Libby Davies: "I was very, very disappointed with the Liberal response. I think they are totally concerned with political optics rather than telling the truth of what this bill is about.
We had twenty-three amendments in the committee from the NDP that weren’t approved because the Liberals wouldn’t support them. My hope was that we might have at least taken out some of the worst elements of the bill to minimize the damage but the Liberals did not agree to that.
The criminalization of drug users is damaging to the whole country, and I think it is really important for politicians to have the courage to stand up and speak the truth about the Drug War and how harmful it is."
Liberal Health Promotion Critic MP for Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca, Dr. Keith Martin: "In the medical profession our first principle is ‘do no harm’. We are actually doing terrible harm if we continue to address substance abuse uniquely as a criminal issue from the federal level. The blinders have to come off; we have to take a medical perspective if we are going to turn this thing around."
Back in 2001, former Progressive Conservative prime minister Joe Clark expressed support for decriminalizing possession of small amounts of pot. The Canadian Medical Association Journal in the past has called on Ottawa to decriminalize possession of small amounts for personal use.
In 2002, then-Liberal justice minister Martin Cauchon promised the Chretien-led government would introduce legislation to decriminalize marijuana. But it never happened.
"I don't know what is marijuana. Perhaps I will try it when it will no longer be criminal. I will have my money for my fine and a joint in the other hand." Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
The Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs, often referred to as the Le Dain Commission after its chair Dean Gerald Le Dain, was a Canadian government commission that was begun in 1969 and completed its work in 1972. The final report recommended that cannabis be removed from the Narcotic Control Act and that the provinces implement controls on possession and cultivation, similar to those governing the use of alcohol. The report also recommended that the federal government conduct further research to monitor and evaluate changes in the extent and patterns of the use of cannabis and other drugs, and to explore possible consequences to health, and personal and social behaviour, resulting from the controlled legal distribution of cannabis.
A total of 365 submissions were presented at the hearings and an additional 50 were forwarded to the Commission's office. About 12,000 people attended and participated in these hearings which included testimony from a number of prominent individuals including John Lennon on December 22, 1969 in Montreal.
Although the report was widely praised for its thoroughness and thoughtfullness, its conclusions were largely ignored by the federal government.
Anne McIlroy, guardian.co.uk, Monday 7 October 2002
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien seems prepared to risk the ire of the United States and decriminalise the use of marijuana.
Last week, the Liberal government laid out its agenda for this session of parliament and included plans to decriminalize cannabis.
Mr Chrétien, who has announced he will retire in 2004, is sniffing the wind for a legacy. Decriminalising marijuana has the sweet smell of something Canadians might remember him for, so the normally cautious Mr Chrétien appears to be prepared to move ahead. Not that he has ever smoked any himself.
"When I was young the word marijuana did not exist. I didn't know. I learned about the world long after that. It was too late to try it, " Mr Chrétien, 67, recently told reporters.
But his 39-year-old justice minister confesses to having inhaled. "Of course I tried it before. Obviously," said Martin Cauchon. He is keen to decriminalise marijuana, which would mean that people caught smoking the drug would get tickets instead of heavy jail sentences, punitive fines or a criminal record.
The UK took a similar step earlier this year. But Britain isn't next door to the United States, where the government of President Bush continues to push an aggressive zero tolerance drug policy, for both itself and its neighbours.
John Walters, the Bush administration's drug tsar, has publicly stated that if Canada decriminalises marijuana it could face serious disruptions to border trade, which is crucial to the Canadian economy. Other US politicians have warned of dire consequences if Canada becomes the pot patch of the north.
Fear of angering the US is one reason why Mr Chrétien has left himself room to back away from decriminalising marijuana. He has said his government will look at decriminalising pot, but has stopped short of actually promising to do so.
But momentum is clearly building. Last month a Canadian senate committee made headlines, recommending that anyone over the age of 16 be able to smoke marijuana freely.
If it is ever implemented, the recommendation would mean joints would be legally available to teenagers long before a pint of beer. The report, which filled four volumes, was extensively researched. It also urged amnesty for the 600,000 Canadians convicted of possessing marijuana.
The senate committee argued that the recreational use of pot is no more harmful that smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol, both legal vices that provide healthy annual tax revenues. There is no reason marijuana shouldn't be legal and sold at the local store, the committee said.
Canada is also moving ahead with plans to allow the use of medical marijuana, for people undergoing chemotherapy or suffering from HIV/Aids.
In November, a special committee of Canada's House of Commons is due to report on the non-medical use of drugs. If it recommends decriminalisation, it will give Mr Chrétien the green light to move ahead.
There is no chance he will follow the advice of the senate committee and legalise marijuana, but decriminalisation looks increasingly like safe middle ground. Pot wouldn't be legal, but getting caught smoking it wouldn't mean a jail term and restricted job possibilities.
Yes, the US government would be upset, but a retired Mr Chrétien won't be around to face the consequences. His heir apparent, former finance minister Paul Martin, would be in charge. He might not mind standing up to Mr Bush on the issue. His aides have let it be known that he ate a hash brownie when he was a much younger man.
Submitted by Concerned Canadian () on Thu, 06/18/2009 - 14:42.
Liberal amounts of Backpedaling
Libby Davies: "I was very, very disappointed with the Liberal response. I think they are totally concerned with political optics rather than telling the truth of what this bill is about.
We had twenty-three amendments in the committee from the NDP that weren’t approved because the Liberals wouldn’t support them. My hope was that we might have at least taken out some of the worst elements of the bill to minimize the damage but the Liberals did not agree to that.
The criminalization of drug users is damaging to the whole country, and I think it is really important for politicians to have the courage to stand up and speak the truth about the Drug War and how harmful it is."
Liberal Health Promotion Critic MP for Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca, Dr. Keith Martin: "In the medical profession our first principle is ‘do no harm’. We are actually doing terrible harm if we continue to address substance abuse uniquely as a criminal issue from the federal level. The blinders have to come off; we have to take a medical perspective if we are going to turn this thing around."
Back in 2001, former Progressive Conservative prime minister Joe Clark expressed support for decriminalizing possession of small amounts of pot. The Canadian Medical Association Journal in the past has called on Ottawa to decriminalize possession of small amounts for personal use.
In 2002, then-Liberal justice minister Martin Cauchon promised the Chretien-led government would introduce legislation to decriminalize marijuana. But it never happened.
"I don't know what is marijuana. Perhaps I will try it when it will no longer be criminal. I will have my money for my fine and a joint in the other hand." Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
The Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs, often referred to as the Le Dain Commission after its chair Dean Gerald Le Dain, was a Canadian government commission that was begun in 1969 and completed its work in 1972. The final report recommended that cannabis be removed from the Narcotic Control Act and that the provinces implement controls on possession and cultivation, similar to those governing the use of alcohol. The report also recommended that the federal government conduct further research to monitor and evaluate changes in the extent and patterns of the use of cannabis and other drugs, and to explore possible consequences to health, and personal and social behaviour, resulting from the controlled legal distribution of cannabis.
A total of 365 submissions were presented at the hearings and an additional 50 were forwarded to the Commission's office. About 12,000 people attended and participated in these hearings which included testimony from a number of prominent individuals including John Lennon on December 22, 1969 in Montreal.
Although the report was widely praised for its thoroughness and thoughtfullness, its conclusions were largely ignored by the federal government.
Anne McIlroy, guardian.co.uk, Monday 7 October 2002
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien seems prepared to risk the ire of the United States and decriminalise the use of marijuana.
Last week, the Liberal government laid out its agenda for this session of parliament and included plans to decriminalize cannabis.
Mr Chrétien, who has announced he will retire in 2004, is sniffing the wind for a legacy. Decriminalising marijuana has the sweet smell of something Canadians might remember him for, so the normally cautious Mr Chrétien appears to be prepared to move ahead. Not that he has ever smoked any himself.
"When I was young the word marijuana did not exist. I didn't know. I learned about the world long after that. It was too late to try it, " Mr Chrétien, 67, recently told reporters.
But his 39-year-old justice minister confesses to having inhaled. "Of course I tried it before. Obviously," said Martin Cauchon. He is keen to decriminalise marijuana, which would mean that people caught smoking the drug would get tickets instead of heavy jail sentences, punitive fines or a criminal record.
The UK took a similar step earlier this year. But Britain isn't next door to the United States, where the government of President Bush continues to push an aggressive zero tolerance drug policy, for both itself and its neighbours.
John Walters, the Bush administration's drug tsar, has publicly stated that if Canada decriminalises marijuana it could face serious disruptions to border trade, which is crucial to the Canadian economy. Other US politicians have warned of dire consequences if Canada becomes the pot patch of the north.
Fear of angering the US is one reason why Mr Chrétien has left himself room to back away from decriminalising marijuana. He has said his government will look at decriminalising pot, but has stopped short of actually promising to do so.
But momentum is clearly building. Last month a Canadian senate committee made headlines, recommending that anyone over the age of 16 be able to smoke marijuana freely.
If it is ever implemented, the recommendation would mean joints would be legally available to teenagers long before a pint of beer. The report, which filled four volumes, was extensively researched. It also urged amnesty for the 600,000 Canadians convicted of possessing marijuana.
The senate committee argued that the recreational use of pot is no more harmful that smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol, both legal vices that provide healthy annual tax revenues. There is no reason marijuana shouldn't be legal and sold at the local store, the committee said.
Canada is also moving ahead with plans to allow the use of medical marijuana, for people undergoing chemotherapy or suffering from HIV/Aids.
In November, a special committee of Canada's House of Commons is due to report on the non-medical use of drugs. If it recommends decriminalisation, it will give Mr Chrétien the green light to move ahead.
There is no chance he will follow the advice of the senate committee and legalise marijuana, but decriminalisation looks increasingly like safe middle ground. Pot wouldn't be legal, but getting caught smoking it wouldn't mean a jail term and restricted job possibilities.
Yes, the US government would be upset, but a retired Mr Chrétien won't be around to face the consequences. His heir apparent, former finance minister Paul Martin, would be in charge. He might not mind standing up to Mr Bush on the issue. His aides have let it be known that he ate a hash brownie when he was a much younger man.