Canada
Smith, Phillip S.
If a sort of de facto decriminalization exists in Canada's British Columbia province, where the marijuana business generates at least $2 billion annually and provides an estimated 100,000...
...Chretien and Cauchon may be attempting to preempt a report from a Canadian Senate committee studying drug policy changes...
...drug warriors are watching with concern, and while officials such as Drug Czar John Wal- ters have been circumspect-Walters recently noted that Canada is a sovereign nation, but urged it to reinvigorate its war on cannabis-some congressional hardliners are stirring nationalist antagonisms...
...S|.S...
...A preliminary report issued in May concluded that the negative health and social effects of the drug are minimal...
...Mark Souder (R-IN), who told incredulous Canadian legislators that BC-grown marijuana is as dangerous as cocaine, Vancouver MP Libby Davies (New Democrat) told the Toronto Globe and Mail: "I thought, 'My God, what is this man talking about?' We can't be subservient to the ridiculous rhetoric coming out of the United States...
...It is widely believed that the committee report, expected in September, will call for marijuana decriminalization...
...After a meeting with a threatening Rep...
...If a sort of de facto decriminalization exists in Canada's British Columbia province, where the marijuana business generates at least $2 billion annually and provides an estimated 100,000 jobs, the Liberal government of Prime Minister Jean Chretien is hinting that it wishes to formalize a similar policy nationwide...
...The committee also found that an estimated 30-50% of Canadians aged 15 to 24 have used mari- juana despite extensive and expensive suppression efforts...
...Laws against trafficking would remain on the books, however...
...In July, Justice Minister Maurice Cauchon floated a decriminalization trial balloon that would entail removing marijuana possession from the criminal code, making it instead a ticketable offense with a fine, similar to a traffic citation...
Vol. 36 • September 2002 • No. 2
