SENATE REPORT SUGGESTS LEGALIZING MARIJUANA

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but he did suggest current marijuana laws are outdated.

"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. 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.