| THIS IS A READ-ONLY ARCHIVE FROM THE SORABJI.COM MESSAGE BOARDS (1995-2016). |
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But damn, do i hate Pink Floyd. ---- Canada Committee Urges Laxer Pot Laws, U.S. Upset By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - A parliamentary committee urged the Canadian government on Thursday to relax its laws on possession of marijuana, an idea that Washington's drug czar immediately branded as outdated and dangerous. The special committee on the non-medical use of drugs said in a report that marijuana should be decriminalized, but not legalized. This means people possessing and cultivating pot in amounts less than 30 grams (1.1 ounces) would be fined if caught, rather than getting a criminal record as at present. About 20,000 Canadians a year are convicted for possession or cultivation of marijuana, which committee chairwoman Paddy Torsney said was a waste of police resources because current laws seemed to be having no effect. "We concluded that the possession of marijuana should remain illegal and trafficking in any amount of cannabis should remain a crime," she told a news conference. "Smoking any amount of marijuana is unhealthy but the consequences of conviction of a small amount of marijuana for personal use are disproportionate to the potential harm," she said, pointing out that 30 percent of Canadians admitted to having smoked pot. The report provides more ammunition for Justice Minister Martin Cauchon, who said this week he planned to introduce legislation early next year to decriminalize marijuana. But in the United States, officials, already worried about the increasing amounts of potent Canadian marijuana flowing across the border, flatly condemned the idea that pot was not particularly dangerous. John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said the committee's recommendations reflected "archaic views" about marijuana. "The line that has been presented to Americans as well as Canadians is that marijuana is not a serious drug of abuse. That is not true," he said. "High-potency marijuana in particular is being used by teenagers of younger and younger ages," he told a news conference in Buffalo, New York. Walters said the recommendations would lead to greater use of marijuana and other drugs, and if Canadian laws were relaxed the United States might have to increase security at the two nations' shared border to clamp down on trafficking. This could deal a major blow to Canada's economy, since more than 85 percent of its exports go to the United States. "No family, no community and no nation is better off with more drug use...for people who have tried to tell Americans marijuana is not something you have to pay attention to -- it's a lie," said Walters. Police say Canada, with an estimated illegal drug market of $9 billion a year, has surpassed Mexico as a source of illegal drugs for the United States. Cauchon said decriminalizing marijuana would help police focus on striking at organized crime gangs -- especially in the western province of British Columbia -- who have turned pot growing into a multibillion-dollar industry. "We want to ensure we'll be even tougher on those involved in organized crime and smuggling drugs...we want to make sure we focus our resources where it really counts for our society," he told reporters, stressing what he said was excellent cooperation between Canadian and U.S. police forces. Torsney's committee -- comprising legislators from the House of Commons -- recommended against the full legalization of marijuana, an idea that Cauchon has already rejected. In September a Senate committee said marijuana should be legalized and regulated, as is the case with alcohol. Kevin Sorenson of the official opposition Canadian Alliance, a right-wing law-and-order party, backed the overall thrust of the report but said the limit for non-criminal marijuana possession should be set at 5 grams (0.2 ounces). ----------- Check it out, even the Alliance freaks agree on this one. I giggle at the thought of what those D.A.R.E fuckers are going to do if this works out. |
Stupid word |