Debaser

This comes the same day as the US Supreme Court ruling.
It's a very intersting contrast to say the least.The Canadian
Medical Association represents some 50,000 doctors in Canada.


Source: Canadian Medical Association Journal (Canada)
Issue: CMAJ 2001;164(10):1397
Pubdate: Tue, 15 May 2001

Marijuana: federal smoke clears, a little

Fourteen years after narcotics police arrested Terrance Parker (who had
discovered that smoking marijuana reduced the frequency of his grand
mal seizures), and a year after the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that
Canada's discretionary regulation of the medicinal use of marijuana was
"unfettered and unstructured ... [and] not consistent" with the
principles of fundamental justice,"1 our federal government has taken
the bold little step of drafting new regulations.

In Canada, even the simple possession of small amounts of marijuana for
personal use is a criminal offense, unless you are one of the roughly
40 Canadians who have obtained a special dispensation to use cannabis
to relieve the symptoms of cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis or
epilepsy. The program is unduly restrictive. The new regulations
promise more transparency in the review of applications to grow or
possess medicinal marijuana, a broader definition of medical necessity,
and greater latitude for physicians in determining the needs of
individual patients.

There are no persuasive randomized trials of marijuana therapy for the
relief of symptoms such as pain and nausea. Such trials are extremely
difficult to do. But the ratio of drug effect (however subjective that
effect may be) to drug harm is large: there are no reported cases of
fatal marijuana overdose. The risks of lung cancer (from the tars in
the smoke) or the very weak (and perhaps nonexistent) risk of addiction
are mostly irrelevant to patients with terminal disease or severe
chronic conditions. About 400 000 Canadians use cannabis for medical
reasons.2 Professional organizations such as the CMA must move quickly
to issue guidelines for physicians who, increasingly, will be asked for
advice by their patients.

Health Canada's decision to legitimize the medicinal use of marijuana
is a step in the right direction. But a bolder stride is needed. The
possession of small quantities for personal use should be
decriminalized. The minimal negative health effects of moderate use3
would be attested to by the estimated 1.5 million Canadians who smoke
marijuana for recreational purposes.2 The real harm is the legal and
social fallout. About half of all drug arrests in Canada are for simple
possession of small amounts of marijuana: about 31 299 convictions in
1995 alone.4 Many lead to jail terms or fines and all result in that
indelible social tattoo: a criminal record. This means that for anyone
who's ever been caught with a stash in his or her pocket, the question
"Have you ever had a criminal conviction?" during a job application or
medical school interview can force higher aspirations to go up in a
puff of smoke.

The decriminalization of marijuana possession for personal use does not
mean making marijuana "legal" or letting it be sold in every
schoolyard. It does mean that possession of small amounts for personal
use would become a civil offense, like a traffic violation, not a
criminal one. The provisions of Canada's Contraventions Act make this a
relatively simple legislative task. Mr. Justice Minister, let's
decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal
use. - CMAJ



-Debaser

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