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  • Canada to legalize marijuana





    Pubdate: Thu, 05 Sep 2002

    LEGALIZE MARIJUANA, SENATE COMMITTEE SAYS

    OTTAWA ( CP ) -- Pot smoking should be legal for any resident over 16, a Senate committee said Wednesday in a sweeping recommendation that goes beyond decriminalization or even the kind of tolerance in such cannabis-friendly jurisdictions as the Netherlands.

    The report was hailed by marijuana activists but fiercely condemned by the Canadian Police Association which called it "a back-to-school gift for drug pushers."

    Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, chairman of the special committee that drafted the report, acknowledged the issue remains in the hands of the federal government and said nothing is likely to happen quickly.

    A House if Commons committee is expected to issue a report on illicit drugs in November. Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said the government will study those findings and won't unveil its position before early next year.

    Cauchon wouldn't say whether he feels the time has come for legalization, but he did suggest current marijuana laws are outdated.

    "When we have legislation that's not really being enforced because it's no longer consistent with social realities, it's important for a government to look at and reshape such legislation."

    While all political parties support decriminalization, legalization is a big step beyond that. The former would make it legal to possess small amounts of cannabis for personal use; the latter could see it sold at government outlets, even corner stores.

    The report said the current system of prohibition simply doesn't work and should be replaced by a regulated system, perhaps like that used for alcohol, with cannabis available to anyone 16 or older.

    "Scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicates that cannabis is substantially less harmful than alcohol and should be treated not as a criminal issue but as a social and public health issue," Nolin said.

    The senators called for an amnesty for the 300,000 to 600,000 Canadians who have a criminal record for simple possession of cannabis.

    They also recommended improvements to ease access to medicinal marijuana for people undergoing cancer chemotherapy or those suffering from glaucoma or chronic pain.

    David Griffin, executive director of the Canadian Police Association, said he was appalled by the report.

    "Drugs are not dangerous because they're illegal, drugs are illegal because they are dangerous," he said. "There is no such thing as safe use of illicit drugs, including marijuana."

    The association said drugs, crime and violence go hand in hand, but Nolin said marijuana use doesn't lead to violence and legalizing it will eliminate the organized drug traffickers who may use violence.

    Nolin said scientific studies found that cannabis is not addictive and has few, if any, long-term effects.

    The report also concluded that the long-held view that cannabis use leads to abuse of harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin, is wrong.

    Nolin said liberalization policies in other countries have produced short-term rises in the number of users, but that this effect levelled off and eventually dropped.

    He said the senators recommended legalization over decriminalization because the latter would leave the production and sale of cannabis in the hands of organized crime.

    Nolin said the idea is not to encourage marijuana use, but to regulate it, saving hundreds of millions in annual drug-enforcement costs.

    Marc Boris Saint-Maurice, leader of the Marijuana Party, welcomed the report, joking that Nolin should become senator for his party.

    But Saint-Maurice didn't see the report as a breakthrough.

    "The big challenge, now, is to see those recommendations translated in the reality," he said.



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  • #2
    I read that in a paper from my city.
    Titanium is the new bling!
    (you heard from me first!)

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    • #3
      Nice avatar

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      • #4
        Basicaly it means we can't control it so we're giving up.
        Chief Lemon Buyer no more Linux sucks but not as much
        Weather nut and sad git.

        My Weather Page

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        • #5
          Pit, or it's not as bad as booze so why bother

          Comment


          • #6
            happy daze!
            Dont just swallow the blue pill.

            Comment


            • #7
              I think the Canadian Governement will control it and tax it big time. If they legalize it the National debt might actually start to shrink, and they will probably restrict it like cigarettes, but then again anybody can get cigarettes.

              It leaves me with mixed feelings.

              goldstein: indeed!
              Titanium is the new bling!
              (you heard from me first!)

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              • #8
                If it has little or no effect why bother doing it??

                I can't understand why People smoke fags they never have any effect on me apart from making my clothes stink.
                Chief Lemon Buyer no more Linux sucks but not as much
                Weather nut and sad git.

                My Weather Page

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                • #9
                  I don't know why people smoke cigarrettes either!
                  Titanium is the new bling!
                  (you heard from me first!)

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I remember having a little debate where I was critized for saying that weed will probably be legalized soon. Today Canada....tomorrow the world...muahahahahahaha...
                    System Specs:
                    Gigabyte 8INXP - Pentium 4 2.8@3.4 - 1GB Corsair 3200 XMS - Enermax 550W PSU - 2 80GB WDs 8MB cache in RAID 0 array - 36GB Seagate 15.3K SCSI boot drive - ATI AIW 9700 - M-Audio Revolution - 16x Pioneer DVD slot load - Lite-On 48x24x48x CD-RW - Logitech MX700 - Koolance PC2-601BW case - Cambridge MegaWorks 550s - Mitsubishi 2070SB 22" CRT

                    Our Father, who 0wnz heaven, j00 r0ck!
                    May all 0ur base someday be belong to you!
                    Give us this day our warez, mp3z, and pr0n through a phat pipe.
                    And cut us some slack when we act like n00b lamerz,
                    just as we teach n00bz when they act lame on us.
                    For j00 0wn r00t on all our b0x3s 4ever and ever, 4m3n.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by BuddMan
                      I remember having a little debate where I was critized for saying that weed will probably be legalized soon. Today Canada....tomorrow the world...muahahahahahaha...
                      If Canada legalizes it, are you going to be moving here dude?
                      Titanium is the new bling!
                      (you heard from me first!)

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        i know a few people who would move instantly.... their is a language barier for them in amsterdam.. one of them is already there... i am sure he will be throwing a party over this
                        "They say that dreams are real only as long as they last. Couldn't you say the same thing about life?"

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by ZokesPro


                          If Canada legalizes it, are you going to be moving here dude?
                          Well, if I don't move there, I will be taking many vacations there.
                          System Specs:
                          Gigabyte 8INXP - Pentium 4 2.8@3.4 - 1GB Corsair 3200 XMS - Enermax 550W PSU - 2 80GB WDs 8MB cache in RAID 0 array - 36GB Seagate 15.3K SCSI boot drive - ATI AIW 9700 - M-Audio Revolution - 16x Pioneer DVD slot load - Lite-On 48x24x48x CD-RW - Logitech MX700 - Koolance PC2-601BW case - Cambridge MegaWorks 550s - Mitsubishi 2070SB 22" CRT

                          Our Father, who 0wnz heaven, j00 r0ck!
                          May all 0ur base someday be belong to you!
                          Give us this day our warez, mp3z, and pr0n through a phat pipe.
                          And cut us some slack when we act like n00b lamerz,
                          just as we teach n00bz when they act lame on us.
                          For j00 0wn r00t on all our b0x3s 4ever and ever, 4m3n.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            There were those that critized you because they are against it and then there were those that are for it, but found that you claiming that there isn't shit for side effects was complete BS Buddman. They've been around the block and know for a fact that what you claim is not true... especially considering that many of them have been involved in the legalization of it for longer than you've been alive.
                            "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -- Dr. Seuss

                            "Always do good. It will gratify some and astonish the rest." ~Mark Twain

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                            • #15
                              Greebe, I never said weed doesn't have side effects dumbass. I'm not getting back into this debate. You can argue with yourself.
                              System Specs:
                              Gigabyte 8INXP - Pentium 4 2.8@3.4 - 1GB Corsair 3200 XMS - Enermax 550W PSU - 2 80GB WDs 8MB cache in RAID 0 array - 36GB Seagate 15.3K SCSI boot drive - ATI AIW 9700 - M-Audio Revolution - 16x Pioneer DVD slot load - Lite-On 48x24x48x CD-RW - Logitech MX700 - Koolance PC2-601BW case - Cambridge MegaWorks 550s - Mitsubishi 2070SB 22" CRT

                              Our Father, who 0wnz heaven, j00 r0ck!
                              May all 0ur base someday be belong to you!
                              Give us this day our warez, mp3z, and pr0n through a phat pipe.
                              And cut us some slack when we act like n00b lamerz,
                              just as we teach n00bz when they act lame on us.
                              For j00 0wn r00t on all our b0x3s 4ever and ever, 4m3n.

                              Comment

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