cannabisnews.com: Our Marijuana Laws Still in the Dark Ages





Our Marijuana Laws Still in the Dark Ages
Posted by FoM on August 04, 2001 at 09:43:42 PT
By Howard Elliott 
Source: Hamilton Spectator 
Off-duty, journalists love the summer as much as anyone. But when he or she is back in harness, your average ink-stained wretch will tell you summer is not what it's cracked up to be, at least not in the newsrooms of the nation. We call this the silly season, when the same things that make it great make it tough to deliver a steady diet of compelling, important news. An unfortunate by-product of the silly season is that some stories take on a life of their own, their real importance blown out of proportion by the lack of competition. Take, for example, the extensive coverage this week about new federal regulations around the medicinal use of marijuana. 
According to much of the coverage and commentary about Allan Rock's announcement and photo-op tour of the country's first government-approved pot garden, this is a big deal. For the first time, Canadians who can demonstrate that they need to smoke marijuana to ease and control chronic pain and discomfort can grow and toke their medicine legally, provided they have a licence from Health Canada and approval from their doctor. In reality, this is a modest step, at best. Critics point out that the policy is severely restrictive in that applicants must have a life expectancy of a year or less, or be in severe pain from AIDS, cancer or some other serious medical condition. Doctors or medical specialists must support the application, and the process is alarmingly slow. To date, fewer than 300 people have been approved, with another 500 applications pending. In addition, Ottawa has put in place a multimillion-dollar infrastructure to produce and control medicinal pot distribution when most people who need it get a better product for a fraction of the cost. A much better solution would be to legalize simple possession and license expert growers. But that's politically risky and complex, so what we have instead is a halfway measure that pleases no one in spite of Rock's best intentions. Perhaps the greatest value of the week's events is that they show, once again, how ridiculously outdated and ineffective our marijuana laws are. More and more, the situation reminds us of alcohol prohibition 80 years ago: Everyone knew booze was as popular as ever, and that prohibition laws only drove production, distribution and consumption underground, sometimes with disastrous results. Even Canada's police chiefs have said the law should be overhauled and simple possession of pot turned into an offence punishable by fine rather than jail. Right now, while Ottawa presides over its super high-security, expensive pot farm in Manitoba, Canadians are buying pot on the street corner, from their neighbours and friends, and often from dealers who are the real criminals. Cigarettes which, unlike recreational marijuana use, kill, are legal. Alcohol is a controlled substance. Pot, which most people agree is more benign than both these, is illegal, and we arrest people for having a joint or two. This makes no sense. Source: Hamilton Spectator (CN ON)Author: Howard Elliott Published: Saturday, August 4, 2001Copyright: The Hamilton Spectator 2001Contact: letters hamiltonspectator.comWebsite: http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmDeep In The Ground Lies The Marijuana Farm http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10509.shtmlCanada Legalizes Marijuana For Medicinal Purposes http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10468.shtml
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