BEST BUDS

As far back as 1973, the LeDain Commission, a federal government commission
looking into the non-medical use of drugs, called for an end to pot
possession and cultivation charges. 30 years later, the government might
just act.

Recent statements by Justice Minister Martin Cauchon and the Prime
Minister's Office suggest the government may finally introduce legislation
to decriminalize marijuana, a move some have been advocating for years.

"If we're talking about decriminalizing marijuana, we may move ahead
quickly as a government," Cauchon said on December 9, in response to a
Commons committee report released in early December, which called on the
government to loosen current laws and possibly allow Canadians to grow the
plant for personal use. Although he would not give a specific time frame,
he did state, "Give me the four first months of next year." And earlier
this month, the PMO spokesmen said, "The PM is strong on this. The
government is determined to address this issue."

Yet until now, the government has done very little. So why the sudden rush
by Jean Chretien's government? As with same-sex benefits, action on such
controversial issues seems to be taken only when it's forced upon them by
the courts. In four recent court cases, judges have thrown out possession
charges. In one recent ruling, Ontario Court Justice John Moore threw out
marijuana possession charges against Martin Barnes, a Toronto man arrested
by police with the equivalent of one joint in his pocket. "Mr. Barnes was
charged with an offense not known to law," Justice Moore stated. This is
because in July 2000, the Ontario Court of Appeal struck down a federal law
prohibiting the possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana. Parliament
failed to take further action effectively leaving no law in place.

The Canadian Medical Association estimates that 1.5 million Canadians smoke
marijuana recreationally. It has also stated that moderate use of marijuana
has minimal health effects. Some evidence suggests that upwards of 100,000
use it daily. Police estimate about 800 tonnes of cannabis is circulated in
the country each year. The government spends about $1.5 billion a year in
drug enforcement that has done little, if anything, to curb the drug trade.
The Canadian Association of Police has stated that prosecuting people for
small amounts ties up scarce resources. And recent polls show 65 per cent
of Canadians favour decriminalization. Some European countries and
Australia have already decriminalized marijuana. In the Netherlands,
possession results in a ticket but no criminal report. MPs from the
Progressive Conservatives, the Bloc, Canadian Alliance and the NDP have
gone on record at various times advocating the decriminalization of
marijuana. Some, like Windsor-St. Clair NDP MP Joe Comartin, have gone so
far to state marijuana should be regulated much like alcohol is.

Comartin's proposal has already been backed by a Senate committee report
released in September 2002 that called for a regulatory system for the sale
and production of marijuana and hashish. The report contained other
recommendations Cauchon should seriously study such as looser rules for the
use of medical marijuana, a national adviser on psychoactive substances, a
conference of the provinces, municipalities and others to set the ground
rules for legal marijuana and funding for research on drugs and prevention
and treatment programs (which could be financed by taxes on the sale of
legal marijuana).

"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," Progressive
Conservative Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, the committee chair, stated at
the time.

Although the government may finally act, the devil could be, as they say,
in the details. Some Liberal backbenchers have already stated their
opposition to decriminalizing marijuana fearing it will lead to widespread
use or more dangerous drug use. Whether these relics from a bygone age
would vote against their own government on the issue remains to be seen.
What we have seen already though is cause for concern.

The Commons committee report, for instance, didn't go far enough. Passing a
joint to a friend could still be considered a crime under its
recommendations, an oversight committee member Vancouver East NDP MP Libby
Davies found wanting. Davies and others also criticize the intrusive powers
police would still have.

Dorothy Schaff is one of those Canadians who smokes pot occasionally for
its pain relief effects. Schaff finds the laws surrounding possession
somewhat ironic.

"I'm on 250 mg of morphine and they're worried about me smoking a doobie?"
she questions. She also mentions diet programs on the market that have led
to some deaths and illnesses. Yet, we don't see the sellers of these
programs being prosecuted, she added. Undoubtedly, the Canadian government
will receive pressure from the United States because of the millions it
spends each year trying to control the importing of illegal drugs.

"We know the government is going to get a lot of pressure from the
Americans because of the millions they spend on their drug war," Schaff
acknowledges. But she and others are saying it's time that Canada stood up
to the American government.

"It's time for Jean Chretien to (sic) playing games and act," Comartin
stated recently.