Pubdate: Wed, 20 Mar 2002
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2002 The Province
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Susan Martinuk
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

DON'T DECRIMINALIZE POT UNTIL WE GET MORE FACTS

Most Canadians seem alarmed about the burgeoning drug culture that is 
consuming our youth.  Unfortunately, we can't seem to agree on how to 
conquer this problem and the plethora of others that are associated with it.

Last week, Canada's doctors muddied the waters even more by presenting a 
brief to the Senate committee on illegal drugs, calling for the 
decriminalization of personal marijuana possession and use.  (It's going to 
be tough for parents to maintain a hard line against marijuana use if the 
doctor says it isn't a problem.)

What is most interesting is that the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) 
wants decriminalization done in a way that 1) acknowledges that "cannabis 
is an addictive substance and that addiction is a disease," 2) doesn't 
"promote normalization of its use," and 3) is "tied to a national drug 
strategy" of awareness, prevention and treatment.

But how can we smoke an addictive substance with impunity, yet not have it 
become an addiction or even habitual?  And why should the government 
decriminalize pot, only to turn around and pay hundreds of millions of 
dollars to prevent its use?

What will we have gained?

It is clear that the CMA wants more money for drug programs and treatments 
- - and I don't have a problem with that.  But it somehow thinks that all the 
spare change that will magically appear by moving marijuana out of the 
legal system will be available for such purposes.

That's the red herring - there won't be any more money.  The legal system 
will still need money to battle drug sales and distributors. The only thing 
that will change under decriminalization is that the health-care system wil 
also need a lot of extra money.

The New England Journal of Medicine and a University of California research 
say smoking five joints a week is the equivalent of smoking a pack of 
cigarettes per day.

Anti-smoking lobbyists can do the calculations on how much that will cost 
our already overburdened health-care system.

A study in "Neurotoxicity & Teratology" shows that children exposed to 
marijuana in the womb are more likely to be hyperactive and have other 
social problems.  The National Academy of Sciences says that smoking 
marijuana can cause cancer, lung damage and babies with low birth weights. 
"Circulation" recently reported a fivefold increase in heart-attack risk 
for middle-aged pot smokers.

So the debate over the medical consequences of pot smoking is far from 
over.  In fact, it's likely just begun.

Maybe the decriminalization of marijuana wouldn't lead to a massive 
increase in addictions or any of the above health problems.  But maybe it 
would.

The bottom line is - we just don't know.  And from looking at the above 
statistics, it seems that it is our young people who will be most at risk 
if we were to change our drug policies.

Teens are more likely to experiment; to get hooked; to experience the 
long-term impact.  In fact, when Alaska flirted with the legalization of 
pot, marijuana and cocaine use among adolescents rose to double that of any 
other state.

If the doctors want to treat drug use as a medical matter, that's fine. But 
the best treatment is still prevention.  And in this case, that means pot 
stays illegal.
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MAP posted-by: Alex