CANADA: STOP THROWING CASH INTO POT POLICING: SENATOR

Calls Drug Abuse A Public-Health Issue. Head Of Panel Backing
Marijuana's Legalization Says Penal Measures Have Limited Benefits

Marijuana prohibition is a costly failure and the federal government
shouldn't throw good money after bad by increasing law-enforcement
budgets, says the chairman of a Senate committee that recommends the
drug be legalized.

Senator Pierre-Claude Nolin said the only way to stem drug use in
Canada is to approach substance abuse as a public-health issue, not a
policing one.

"Penal measures have their place. But why do they take up so much room
in our drug strategies? They are of limited use, and they create more
negative effects than benefits," said Nolin, who yesterday addressed a
plenary session of World Forum 2002, a conference on drugs and
dependencies taking place at the Palais des Congres.

"Some might say it's immoral to allow children access to psychoactive
substances. It's also immoral to encourage organized crime by making
those substances illegal," he said.


Pubdate: Fri, 27 Sep 2002
Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)
Copyright: 2002 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc.
Website: http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/