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Easing marijuana laws would remove Canada from the "lonely corner" it now shares with the few remaining Western countries that use criminal convictions to punish users, experts say.
As an all-party committee of MPs prepares to release a report in Ottawa tomorrow that could recommend decriminalizing marijuana, researchers say too many people are unaware that such legal changes are already common around the world.
"Pretty much all the countries are doing this," said Benedikt Fischer of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.
Sweden and the United States are among the last countries to enforce strict laws against possession. Small-scale possession can mean six months of jail time in Sweden and up to four years of jail in the United States. About half of all drug convictions in those countries are for cannabis possession.
Most others are moving to more liberal policies, despite international treaties such the 1988 Vienna Convention that outlawed possession, purchase and cultivation of drugs for personal consumption.
The International Narcotics Control Board declared in 1992 that none of the conventions force governments to convict or punish people who use illegal drugs.
That's the legal loophole that authorities in the Netherlands began using in the 1970s. Dutch marijuana users can still technically spend a month in jail for possession, but police have been told to ignore anyone with less than 30 grams, and they tolerate "coffee shops" that sell the drug.
"Despite the overarching framework of prohibition, each country is trying to extricate itself," said senior scientist Patricia Erickson, another researcher at CAMH. "The overall trend is away from punitive measures."
The trend began with the Dutch, but many other governments have also eased their laws. Australia, Austria, Greece, Ireland and the United Kingdom have designed legal mechanisms to give marijuana smokers -- especially first offenders -- warnings, tickets or treatment instead of punishment.
Some jurisdictions have claimed success with these non-criminal measures because the drug users aren't saddled with criminal records, and burdens on the court system are generally lighter.
But some decriminalized systems are actually more Draconian than the laws they replaced, Mr. Fischer said, because police officers who might have chosen to turn a blind eye in the past are now writing numerous, expensive tickets.
"Sometimes these new forms of social control can be much more onerous," Mr. Fischer said. "You can make the system much worse."
Other countries are more permissive, even though strict laws remain on the books. Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland operate with de facto decriminalization because prosecutors or police have wide discretion about whether to pursue possession cases and usually don't consider them important. Swiss authorities are even debating whether to allow marijuana retailers.
Another group of countries, including Italy, Spain and Portugal, has passed laws fully decriminalizing marijuana. In Portugal, for instance, drug users are now exempt from criminal proceedings and are referred instead to health authorities.
Canada's proximity to the United States shouldn't keep it from joining the global trend, said Eric Single, a professor of public health at the University of Toronto. Americans are unlikely to risk crossing the border to buy marijuana if Canada liberalizes its laws, he said, because the drug is already so readily available in the U.S. But like other experts, he said it's still unclear how changes in Canada's laws will compare with those of other countries.
Pubdate: Wed, 11 Dec 2002
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Page: A10
Copyright: 2002, The Globe and Mail Company
Contact: letters@globeandmail.ca
Website: The Globe and Mail: Canadian, World, Politics and Business News & Analysis
As an all-party committee of MPs prepares to release a report in Ottawa tomorrow that could recommend decriminalizing marijuana, researchers say too many people are unaware that such legal changes are already common around the world.
"Pretty much all the countries are doing this," said Benedikt Fischer of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.
Sweden and the United States are among the last countries to enforce strict laws against possession. Small-scale possession can mean six months of jail time in Sweden and up to four years of jail in the United States. About half of all drug convictions in those countries are for cannabis possession.
Most others are moving to more liberal policies, despite international treaties such the 1988 Vienna Convention that outlawed possession, purchase and cultivation of drugs for personal consumption.
The International Narcotics Control Board declared in 1992 that none of the conventions force governments to convict or punish people who use illegal drugs.
That's the legal loophole that authorities in the Netherlands began using in the 1970s. Dutch marijuana users can still technically spend a month in jail for possession, but police have been told to ignore anyone with less than 30 grams, and they tolerate "coffee shops" that sell the drug.
"Despite the overarching framework of prohibition, each country is trying to extricate itself," said senior scientist Patricia Erickson, another researcher at CAMH. "The overall trend is away from punitive measures."
The trend began with the Dutch, but many other governments have also eased their laws. Australia, Austria, Greece, Ireland and the United Kingdom have designed legal mechanisms to give marijuana smokers -- especially first offenders -- warnings, tickets or treatment instead of punishment.
Some jurisdictions have claimed success with these non-criminal measures because the drug users aren't saddled with criminal records, and burdens on the court system are generally lighter.
But some decriminalized systems are actually more Draconian than the laws they replaced, Mr. Fischer said, because police officers who might have chosen to turn a blind eye in the past are now writing numerous, expensive tickets.
"Sometimes these new forms of social control can be much more onerous," Mr. Fischer said. "You can make the system much worse."
Other countries are more permissive, even though strict laws remain on the books. Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland operate with de facto decriminalization because prosecutors or police have wide discretion about whether to pursue possession cases and usually don't consider them important. Swiss authorities are even debating whether to allow marijuana retailers.
Another group of countries, including Italy, Spain and Portugal, has passed laws fully decriminalizing marijuana. In Portugal, for instance, drug users are now exempt from criminal proceedings and are referred instead to health authorities.
Canada's proximity to the United States shouldn't keep it from joining the global trend, said Eric Single, a professor of public health at the University of Toronto. Americans are unlikely to risk crossing the border to buy marijuana if Canada liberalizes its laws, he said, because the drug is already so readily available in the U.S. But like other experts, he said it's still unclear how changes in Canada's laws will compare with those of other countries.
Pubdate: Wed, 11 Dec 2002
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Page: A10
Copyright: 2002, The Globe and Mail Company
Contact: letters@globeandmail.ca
Website: The Globe and Mail: Canadian, World, Politics and Business News & Analysis
