LEGALIZE MARIJUANA, SENATE COMMITTEE SAYS; POLICE JUST SAY NO

OTTAWA (CP) -- Pot smoking should be legal for any resident over 16, a
Senate committee said Wednesday in a sweeping recommendation that goes
beyond decriminalization or even the kind of tolerance in such
cannabis-friendly jurisdictions as the Netherlands. The report was hailed
by marijuana activists but fiercely condemned by the Canadian Police
Association which called it "a back-to-school gift for drug pushers."

Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, chairman of the special committee that drafted
the report, acknowledged the issue remains in the hands of the federal
government and said nothing is likely to happen quickly.

A House of Commons committee is expected to issue a report on illicit drugs
in November. Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said the government will study
those findings and won't unveil its position before early next year.

Canadian Alliance MP Randy White, co-chair of the Commons commitee studying
non-medical use of drugs, agreed with Cauchon's view that the government
wait until his commitee reports.

White said he had several problems with the Senate committee's views,
including its recommendation that Canadians as young as 16 be able to buy
cannabis from government run-stores.

"You can't even buy cigarettes or alcohol in Canada until you are 18, but
it would be OK to light up a joint?" White said.

Cauchon wouldn't say whether he feels the time has come for legalization,
but he did suggest current marijuana laws are outdated.

"We must be able to evolve at the pace of society," he said in Quebec City.
"It strikes me as unlikely that someone could have a criminal record after
being arrested for simple possession.

"When we have legislation that's not really being enforced because it's no
longer consistent with social realities, it's important for a government to
look at and reshape such legislation."

While all political parties support decriminalization, legalization is a
big step beyond that. The former would make it legal to possess small
amounts of cannabis for personal use; the latter could see it sold at
government outlets, even corner stores.

The report said the current system of prohibition simply doesn't work and
should be replaced by a regulated system, perhaps like that used for
alcohol, with cannabis available to anyone 16 or older.

"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," Nolin said.

The senators called for an amnesty for the 300,000 to 600,000 Canadians who
have a criminal record for simple possession of cannabis.

They also recommended improvements to ease access to medicinal marijuana
for people undergoing cancer chemotherapy or those suffering from glaucoma
or chronic pain.

Health Minister Anne McLellan said it's "too soon to say" if there will be
changes to the regulations on medical pot, adding there's a need for
careful trials.

David Griffin, executive director of the Canadian Police Association, said
he was appalled by the report.

"Drugs are not dangerous because they're illegal, drugs are illegal because
they are dangerous," he said. "There is no such thing as safe use of
illicit drugs, including marijuana."

The association said drugs, crime and violence go hand in hand, but Nolin
said marijuana use doesn't lead to violence and legalizing it will
eliminate the organized drug traffickers who may use violence.

Nolin said scientific studies found that cannabis is not addictive and has
few, if any, long-term effects. The report also concluded that the
long-held view that cannabis use leads to abuse of harder drugs such as
cocaine and heroin, is wrong.

Nolin said liberalization policies in other countries have produced
short-term rises in the number of users, but that this effect levelled off
and eventually dropped.

He said the senators recommended legalization over decriminalization
because the latter would leave the production and sale of cannabis in the
hands of organized crime.

Nolin said the idea is not to encourage marijuana use, but to regulate it,
saving hundreds of millions in annual drug-enforcement costs.

Marc Boris Saint-Maurice, leader of the Marijuana Party, welcomed the
report, joking that Nolin should become senator for his party. But
Saint-Maurice didn't see the report as a breakthrough.

"The big challenge, now, is to see those recommendations translated in the
reality," he said.

"The government is responsible for that part, and we all know that the
government don't like to address sensitive issues."

MP Keith Martin of the Canadian Alliance, a medical doctor, called the
report an important step in reforming drug laws, but said it should have
gone for decriminalization, not legalization.

"Decriminalization will decrease pot use, unlike full legalization, which
will only serve to make Canada an even greater haven for organized crime,"
Martin said.

The Senate report said marijuana was banned in 1923 amid "a moral panic,
racist sentiment and a notorious absence of debate."

The report comes three months before the Supreme Court of Canada is to hear
a constitutional challenge to the legality of the marijuana laws and
follows a two-year committee study of public policy related to marijuana.

Highlights of a Senate committee report Wednesday recommending that Canada
legalize the use of marijuana and hashish:

- -. Marijuana and hashish should come under a regulatory system for
production and sale under licence for legal use by any Canadian resident
over 16.

- -Looser rules for the use of medical marijuana should provide easier access.

- -The law should be changed for those who drive after using both alcohol and
marijuana, with blood-alcohol limits lowered to .04 per cent in such cases.

- -The government should erase the criminal records of 300,000 to 600,000
Canadians convicted of simple possession of marijuana.

- -The government should appoint a national adviser on psychoactive substances.

- -The government should call a conference of the provinces, municipalities
and other interested parties to set the ground rules for legal marijuana.

- -The government should finance research on drugs and on prevention and
treatment programs, financed by taxes on the sale of legal marijuana.

[SIDEBAR]

Please see below for:

Highlights of a Senate committee report

Facts about marijuana

Supreme Court judges will consider marijuana laws

[SIDEBAR]

Facts About Marijuana:

What is it? Dried leaves, flowers and stems of the hemp plant from the
genus cannabis. It contains tetrahydrocannibol (THC) which can produce an
intoxicating sensation when ingested.

How is it used? Leaves and the concentrated resin known as hashish are
usually smoked.

How many people use it? A new Senate committee report estimates as many as
two million Canadians have used cannabis in the last year and as many as
100,000 use it daily. Police say as much as 800 tonnes of cannabis
circulates in Canada each year.

Justice issues:

- - Cannabis was outlawed in 1923, amid what the Senate report called a
"panic" over drugs.

- - About half of the 90,000 drug incidents reported each year involve
cannabis and up to 600,000 people have criminal records for simple possession.

- - Cost of drug enforcement runs at $1 billion to $1.5 billion a year, with
a third of that related to cannabis.

Effects: The Senate report said cannabis use can cause short-term memory
loss, loss of co-ordination and concentration, but the effects wear off.
High-doses or first-time use can also cause anxiety, disorientation,
vomiting, even convulsions.

Other names: Pot, dope, Mary Jane, ganja, hemp, reefer.