ACTIVISTS, EXPERTS HAIL SENATE'S REPORT ON POT

Some Balk At Idea That 16-year-olds Could Legally Use Marijuana

A broad swath of Canadians -- doctors, patients and activists -- praised a
Senate committee yesterday for its report recommending relaxed marijuana laws.

Some said they are not comfortable with the suggestion from the Senate
Special Committee on Illegal Drugs that marijuana and hashish should be
entirely legalized. Others said that the report did not go far enough.

But nearly everybody agreed that pot smokers are not criminals.

"It's about time," said Terry Parker, an epileptic who is famous among
marijuana activists for winning a court battle two years ago that forced
the federal government to legalize marijuana for some sick people.

"They spend millions of dollars every year to incarcerate us," he said.

"It makes no sense."

Dana Hanson, president of the Canadian Medical Association, agreed that
people who are caught with marijuana should not get stuck with jail
sentences or criminal records. But he said the drug should not be made
entirely legal, either, because it would send a misleading message that pot
is healthy.

"There are certainly other [legal] things that are unhealthy," he said.
"But two wrongs don't make a right."

Other doctors were more enthusiastic about the report.

Patrick Smith, vice-president for clinical programs at the Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, said that most of the
recommendations make sense.

The previously accepted notions about marijuana being a "gateway" drug that
leads to more destructive habits simply have not been supported by any
evidence, he said. "Most people who use cannabis do so socially and without
negative consequences."

Many health experts also applauded the report for suggesting steps toward a
national strategy of drug research, prevention, and treatment.

"It's a start for moving in the direction of good policy," said John Bordy,
chief executive officer of the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba. "We are a
bit concerned about the legalization, but it's nice to see how they put
together the entire package."

The committee's suggestion that Canadians should be allowed to toke up at
the age of 16 seems a bit arbitrary, he suggested.

But Richard Garlick, a spokesman for the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse
in Ottawa, said that most studies have shown that marijuana does not harm
the development of children after the age of 16.

"Their arguments are quite scientific," he said.

At the same time, he added, policy makers should also consider the social
consequences of making it legal for teenagers to use marijuana.

"Kids are still very vulnerable when they're 16 and 17 years old," he said.
"Will it kill them? No, but it might prevent them from being productive
members of society."

But arguments about the morality of pot smoking are increasingly ignored by
Canadians, said Toronto lawyer Alan Young, who has argued on behalf of many
people fighting marijuana laws.

Mr. Young said he feels momentum growing for revising those laws this year,
particularly with the Supreme Court of Canada scheduled to hear cases in
December that challenge the government's right to ban the drug.

The only major hurdles are bureaucratic inertia and the federal
government's fear of displeasing the United States, he said.

"This will show whether we're a sovereign nation or a 51st state."

Action must be taken quickly on the recommendations, activists say, because
about 100 Canadians continue to get criminal records for marijuana
possession every day.

"The Senate was more forward-thinking than even most activists out here,"
said Philippe Lucas, director of the Vancouver Island Compassion Society, a
marijuana pharmacy that sells pot to clients who have permission from their
doctors to use it.