Pubdate: Thu 15 May 1997 Source: The Ottawa Citizen News A5 Contact: EXPERT INSISTS MARIJUANA SAFE Witness: Laws based on outofdate morals, not medical reality By Pearce Bannon, The Ottawa Citizen LONDON – A U.S. drug expert told a court here yesterday that the only things harmful about marijuana re the laws than penalize its users. "The only thing that’s deviant about cannabis use is its criminalization," said John Paul Morgan at the trial of hemp dealer Chris Clay. Calling himself a "conscientious objector to the war on drugs," Dr. Morgan, who has spent 21 years studying drugs, particularly marijuana, told Mr. Justice John McCart there is no "logical or pharmacological reason" for lawmakers to group marijuana with potentially lethal drugs such as cocaine or heroin. In comparison with those drugs, and with legal drugs like tobacco and alcohol, Dr. Morgan said marijuana has "an extremely wide margin of safety." Dr. Morgan is the defence’s final witness in the trial of Mr. Clay and an employee, Jordan Prentice, who has also been charged with narcotics offences. Mr. Clay, 26, made national headlines in 1995 when London police raided his store, Hemp Nation, seizing marijuana seeds and seedlings and charging him with possession of a narcotic for the purpose of trafficking and cultivation of the narcotic cannabis sativa. The defence team of Osgoode Hall professor Alan Young and partner Paul Burstein are arguing that marijuana is a relatively safe substance that should not be prohibited, and that members of the public have the right to determine how to treat their own bodies. Prof. Young is also arguing that a person in possession of marijuana plants with a toxicity level of less than 0.3 per cent – the standard set by the government for licensed experimental hemp farms – should not be convicted and jailed on narcotics charges. Referring to several studies done over the past 25 years, Dr. Morgan told the court there is no conclusive evidence that marijuana use decreases motivation or damages the body’s immune system, nor does it harm an individual’s cognitive abilities. He pointed out that marijuana laws in North America were written before scientific facts were available, and were mostly based on the belief that use of the drug would cause immoral actions on the part of its users. Today, marijuana opponents use its toxicity to prevent its decriminalization, said Dr. Morgan, "and they cling to these claims beyond what I feel is all rationality." However, he added he’s "optimistic" that possession of marijuana will soon be decriminalized across the United States, pointing to recent votes in California and Arizona, where the public supported the prescribing of marijuana for medicinal purposes. "A significant amount of Americans oppose putting people in jail for possession" of marijuana, he said, adding millions are using it for therapeutic purposes to help alleviate symptoms of AIDS, the stress of chemotherapy and the muscular tremors associated with degenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy. In fact, Dr. Morgan said he gave marijuana to his wife, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, but she didn’t like it. Dr. Harold Kalant, professor emeritus of Pharmacology at the University of Toronto and the Crown’s final witness, said he agrees with Dr. Morgan that a comprehensive longterm study of marijuana that examines users over many years should be conducted to try to determine conclusively its possible health hazards. He said he doesn’t believe it’s valid to compare the health risks of marijuana with the risks of using alcohol and tobacco, since marijuana’s illegality prevents it from being as widely used. Dr. Kalant also said that a 1970s study conducted in Canada found that marijuana has three to four times the level of tar that an unfiltered tobacco cigarette has. The study also found that a heavy tobacco smoker would inhale more tar than a heavy marijuana smoker, he said, but added the difference was not that great. Dr. Kalant continues his testimony today. The defence will conclude its case by showing scenes from the movie Reefer Madness. Final arguments are scheduled for Tuesday, May 20. _____________________________________________ Hemp Nation * http://www.hempnation.com/ Chris Clay * Email Constitutional challenge is underway!