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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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CN ON: Marijuana Laws Too Stringent, MDs Say
ccguide Wednesday 16 May 2001 Pubdate: Tue, 15 May 2001 Source: Windsor Star (CN ON) Copyright: The Windsor Star 2001 Contact: Website: http://www.southam.com/windsorstar/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/501 Author: Janice Tibbetts Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) MARIJUANA LAWS TOO STRINGENT, MDS SAY Canada's leading medical journal has added its voice to a growing call to decriminalize marijuana by saying that Canadians caught with small amounts of pot should not be saddled with the "indelible tattoo" of a criminal record. The Canadian Medical Association Journal, the publication of the association which represents the country's 50,000 doctors, will urge Justice Minister Anne McLellan to liberalize the country's cannabis laws 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 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 on Monday, 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. On the same day that Canada was under pressure to decriminalize, the United States Supreme Court took the opposite tack, dealing a crucial blow to sick Americans seeking medical marijuana by upholding the illegality of the drug. 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." A spokeswoman for 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 special Senate committee on illegal drugs, which was struck last year. On Monday, 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, 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. The sites, which would provide junkies with a place to safely inject themselves, already exist in Europe. 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 at the committee so far. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe
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