IT'S TIME TO FULLY LEGALIZE POT, SAYS CANADIAN GOVERNMENT CANADIAN

Report Finds Pot To Be Less Harmful Than Alcohol Or Tobacco

Members of a special Senate committee unanimously urged Parliament to amend
federal law to allow for the regulated use, possession and distribution of
marijuana for recreational and medicinal purposes, in a 600-page report
released yesterday by the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs.

"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," said Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, who
oversaw the Committee's two-year inquiry.

"Whether or not an individual uses marijuana should be a personal choice
that is not subject to criminal penalties. [Therefore,] we have come to the
conclusion that, as a drug, it should be regulated by the state much as we
do for wine and beer, hence our preference for legalization over
decriminalization."

Several previous government-appointed committees, including the US National
Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse (aka The Shafer Commission) and the
Canadian Government Commission of Inquiry Into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs
(aka The Le Dain Commission), have recommended decriminalizing marijuana - a
policy whereby criminal penalties on the use and possession of pot are
eliminated, but distributing the drug remains illegal. However, Canada's
Special Senate Committee is one of the first government-appointed
commissions to recommend legalizing marijuana outright.

"In our opinion, Canadian society is ready for a responsible policy of
cannabis regulation," their report concludes. "[We therefore] recommend that
the Government of Canada amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to
create a criminal exemption scheme, under which the production and sale of
cannabis would be licensed to permit persons over the age of 16 to procure
cannabis and its derivatives at duly licensed distribution centers."

The Committee calls on Parliament to enact a similar exemption on the
production of marijuana for personal use, as well as provide amnesty for any
person convicted of pot possession under current or past legislation.

Over 50 percent of all Canadian drug violations involve marijuana
possession, the Committee found. Among the general population, 30 percent of
Canadians have used marijuana in their lifetime, and approximately 50
percent of high school students admit to having used it within the past
year.

"A look at trends in cannabis use, both among adults and young people,
forces us to admit that current policies are ineffective," the report
concluded.

Regarding the use and regulation of marijuana for medicinal purposes, the
Committee determined that there are "clear therapeutic benefits" of inhaled
cannabis in the treatment of various conditions - including chronic pain and
multiple sclerosis - and recommended Health Canada "provide new rules
regarding eligibility, production and distribution" of medical pot. Although
Canada legalized the use and cultivation of medicinal marijuana to qualified
patients last year, the government has since backtracked on its promise to
establish a regulated, medicinal pot distribution system.

Other findings by the Committee include:

· Marijuana is not a gateway to the use of hard drugs. "Cannabis itself is
not a cause of other drug use. In this sense, we reject the gateway theory."

· Marijuana use does not lead to the commission of crime. "Cannabis itself
is not a cause of delinquency and crime; and cannabis is not a cause of
violence."

· Marijuana users are unlikely to become dependent. "Most users are not
at-risk users and most experimenters stop using cannabis. Heavy use of
cannabis can result in dependence requiring treatment; however, dependence
caused by cannabis is less severe and less frequent than dependence on other
psychotropic substances, including alcohol and tobacco."

· Marijuana use has little impact on driving. "Cannabis alone, particularly
in low doses, has little effect on the skills involved in automobile
driving. Cannabis leads to a more cautious style of driving. [Cannabis does
have] a negative impact on decision time and trajectory [however] this in
itself does not mean that drivers under the influence of cannabis represent
a traffic safety risk."

· Liberalizing marijuana laws is unlikely to lead to increased marijuana
use. "Data from other countries indicate that countries which have put in
place a more liberal approach have not seen their long-term levels of
cannabis use rise.

We have concluded that public policy itself has little effect on cannabis
use trends and that other more complex and poorly understood factors play a
greater role in explaining the variations."

· Marijuana prohibition poses a greater risk to health than marijuana use.
"We believe that the continued prohibition of cannabis jeopardizes the
health and well-being of Canadians much more than does the substance itself
or the regulated marketing of the substance. In addition, we believe that
the continued criminalization of cannabis undermines the fundamental values
set out in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms."

A complete summary of the report, entitled "Cannabis: Our Position For A
Canadian Public Policy," is available online at:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/illegal-drugs.asp .

For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup or Paul Armentano
of NORML at (202) 483-5