NO TO LEGALIZED MARIJUANA, SAYS SCHOOL BOARD

Bulkley Valley School District No. 54 board passed a motion on Jan. 21 to
officially oppose the federal government's proposed decriminalization of
marijuana legislation.

The justice minister is expected to introduce legislation early in 2003 to
decriminalize the use and possession of small amounts of marijuana for
personal use.

The use and possession would remain illegal, but jail sentences and
criminal records would be replaced with fines.

Most of those convicted of possession of marijuana do not go to jail, but
do receive a criminal record.

Opponents to decriminalization say when illicit drugs are legalized, drug
use increases and this acts as a gateway drug to harder drugs.

Opponents are also concerned that decriminal-ization sends conflicting
messages to young people.

The Special Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs reviewed Canada's current
anti-drug policies and legislation and reported in September 2002. The
committee said that marijuana is not a gateway drug and should be treated
more like tobacco or alcohol than like harder drugs.

Six of the seven trustees were overwhelmingly in favour of the writing a
letter to the solicitor general of Canada and the Prime Minister. Sheryl
Yaremco, trustee for Houston, had the only dissenting vote. She said she
wanted to see the proposed letter before agreeing to this course of action.

She questioned whether getting into debates on decriminalization of
marijuana was the mandate of the board.

She advocated instead for a letter stating the board's concern about the
impact of marijuana on the adolescent brain.

The motion was put forward by trustee Bob Haslett who said it was a
clear-cut matter of opposition to a proposed piece of legislation. "We
could either leave it in the criminal code," he said, or "take it out and
marijuana would be treated the same as cigarettes."

Telkwa trustee Judy McIntosh was strongly in favour of Haslett's motion.

"I don't think marijuana cigarettes and regular cigarettes should be
treated in the same way when found in someone's pocket in the school yard,"
she said.