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Canada: Doctors - Marijuana Is No Crime
Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Tuesday 15 May 2001 Website: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/ Author: Janice Tibbetts DOCTORS: MARIJUANA IS NO CRIME Top Medical Journal Demands Decriminalization Of Drug; Health Effects Minimal, Editorial Argues Canada's leading medical journal has added its voice to a growing call to decriminalize marijuana by saying that Canadians caught with small amounts should not be saddled with the "indelible tattoo" of a criminal record. The Canadian Medical Association Journal, the publication of the association that represents the country's 50,000 doctors, will urge Justice Minister Anne McLellan to decriminalize the possession of marijuana for personal use in an editorial to be published today. "The minimal negative health effects of moderate use would be attested to by the estimated 1.5 million Canadians who smoke marijuana for recreational purposes," says the journal. While the editorial applauds the recent initiative to legalize marijuana for medical purposes, it says a "bolder strike" is now needed. "The decriminalization of marijuana possession for personal use does not mean making marijuana legal or letting it be sold in every schoolyard," the journal writes. "It does mean possession of small amounts for personal use would become a civil offence, like a traffic violation, not a criminal one." The influential call for decriminalization comes amid Senate hearings on drug laws in which the major theme emerging so far is that Canada's possession law is too paternalistic. At hearings yesterday, several experts testified about the high financial and social costs of outlawing possession and one witness called for an end to the "coercive sanctions" of the Criminal Code. The Canadian Medical Association Journal details the "legal and social fallout" of continuing to criminalize possession of small amounts, a law that resulted in 31,299 convictions in 1995, the editorial says. "Many lead to jail terms or fines and all result in that indelible social tattoo: a criminal record. "This means that for anyone who's ever been caught with a stash in his or her pocket, the question, 'Have you ever had a criminal conviction?' during a job application or medical school interview can force higher aspirations to go up in a puff of smoke." The Canadian Medical Association, which publishes the journal, has previously called for the decriminalization of marijuana. And in 1999, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police advocated taking marijuana possession out of the Criminal Code. A spokeswoman for Ms. McLellan said the minister welcomes debate on decriminalization of marijuana but has no immediate plan to drop possession from the Criminal Code. "It is far too complex to just move ahead without fully understanding what the social, what the legal and what the educational impacts may be," said Farah Mohammed. Among other things, the government is awaiting the outcome of the deliberations of the special Senate committee on illegal drugs, which was struck last year. Yesterday, sociologist Andrew Hathaway echoed the sentiment of three other expert witnesses when he told the committee that Canada must drop "coercive sanctions" for marijuana possession. "Why the need of the criminal justice machinery of the state to stop people from doing what they choose to do?" he asked. "A lot of these illicit drugs are less harmful than the ones we accept." In an interview, Mr. Hathaway said the federal government is moving in the right direction on drug policy by exploring the prospect of setting up safe injection sites for heroin addicts in major cities such as Vancouver and Montreal. Such sites, which would provide drug addicts with a place to safely inject themselves, already exist in Europe. The Health Department spokeswoman for the exploration project, Cathy Airth, was not available yesterday for comment. Tory Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, who has already said marijuana possession has no place in the Criminal Code, said the message to decriminalize has been delivered loud and clear from witnesses who have appeared before the Senate committee so far. Statistics presented yesterday revealed that 500,000 Canadians have amassed criminal records for marijuana possession since the 1960s. The committee was also told that decriminalization in European countries and in Australia has not led to an increased prevalence of marijuana.
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