T
The420Guy
Guest
Medial marijuana law called only a small step forward
Despite Ottawa's recent decision to allow the use of marijuana for
medicinal purposes, Canada is still well behind several European
countries when it comes to reforming its drug laws.
The Canadian law, which came into effect yesterday, allows severely
ill patients with a doctor's approval to apply to Health Canada to
grow and use marijuana.
Compared with the United States, which has taken a hard line in its
war against drugs, the move by the federal government looks almost
radical. But compared with Portugal, which has decriminalized the use
of previously banned drugs - from cannabis to crack cocaine - Canada's
move doesn't seem so revolutionary.
"America has spent billions on enforcement, but it has got nowhere,"
Vitalino Canas, Portugal's top official for drug policy, was quoted as
saying earlier this month by the Guardian newspaper in Britain. "We
view drug users as people who need help and care."
The new Portuguese law, which came into effect July 1, does not mean
drugs are legal. However, drug users in Portugal no longer have to
fear prison if they get caught.
In Switzerland, officials announced in March they would take steps to
remove penalties for all consumption of hashish and marijuana.
The move came after a Swiss government survey in February found that
as many as one in four people in the country of seven million have
tried pot.
The Swiss have long given heroin to addicts for health reasons, such
as reducing the risk of using shared needles and HIV infection.
Not everyone in Europe is getting on the drug-reform bandwagon. In
Sweden, for instance, consumption or possession of cannabis is
punishable by up to six months in jail.
But for the most part, Sweden is the exception rather than the rule in
European attitudes toward drugs. And that is why drug reform advocates
in Canada are looking across the Atlantic with keen interest.
"We are not as repressive as Sweden," said Eugene Oscapella, a lawyer
and founding member of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy.
"But we are far behind countries like Portugal, Spain, Italy and
Belgium."
The Ottawa-based foundation, which advocates reforming Canada's drug
laws, points out that Canada was not the first country to introduce
regulations for the medical use of marijuana.
"Belgium beat us to the punch," Oscapella said in a phone interview.
On July 19, the Belgian government announced it had approved the use
of cannabis for medical purposes on a trial basis.
Under the new law, cannabis can only be administered in Belgian
hospitals as part of research that has been approved by an ethics
committee.
The announcement followed the Belgian government's pledge in January
that it would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of
marijuana.
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Halifax Daily News (CN NS)
Copyright: 2001 The Daily News.
Contact: letterstoeditor@hfxnews.southam.ca
Website: https://www.hfxnews.southam.ca/
Pubdate: Tuesday, July 31, 2001
Author: Alejandro Bustos, The Canadian Press
Despite Ottawa's recent decision to allow the use of marijuana for
medicinal purposes, Canada is still well behind several European
countries when it comes to reforming its drug laws.
The Canadian law, which came into effect yesterday, allows severely
ill patients with a doctor's approval to apply to Health Canada to
grow and use marijuana.
Compared with the United States, which has taken a hard line in its
war against drugs, the move by the federal government looks almost
radical. But compared with Portugal, which has decriminalized the use
of previously banned drugs - from cannabis to crack cocaine - Canada's
move doesn't seem so revolutionary.
"America has spent billions on enforcement, but it has got nowhere,"
Vitalino Canas, Portugal's top official for drug policy, was quoted as
saying earlier this month by the Guardian newspaper in Britain. "We
view drug users as people who need help and care."
The new Portuguese law, which came into effect July 1, does not mean
drugs are legal. However, drug users in Portugal no longer have to
fear prison if they get caught.
In Switzerland, officials announced in March they would take steps to
remove penalties for all consumption of hashish and marijuana.
The move came after a Swiss government survey in February found that
as many as one in four people in the country of seven million have
tried pot.
The Swiss have long given heroin to addicts for health reasons, such
as reducing the risk of using shared needles and HIV infection.
Not everyone in Europe is getting on the drug-reform bandwagon. In
Sweden, for instance, consumption or possession of cannabis is
punishable by up to six months in jail.
But for the most part, Sweden is the exception rather than the rule in
European attitudes toward drugs. And that is why drug reform advocates
in Canada are looking across the Atlantic with keen interest.
"We are not as repressive as Sweden," said Eugene Oscapella, a lawyer
and founding member of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy.
"But we are far behind countries like Portugal, Spain, Italy and
Belgium."
The Ottawa-based foundation, which advocates reforming Canada's drug
laws, points out that Canada was not the first country to introduce
regulations for the medical use of marijuana.
"Belgium beat us to the punch," Oscapella said in a phone interview.
On July 19, the Belgian government announced it had approved the use
of cannabis for medical purposes on a trial basis.
Under the new law, cannabis can only be administered in Belgian
hospitals as part of research that has been approved by an ethics
committee.
The announcement followed the Belgian government's pledge in January
that it would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of
marijuana.
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Halifax Daily News (CN NS)
Copyright: 2001 The Daily News.
Contact: letterstoeditor@hfxnews.southam.ca
Website: https://www.hfxnews.southam.ca/
Pubdate: Tuesday, July 31, 2001
Author: Alejandro Bustos, The Canadian Press
