannabis use.

"There is a lack of sociological evidence because of prohibition. We
have no clue what the patterns of use are in Canada. How are we
supposed to monitor the effects [of cannabis]?"

According to Sansfacon, one aim of the new public policy proposed by
the Senate committee would be to target individual types of users such
as experimenters, regular users, chronic users, and excessive users -
rather than treat all cannabis users as one type.

At one point during the lecture, an audience member interrupted
Sansfacon and accused him of patronizing the audience with his
"repetitive rhetoric." The audience member asked him to address the
popular topic of decriminalization of marijuana. Sansfacon explained
that he was not there to discuss the legal issue of decriminalization,
nor the role of the courts. Senator Pierre Claude Nolin will address
these topics during the second part of the lecture series on November
18.

Currently, cannabis is an illegal substance in Canada. Possession,
distribution, and trafficking of the drug are criminal offenses. If
decriminalized, possession of small quantities of marijuana would
still be illegal but not criminal, and the penalty would likely be a
simple fine. Possession of large quantities and intent to distribute
the drug would still be criminal.