Senate
Committee recommends legalization of cannabis
OTTAWA,
September 4, 2002 - The Senate Special Committee on Illegal
Drugs today
released its final report on cannabis. In an exhaustive
and
comprehensive two-year study of public policy related to marijuana,
the
Special Committee found that the drug should be legalized. The 600
plus
page Senate report is a result of rigorous research, analysis
and
extensive public hearings in Ottawa and communities throughout
Canada
with experts and citizens.
"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",
said Senator
Pierre Claude Nolin, Chair of the Special Committee, in a
news
conference today in Ottawa. "Indeed, domestic and international
experts
and Canadians from every walk of life told us loud and clear that
we
should not be imposing criminal records on users or unduly
prohibiting
personal use of cannabis. At the same time, make no
mistake, we are not
endorsing cannabis use for recreational
consumption. Whether or not an
individual uses marijuana should be a
personal choice that is not
subject to criminal penalties. But we have
come to the conclusion that,
as a drug, it should be regulated by the State
much as we do for wine
and beer, hence our preference for legalization over
decriminalization."
Among many observations, the Senate Report concludes
that:
· The Government of
Canada should adopt an integrated policy on
the risks and harmful effects of
psychoactive substances covering the
whole range of substances including
cannabis, medications, alcohol,
tobacco and illegal drugs, focusing on
educating users, detecting and
preventing at-risk use and treating excessive
use.
· As far as cannabis
is concerned, only behaviour causing
demonstrable harm to others should be
prohibited: illegal trafficking,
selling to young people under the age of
sixteen and impaired
driving.
· Legislation
for a cannabis exemption scheme should be
introduced stipulating conditions
for obtaining licences, producing and
selling cannabis; criminal penalties
for illegal trafficking and export;
and the preservation of criminal
penalties for all activities falling
outside the scope of the exemption
scheme.
· Present
medicinal marijuana provisions are not effective and
must be revised to
provide greater access for those in
need.
· Amnesty should be
provided for any person convicted of
possession of cannabis under current or
past legislation.
In its extensive report, the Special Committee suggests
a number of
specific initiatives for implementing its recommendations such
as:
· creation of a
National Advisor on Psychoactive Substances and
Dependency within the Privy
Council Office;
· a
high-level conference of key stakeholders from the
provinces, territories,
municipalities and associations in 2003 to set
goals and priorities for
action;
· creation of a
Canadian Centre on Psychoactive Substances and
Dependency with a strong,
clear mandate, adequately funded and reporting
to Parliament and with a
Monitoring Agency on Psychoactive Substances
and Dependency to conduct
studies with the provinces and territories and
table a bi-annual report on
drug-use trends and emerging
problems;
· amendments to
the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations to
provide new rules regarding
eligibility, availability, production and
distribution with respect to
cannabis for therapeutic
purposes;
· amendment to
the Criminal Code to lower permitted alcohol
levels to 40 milligrams of
alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in the
presence of other drugs,
especially, but not exclusively cannabis;
and
· Canada seeking
amendments to United Nations conventions and
treaties governing illegal drugs
and supporting the development of a
Drugs and Dependency Monitoring Agency
for the Americas.
The Committee also examined the international
obligations and
repercussions of Canada's cannabis policies as well as
approaches taken
by other countries. It studied the impact of more
liberal policy
approaches to cannabis in countries such as the Netherlands,
Switzerland
and Spain along with more restrictive policies such as Sweden,
France or
the United States. There is a clear international trend to
reassessing
domestic drug policy such as recent initiatives toward
decriminalization
in the United Kingdom. Deputy Chair Senator Colin
Kenny points out that
"though what we are recommending for our country has an
impact on our
friends and neighbours, Canada must make its own decisions in
the best
interests of its citizens."
The Senate Special Committee on
Illegal Drugs is chaired by Senator
Pierre Claude Nolin with Senator Colin
Kenny as deputy-chair. Also
serving on the Committee are Senators Tommy
Banks, Shirley Maheu and
Eileen Rossiter. The Special Senate Committee
on Illegal Drugs
maintains an Internet web site at
http://www.parl.gc.ca/illegal-drugs.asp.
where proceedings, testimony,
research, general information and its report
can be found.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation 1
The
Committee recommends that the position of National Advisor on
Psychoactive
Substances and Dependency be created within the Privy
Council Office; that
the Advisor be supported by a small secretariat and
that the necessary staff
be assigned by federal departments and agencies
involved with psychoactive
substances on request.
Recommendation 2
The Committee recommends
that the Government of Canada mandate the
National Advisor on Psychoactive
Substances and Dependency to call a
high-level conference of key stakeholders
from the provinces,
territories, municipalities and associations in 2003, to
set goals and
priorities for action on psychoactive substances over a
five-year
period.
Recommendation 3
The Committee recommends
that the Government of Canada amend the
enabling legislation of the Canadian
Centre on Substance Abuse to change
the Centre's name to the Canadian Centre
on Psychoactive Substances and
Dependency ; make the Centre accountable to
Parliament; provide the
Centre with an annual basic operating budget of $15
million to be
increased annually; require the Centre to table an annual
report on
actions taken, key issues, research and trends in Parliament and
in
the provincial and territorial legislatures; mandate the Centre
to
ensure national coordination of research on psychoactive substances
and
dependency and to conduct studies into specific issues; and mandate
the
Centre to undertake an assessment of the national strategy
on
psychoactive substance and dependency every five
years.
Recommendation 4
The Committee recommends that, in the
legislation creating the Canadian
Centre on Psychoactive Substances and
Dependency, the Government of
Canada specifically include provision for the
setting up of a Monitoring
Agency on Psychoactive Substances and Dependency
within the Centre;
provide that the Monitoring Agency be mandated to conduct
studies every
two years, in cooperation with relevant bodies, on drug-use
trends and
dependency problems in the adult population; work with the
provinces and
territories towards increased harmonization of studies of the
student
population and to ensure they are carried out every two years;
conduct
ad hoc studies on specific issues; and table a bi-annual report
on
drug-use trends and emerging problems.
Recommendation 5
The
Committee recommends that the Government of Canada adopt an
integrated policy
on the risks and harmful effects of psychoactive
substances covering the
whole range of substances (medication, alcohol,
tobacco and illegal
drugs). With respect to cannabis, this policy
should focus on educating
users, detecting and preventing at-risk use
and treating excessive
use.
Recommendation 6
The Committee recommends that the Government
of Canada amend the
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to create a criminal
exemption
scheme. This legislation should stipulate the conditions for
obtaining
licences as well as for producing and selling cannabis;
criminal
penalties for illegal trafficking and export; and the preservation
of
criminal penalties for all activities falling outside the scope of
the
exemption scheme.
Recommendation 7
The Committee recommends
that the Government of Canada declare an
amnesty for any person convicted of
possession of cannabis under current
or past
legislation.
Recommendation 8
The Committee recommends that the
Marijuana Medical Access Regulations
be amended to provide new rules
regarding eligibility, production and
distribution with respect to cannabis
for therapeutic purposes. In
addition, research on cannabis for therapeutic
purposes is essential.
Recommendation 9
The Committee recommends
that the Criminal Code be amended to lower
permitted alcohol levels to 40
milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres
of blood, in the presence of other
drugs, especially, but not
exclusively cannabis; and to admit evidence from
expert police officers
trained in detecting persons operating vehicles under
the influence of
drugs.
Recommendation 10
The Committee
recommends that the Government of Canada create a national
fund for research
on psychoactive substances and dependency to fund
research on key issues,
more particularly on various types of use, on
the therapeutic applications of
cannabis, on tools for detecting persons
operating vehicles under the
influence of drugs and on effective
prevention and treatment programs; that
the Government of Canada mandate
the Canadian Centre on Psychoactive
Substances and Dependency to
co-ordinate national research and serve as a
resource centre.
Recommendation 11
The Committee recommends that
the Government of Canada instruct the
Minister of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade to inform the
appropriate United Nations authorities that
Canada is requesting an
amendment to the conventions and treaties governing
illegal drugs; and
that the development of a Drugs and Dependency Monitoring
Agency for the
Americas be supported by the Government of
Canada.