2002: THE YEAR IN MARIJUANA

International policies on the use and possession of marijuana
underwent some major reforms in 2002.

Canada and England are leading the way to decriminalization while the
United States remains reluctant to accept medicinal uses of the
currently illegal drug. Although the issue remains hotly contested,
pro-marijuana organizations say they are steadily making ground.

Decriminalization, eh?

On Dec 9, Justice Minister Martin Cauchon announced Canada could do
away with criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of
marijuana for personal use as early as this spring. This statement
came days before the release of a special House of Commons report
recommending Parliament to decriminalize the use and cultivation of
marijuana for personal use.

This announcement is consistent with a previous study by the Canadian
Senate's Special Committee on Illegal Drugs that recommended
Parliament regulate the use and distribution of marijuana for medical
and recreational purposes for people over 16 years old. Under
decriminalization, persons found with small amounts of the drug would
receive an administrative fine, but would not be subject to arrest or
a criminal record.

Keith Stroup, executive director of the National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said Cauchon's statements are "an
acknowledgement that criminal marijuana prohibition is more damaging
to society than the responsible use of marijuana itself."

Stroup said U.S. law enforcement spends $7.5 to $10 billion annually
enforcing marijuana laws. According to the FBI, 720,000 Americans were
arrested on marijuana charges in 2001.

Rethinking the Law

On July 9, England's Home Secretary David Blunkett reaffirmed plans to
reclassify marijuana so its possession is no longer a cause for arrest.

"The current classification of cannabis is disproportionate in
relation to the harm it causes," Blunkett said. "We must concentrate
our efforts on the drugs that cause the most harm, while sending a
credible message to young people. I will therefore ask Parliament to
reclassify cannabis from Class B to Class C."

Under British law, Class C is the least harmful category of illegal
drugs, punishable by a maximum of two years in prison.

Stroup said the policy change is "an honest and common-sense approach
that will refocus Britain's drug policies on those substances that
cause the greatest harm."

Blunkett said he anticipates the new policy to be enacted by July
2003.

No Gateway in Sight

According to a study released Dec. 2 by RAND, a nonprofit institution
dedicated to the improvement of policy and decision-making through
research and analysis, marijuana use by adolescents does not lead to
the use of harder drugs. This dismissed the "gateway theory" and
raised doubts regarding the legitimacy of federal drug policies based
on this premise.

Using data from the U.S. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse,
researchers concluded that teenagers who tried hard drugs were
predisposed to do so whether or not they tried marijuana.

Andrew Morral, associate director of RAND's Public Safety and Justice
unit, said the study raises serious questions about the legitimacy of
basing national drug policy decisions on the false assumption that
marijuana is a gateway drug.

"[The survey] suggests that policies aimed at reducing or eliminating
marijuana availability are unlikely to make any dent in the hard drug
problem," Morral said.

NORML Foundation Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said most people
who try marijuana never graduate to harder drugs.

"Statistically, for every 104 Americans who have tried marijuana,
there is only one regular user of cocaine, and less than one user of
heroin," St. Pierre said. "For the overwhelming majority of marijuana
smokers, pot is clearly a terminus rather than a gateway."

Previous studies criticizing the gateway theory include a 2002
Canadian Senate report and a 1999 report by the U.S. National Academy
of Sciences Institute of Medicine. The latter study concluded that the
"most consistent predictors of serious drug abuse appear to be
intensity of marijuana use and co-occurring psychiatric disorders or a
family history of psychopathology, including alcoholism."

Not Just Blowing Smoke

In May, GW Pharmaceuticals Executive Chairman Geoffrey Guy announced
that nonsmoked, cannabis-based medicines could receive British
regulatory approval in 2003. The London-based company is currently
testing the efficiency of marijuana extracts for analgesia and
symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

In Phase 2 trials, nearly 80 percent of patients sustained "clinically
significant therapeutic benefit" from the cannabis-based sublingual
spray. Benefits include relief from pain, bladder-related symptoms,
tremors and a 50 percent reduction in the use of opiates.

If the British government licenses the drug, other European nations
and Canada are expected to do the same.

A Trip to the Doctor's Office Takes On a New Meaning

On Oct. 29, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled
that the federal government may not sanction doctors who recommend
marijuana therapy to their patients. Possession and use of medicinal
marijuana is legal in eight states if a physician recommends it.

Chief Judge Mary Schroeder said the federal government's threats to
sanction doctors who advised their patients to use medical marijuana
"struck at core First Amendment issues of doctors and patients."

"A doctor's recommendation does not itself constitute illegal conduct
and therefore does not interfere with the federal government's ability
to enforce its laws," Schroeder said.

Judge Alex Kozinski said locally grown medical marijuana "does not
have any direct or obvious effect on interstate commerce; therefore,
federal efforts to prohibit it exceed Congress' power under the
Commerce Clause of the Constitution."

A coalition of California physicians and patients initially challenged
the federal policy in 1997 after officials threatened to sanction any
doctors who complied with California's Prop 215, the Medical Use of
Marijuana Act.