NO MIDDLE GROUND IN POT DEBATE

A teen disaster waiting to happen or progressive legislation that would
reduce crime and save Canadian taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Those were among Waterloo Region reactions yesterday to Senate committee
members who argued marijuana is less harmful than alcohol and recommended
pot be legalized for anyone over 16.

And, despite widely differing opinions on whether marijuana use leads to
addictions involving harder drugs, those for and against cannabis use
agreed 16-year-olds are too young to have legal access to pot.

Waterloo regional police Insp. Matt Torigian warned yesterday any move to
legalize marijuana and sell it to teens in corner stores would be
"disastrous" because it would put young people at greater risk of
graduating to drugs like cocaine and heroin.

"Our experience is the vast majority who use crack and heroin started out
smoking marijuana," said Torigian, who oversees the drug squad. "They climb
the ladder to greater highs and end up using harder drugs . . . our
position is, don't go near that ladder."

But Dr. Edgardo Perez, chief executive officer at Guelph's Homewood Health
Centre, said medical evidence shows that only people who, for social and
other reasons, have addictive profiles would be at risk of graduating from
marijuana to harder drugs.

Homewood helps people cope with drug, alcohol and gambling addictions.

Perez said European countries that liberalized marijuana have seen
decreases in crime rates but recorded no increased evidence of cannabis
users becoming addicted to harder drugs.

He said he would prefer to see 18 rather than 16 as the age of legal
consent for marijuana use and emphasized adequate drug-education programs
should be in place if cannabis is legalized.

Perez also said Canadians who use marijuana to combat chronic pain have not
become addicted to the substance.

Catherine Devries of Kitchener is one of those medicinal users.

Devries, who began smoking marijuana about 15 years ago, now has legal
permission to smoke cannabis to combat chronic pain caused by back and
bowel disorders.

"I know many recreational and medicinal users of marijuana who never go on
to harder drugs," she said.

Devries said any government move toward decriminalization or legalization
of cannabis would save taxpayers vast amounts of money currently spent on
enforcement.

Decriminalization would make it legal to possess small amounts of marijuana
for personal use while legalization could see cannabis sold at government
stores.

Torigian -- who said police still have to study the senate report --
disagreed with Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, committee chairman, about
cannabis being non-addictive and less harmful than alcohol.

Torigian said any move toward legalizing pot would create widespread social
and health problems unless Canadians were willing to put major support
services in place to help deal with the subsequent casualties.

"We question why anyone would unleash that on communities . . . Healthy
lifestyle choices for young people just don't fit with marijuana use," said
Torigian.

Devries said she favours decriminalization over legalization but thinks the
age of legal consent for smoking cannabis should be 19 or 21.

"I prefer taking small steps forward on this issue. I don't feel
comfortable with kids buying marijuana at corner stores," she said.

Gerry Taylor, a Waterloo lawyer who was a drug prosecutor for 18 years,
said in cases he prosecuted he saw no pattern of teens graduating from
possession of marijuana up to possession and use of cocaine.

Taylor said he and police had little interest in prosecuting teenagers for
cannabis possession. He said they were more interested in going after
cocaine or heroin traffickers.

He said marijuana legalization would save massive amounts of police and
court time but predicted major problems at the U.S.-Canada border.

"If we legalized marijuana, what happens every time a 19-year-old Canadian
drove across the border?" he asked.