GOVT. PLANS ABOUT MARIJUANA

The Canadian Senate, who held a special committee on illegal drugs, has
recently released a new report on the legalization of marijuana.

The controversial report has recommended that marijuana and hashish be
legalized and regulated by the Government of Canada within a five year period.

Across the country, opinions are mixed on the new recommendations from this
un-elected form of government.

The report was well over 600 pages long and states that, Marijuana is not a
health risk. The Senate held more than 40 days of public hearings and heard
from over 100 witnesses, including doctors, lawyers and advocates. Other
countries with more liberal stances on the drug were also studied for the
effects of decriminalized marijuana laws.

According to the committee, the current drug policies in Canada are
ineffective. The annual cost of drug enforcement is estimated between 700
million and one billion dollars.

The committee felt that the proposed amendments to legislation would
produce substantial savings in court resources and free-up police to work
on other priorities.

Even though there have been billions of dollars poured into enforcement of
cannabis laws in the last 30 years, there are more regular users and
cannabis is cultivated on a larger scale than ever before.

Studies in the report have shown that close to half of all Canadians have
experimented with marijuana at least once in their lifetime. According to
those against the report, legalized marijuana will not have any social
benefits and there will be more regular users.

The Senate reiterates by saying that there is no medical proof of physical
dependency and the psychological dependency is lower than that of alcohol
or tobacco.

Concerns have been raised regarding the use of marijuana and driving. There
are currently no roadside tests for those under the influence, even though
the Senate recognizes the fact that users are impaired after cannabis
consumption.

The committee did however recommend that legal levels of alcohol for
driving be lowered to 40 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood for those
under the influence of drugs and that police officers be trained in
detecting those particular persons.

On top of legalization, the Senate also recommended that the Government of
Canada declare an amnesty for any persons convicted of possession of
cannabis under current or past legislation.

This would see between 300,000 and 600,000 Canadians lose many of the
limitations that a criminal conviction brings about, such as cross border
travel and employment constraints. The Senate has also stated that the
general public, if eligible, should be able to cultivate marijuana. Those
who have never been convicted of any criminal offence will be able to
procure a license to distribute or produce cannabis and its derivatives,
except persons connected to the tobacco industry.

They also wish to see an amendment to the National Drug Strategy saying it
should incorporate all psychoactive drugs, including tobacco and alcohol.
Some feel is far more harmful than cannabis.

The Senate however, does not recommend the use of cannabis and wants to see
a strong prevention program put in place for Canada's youth. Distributors
will not be able to sell marijuana to anyone under the age of 16.

This particular point was not well received by many, who feel it is
ridiculous that a teenager will be able to smoke cannabis before they can
buy cigarettes, vote, or have a drink.

Another recommendation is that cannabis be taxed and governmentally
regulated. The taxes are to be applied towards programs in prevention of
use, treatment of excessive users and further research.

For those opposed, there is a concern for for a potential increase of fires
with experimental growers. This regards the proposal that would allow
recreational users to produce cannabis for personal use, as long as it is
not sold and the quantities are limited.

No international trade would be allowed under the recommendations by the
committee and they feel that more resources should become available to
police and customs to fight smuggling and black market trade, which is sure
to increase.