Pubdate: Sat, 05 Oct 2002 Source: Chomedey Laval News, The (CN QU) Contact: 2002 The Chomedey Laval News Website: http://www.chomedeynews.ca Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2596 Author: Demetra Lambropoulos TO DECRIMINALIZE OR LEGALIZE MARIJUANA, THAT IS THE QUESTION The Senate Committee's report on legalizing marijuana has been met with mixed emotions. Many believe that legalizing marijuana would do more harm than good, particularly for youth. One the other hand, some people feel that marijuana should at least be decriminalized for those who use it for therapeutic purposes. Opinions vary dramatically and it is indeed difficult to reach a general consensus, although the report was meant to do just that: open the door to further discussion about the topic. TCN recently interviewed a few local politicians to get their take on the controversial subject. Carole-Marie Allard, MP - Laval-East: When it comes to drug abuse, Carole-Marie Allard, Laval-East's member of parliament (MP), feels that "even though marijuana use is an important issue, it is secondary compared to the importance of examining drug abuse in general." Allard is also vice chair of the House of Commons' special committee mandated to study non-medicinal drug use. Having studied drug abuse and addiction across Canada since May 2001, the study's results will be made available to the public toward the end of the year. She deems the Senate Report well-researched and documented. Nevertheless, she maintains that harder drugs are much more dangerous and that we must separate marijuana from the harsher drugs. "With 42,000 youths aged between 12 and 25 years old injecting themselves with drugs in the city of Montreal alone. we need to listen attentively to the needs of our urban centers." It is these centers that live with the problems of homelessness, drug addiction and crime Therefore, Allard believes that before marijuana is legalized or decriminalized, these cities and their respective provinces need to be consulted so that the federal government does not impose policies on them, but rather use their input to provide "guidance" to the urban centers. At this point Allard stresses, "It is not the will of the government to legalize or decriminalize marijuana. They want to hold a discussion and consult the public on the matter." She goes on to indicate that upon release of the House of Commons' special report on the non-medicinal use of drugs, including the abuse of certain prescription drugs, the government will be able to develop a more informed opinion. Curious to find out what her constituents thought about the Senate's proposal, Allard took a poll of her riding. Results indicate a strong disagreement with the legalization and/or decriminalization of marijuana. She explains that people are uninformed about the impact of legalization on youths aged 12 to 18. Studies show that if a young person makes it to the age of 18 without taking drugs, the likelihood of their never becoming a drug addict increases. However, the impact of greater liberalization with the use of marijuana has yet to be examined. "The Senate's proposal is still in the early preliminary stages," affirmed Allard. Furthermore, she reveals that even Senator Pierre- Claude Nolin, Chair of the Special Committee for the legalization of marijuana, agrees that if legalized, the marijuana sold to the public should not contain more than 13% of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration, the chemical substance believed to be responsible for most of the plants psychoactive potency. However, as Allard pointed out, it is difficult to control the concentration of THC with which the plant is grown. Cannabis with as high a potency as 20-30% THC has been grown. This in turn would lead to problems with production. Presently, the government is having trouble monitoring the THC level in cannabis that is grown specifically for medicinal purposes. "if legalized for general use, how do we control the potency of the THC in each plant that is grown?" Allard asked. Madeleine Dalphond-Guiral, MP - Laval-Centre: Laval-Centre's MP, Madeleine Dalphond-Guiral believes that the report was extremely interesting and that from it, a society-wide debate should take place. She believes that "it is catastrophic that occasionally smoking a joint or being found in possession of marijuana would constitute a criminal act." She goes on to specify that the penalties for possession of marijuana are especially difficult for our youth because the severe consequences that are imposed are not in line with teaching youngsters how to control or diminish their dependency. Guiral worries about adolescents, especially since they are a stage in their lives where "Anything that is forbidden constitutes an instigator encouraging youth to disobey that which is prohibited." This means that youth will try marijuana only to defy the law. As a result, Guiral confirms, "I'm in favour of at least decriminalizing marijuana. Another reason she wants to decriminalize marijuana is for those who use it for medicinal purposes. In her opinion, the federal government may have opened the door to using marijuana for therapeutic purposes, but the government is still experiencing difficulty supplying those in need with cannabis plants. According to Guiral, there are less harmful side effects in marijuana than there are in certain painkillers used by chemotherapy patients, Therefore, she believes that marijuana should be made more readily available for therapeutic purposes. Health Canada: On the one hand, the report points out that alcohol has more deleterious affects on the body than marijuana; on the other hand, studies have found that marijuana smoking produces three times the amount of tar and five times the amount of carbon monoxide found in cigarettes. However, both drug are legal and our society is well-aware of the risks involved in consuming them. In accordance, because such dependency invoking drugs, as tobacco and alcohol are legal and readily available to the public, Guiral feels that for marijuana as well, "We must differentiate between crime and dependency, which is relative to one's use." Guiral went on to say that "in order to become a responsible government, we need to study the matter further." She points out that legalizing marijuana would lead to more improved and secure managing systems for the production and distribution of cannabis. The government would not only be able to regulate the levels of THC, they would also make the drag safer by prohibiting the addition of certain dependency inducing substances. The Senate report states that as far as cannabis is concerned, only behaviour causing demonstrable harm to others should be prohibited: illegal trafficking, selling to young people under the age of sixteen and impaired driving. Guiral agrees with that perspective: "the dangers surrounding marijuana have to do with drug traffickers who put things into the joint to increase dependency ... therefore, legalization would control production and distribution and would help reduce organized crime groups selling laced drugs. Martin Cauchon, Justice Minister: At the World Forum on Drug use and Dependency in Montreal, Martin Cauchon, Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General, explained to reporters that a distinction needs to be made between the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana. He declared that it would be practically impossible to "go as far" as legalizing the drug. The reason for this is because Canada must respect the international drug treaties it has signed with other countries. Reiterating Allard's observation about the government's inability to develop a definite stance on the matter, Cauchon suggested that the government needs to review the House of Commons' report on drug use before they form an opinion. Nevertheless, Senator [Pierre Claude] Nolin suggested that cannabis "Should not be treated as a criminal issue, but as a social and public health issue," Now it is up to Canadians to make a choice. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh