SENATE COMMITTEE HEARS FROM PRO-MARIJUANA ADVOCATE AT REGINA PUBLIC HEARING

REGINA (CP) -- Legalizing marijuana would reduce the number of violent,
drug-related crimes in Canada, the Senate committee on illegal drugs heard
Monday. Timothy Hampton, the Saskatchewan president of the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said making possession and
commercial distribution legal would take the profit away from criminals.

"Any time, you have prohibition, there is big money," he told the committee
in Regina.

The Senate committee hopes to objectively review Canada's anti-drug
legislation and policies on cannabis by hearing testimony from
pro-legalization groups, law enforcement and health officials.

The committee is holding a series of public hearings across the country -
with the first stop in Regina - to hear the public's views.

Hampton said law enforcement and justice officials should not focus on the
domestic cultivation, distribution and recreational use of cannabis by
average Canadian citizens.

Instead, domestic users should be able to apply for exemption under Section
56 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which allows Health Canada
to exempt certain illegal drug-users from prosecution, he said.

Police Chief Cal Johnston said the main focus of police drug investigations
is never to track down people for marijuana possession.

He said possession charges usually follow crackdowns on trafficking
activity. But whether legalizing marijuana would diminish trafficking and
violence is still up for debate, he said.

"We know that when trafficking increases, we see crime in other areas go
up," he said.

Johnston said he didn't know what kind of effect legalizing marijuana or
making it more accessible would have on crime rates.

Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, chairman of the Senate committee on illegal
drugs, said he has heard recommendations similar to Hampton's in the past
and expects to hear more in coming weeks.

Nolin said he is "quite interested to hear what the local health authority
has to say on the abuse of drugs."

After studying the pros and cons of marijuana use for 14 months, the
committee released a preliminary report earlier this month saying
scientific evidence suggests marijuana isn't a so-called gateway drug that
leads to the use of harder drugs.

Research showed that between 30 and 50 per cent of Canadians between the
ages 15 and 24 have used cannabis, the report said.

The annual cost of fighting illegal drugs, for federal agencies alone, is
estimated at $500 million. Each year, more than 30,000 Canadians are
charged with simple possession of marijuana.