T
The420Guy
Guest
On Dec. 12, the House of Commons special committee on the non-medical
use of drugs released a report calling for the decriminalization of
marijuana, and Justice Minister Martin Cauchon has said he plans to put
forth a decriminalization bill early in 2003.
It is a safe bet that the U.S. government reaction will be hostile,
just as it always seems to be when people talk about reconsidering
marijuana laws.
Canadians should understand that on drug policy, the U.S. government is
increasingly out of step with Americans. Canadians should use their own
good sense, make their own judgments, and disregard U.S. bullying, as
most of our drug laws were made on a racist foundation instead of
science.
In September, when the Canadian Senate special committee on illegal
drugs issued a report that recommended replacing marijuana prohibition
with a system of regulation, the official U.S. reaction was swift and
blunt. John Walters, director of the White House Office of National
Drug Control Policy (commonly termed the Drug Czar) was quoted on both
sides of the border expressing his dismay. He even hinted at a border
crackdown that could strangle trade between our nations.
U.S. drug-policy leaders should spend more time talking with
knowledgeable Canadians such as Senate committee chairman Pierre Claude
Nolin to learn why they have reached such dramatically different
conclusions from the U.S. drug warriors. If they did, they might learn
that much of their rhetoric about marijuana being a "gateway drug" is
simply wrong. After decades of looking, scientists still have no
evidence that marijuana causes people to use harder drugs. If there is
any true "gateway drug," it's tobacco.
And tobacco, through its direct physical effects, kills many thousands
of people every year. So does alcohol. And it is easy to fatally
overdose on alcohol, just as you can fatally overdose on prescription
drugs, or even over-the-counter drugs, such as aspirin or acetaminophen
(the active ingredient in Tylenol).
I don't believe that anyone has ever died from a marijuana overdose.
This is not to say that marijuana is harmless. It's not, and there are
good reasons not to use it -- especially for young people.
But from a public-health perspective, there is a solid case to be made
that arresting marijuana users, giving them criminal records and
disrupting careers and families does more harm to more people than the
drug itself does.
Why do U.S. officials such as Mr. Walters so adamantly resist even
having this discussion? The answer lies in the numbers. We have a
massive antidrug bureaucracy that is largely fuelled by our war on
marijuana: Nearly half of all drug arrests in the United States are for
marijuana-related charges, and 89 per cent of those are for simple
possession. Take away those arrests and massive antidrug budgets are
much harder to justify.
But if our officials start making threats again, Canadians should
remember that those officials don't represent the views of the American
public. A Nov. 4 Time magazine poll found that 72 per cent of Americans
don't believe marijuana users should go to jail. Eighty per cent
believe seriously ill people should be able to use marijuana for
medical purposes, despite our government's rigid opposition to that
humane and sensible idea.
If Canada needs guidance, it can look toward Europe, where many
governments have moved toward enlightened policies, and others are
conducting serious, thoughtful examinations of their marijuana laws. If
we are lucky, Canada will set an example that the United States will
eventually follow.
Pubdate: Sat, 14 Dec 2002
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2002, The Globe and Mail Company
Contact: letters@globeandmail.ca
Author: Dr. Joycelyn Elders
use of drugs released a report calling for the decriminalization of
marijuana, and Justice Minister Martin Cauchon has said he plans to put
forth a decriminalization bill early in 2003.
It is a safe bet that the U.S. government reaction will be hostile,
just as it always seems to be when people talk about reconsidering
marijuana laws.
Canadians should understand that on drug policy, the U.S. government is
increasingly out of step with Americans. Canadians should use their own
good sense, make their own judgments, and disregard U.S. bullying, as
most of our drug laws were made on a racist foundation instead of
science.
In September, when the Canadian Senate special committee on illegal
drugs issued a report that recommended replacing marijuana prohibition
with a system of regulation, the official U.S. reaction was swift and
blunt. John Walters, director of the White House Office of National
Drug Control Policy (commonly termed the Drug Czar) was quoted on both
sides of the border expressing his dismay. He even hinted at a border
crackdown that could strangle trade between our nations.
U.S. drug-policy leaders should spend more time talking with
knowledgeable Canadians such as Senate committee chairman Pierre Claude
Nolin to learn why they have reached such dramatically different
conclusions from the U.S. drug warriors. If they did, they might learn
that much of their rhetoric about marijuana being a "gateway drug" is
simply wrong. After decades of looking, scientists still have no
evidence that marijuana causes people to use harder drugs. If there is
any true "gateway drug," it's tobacco.
And tobacco, through its direct physical effects, kills many thousands
of people every year. So does alcohol. And it is easy to fatally
overdose on alcohol, just as you can fatally overdose on prescription
drugs, or even over-the-counter drugs, such as aspirin or acetaminophen
(the active ingredient in Tylenol).
I don't believe that anyone has ever died from a marijuana overdose.
This is not to say that marijuana is harmless. It's not, and there are
good reasons not to use it -- especially for young people.
But from a public-health perspective, there is a solid case to be made
that arresting marijuana users, giving them criminal records and
disrupting careers and families does more harm to more people than the
drug itself does.
Why do U.S. officials such as Mr. Walters so adamantly resist even
having this discussion? The answer lies in the numbers. We have a
massive antidrug bureaucracy that is largely fuelled by our war on
marijuana: Nearly half of all drug arrests in the United States are for
marijuana-related charges, and 89 per cent of those are for simple
possession. Take away those arrests and massive antidrug budgets are
much harder to justify.
But if our officials start making threats again, Canadians should
remember that those officials don't represent the views of the American
public. A Nov. 4 Time magazine poll found that 72 per cent of Americans
don't believe marijuana users should go to jail. Eighty per cent
believe seriously ill people should be able to use marijuana for
medical purposes, despite our government's rigid opposition to that
humane and sensible idea.
If Canada needs guidance, it can look toward Europe, where many
governments have moved toward enlightened policies, and others are
conducting serious, thoughtful examinations of their marijuana laws. If
we are lucky, Canada will set an example that the United States will
eventually follow.
Pubdate: Sat, 14 Dec 2002
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2002, The Globe and Mail Company
Contact: letters@globeandmail.ca
Author: Dr. Joycelyn Elders
