Belgium to legalise cannabis

Andrew Osborn, Brussels
Saturday March 29, 2003
The Guardian

The Belgian parliament has voted to legalise the personal use of cannabis, within certain guidelines, for anyone over the age of 18. The move, which has been the subject of fierce debate in Belgium for the last two years, will allow users to smoke small quantities of the drug in private, provided they do not disturb public order.

Its sale will, however, remain illegal and Belgium will not tolerate Dutch-style coffee shops selling cannabis over the counter. Hard drugs will continue to be outlawed. The possession of up to 5g of cannabis for personal use will no longer be punishable and police officers who find such quantities in routine searches will take no action.

The country's ruling coalition of Liberals, Socialists and Greens said it had been trying to decriminalise use of the soft drug since 2001.

The new law cleared the final hurdle after the Belgian senate voted by a margin of 30 to 19 to adopt it.

The past 19th of january the government presented a guideline to drugpolicy. A bit confusing, bad explained and mostly critizied. Today it could be understood more clearly.

What are the guidelines of the new government in drugpolicy? It will be based upon 3 pillars, the number of consumers will be reduced, reduce pysically and social nuisances, negative consequences of the phenomenon are set down. Their credo: prevention, aid and repression.

Why drugs are taken? Every drug-use must not necessarily result into dependency. But there are factors to trigger it. We distinguish 4 stages in the dependency causing processus: discovery and experimentation, regularly consumption, misuse, dependency. It is important that parents and educators seek for specialised aid when they consider it as necessary even if the consummer does not agree with this.

What does the government do to prevent? The prevention is matter of the comunities. But 51 comunities will get financial aids to support structures as streetwork and sensibilisation. Other priorities are foreseen, especially the formation of teachers, compaigns about driving vehicles, fighting tabagism or the respect of the minimal age concerning selling of alcoolic beverages (16 years)

What will be done to help dependent people? The coorination of diferent help-mesures is not very coherent, the government tells, this has to be ameliorated. Precise mesures as individual care, pilot projects in psychiatry or the increasement of beds for crisis-situations. The substitution-treatment of heroin-dependents will get legal.

What will be punished in future? If cannabis will not be legalized one reads adults are not prosecuted by the police for detention of cannabis for personnel use. No more prosecution but there exist 2 exeptions: problematic consumption (means when the consumer is not master of the situation) or in cases of social disorders and in cases of consumption in presence of minors. The distiction between cannabis and hard drugs will be held down in a royal resolution. The new law will have to be adopted by the parliament. Forbidden remains: detention of cannabis which is not meant for personel use, tetention of hard drugs (heroin, ecstasy, ..) and also the selling of all illegal drugs, cannabis too.

What tells the law about minors? The detention of cannabis by minors will be prosecuted in any case. The parents will be instructed and heard.

What is understood by problematic consumption? It means a use which is out of the consumers control. In case of infraction a medical expertise could be ordered by the public prosecutor.

Are the users of drugs in cases of prosecution punished every time? No. The government decided a repressive prosecution will only remain as last mesure.

Could cannabis be smoked in a bar or youth-house? Consumption in presence of minors is considered as social disorder and can be prosecuted. Remains forebidden to give a room to consummers for their consumption. The mayor of the city could order tho close the public rooms. Barowners do not have allow drug consumption in their rooms.

Could cannabis be planted? The detention of cannabis from personel growing remains forebidden. But persons planting it for their personal use will not to be prosecuted under the prescribed conditions (no minors, no social disorders)

Can you pass the border with cannabis? The import of cannabis remains forebidden but the import for personel use will not to be prosecuted. Export, even of personel amounts remains forbidden.

Can one drive a vehicle under influence of cannabis? No. The drivers will be controlled in the future. Fault of a fiable drugtest the policemen will evaluate external signs of drug consumption.

Governor Cayetano to Sign First Bill of Its Kind in the United States

APRIL 25 -- The Hawaii Senate passed a bill today to remove state-level criminal penalties for seriously ill people who use marijuana with their doctors' approval. Already approved by the state House of Representatives and endorsed by Governor Ben Cayetano, the new law will be the first of its kind* to be enacted by a state legislature, rather than through a ballot initiative.

   The bill, S.B. 862, is similar to the medical marijuana initiatives that passed in all seven states (and the District of Columbia) in which they have appeared on the ballot since 1996. Although federal law criminalizes the medical use of marijuana, because 99% of all marijuana arrests in the United States are made by state and local officials, changing state laws can effectively protect nearly all medical marijuana users from arrest and imprisonment.

   "The second wave of the campaign to protect medical marijuana users is underway," said Chuck Thomas, director of communications for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), which supported the effort to pass this landmark legislation in Hawaii. "The first wave was the passage of state ballot initiatives, the second is state legislation, and the third will be federal legislation."

   A bipartisan medical marijuana bill made some progress in Maryland this year, and MPP expects it to pass next year. MPP will also work to get medical marijuana bills introduced in 40 other states.

   "We're grateful that Hawaii's elected officials care so much about seriously ill people," said Pamela Lichty, vice president of Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, the main proponent of the bill. "This is the first time in U.S. history that a state legislature has enacted a law to allow patients to possess and grow marijuana. Now we must ensure that the law is effectively implemented to help patients without causing any harm to the public."

Although numerous state legislatures have enacted medical marijuana research laws since the late 1970s, the Hawaii law is the first to effectively remove criminal penalties for medical marijuana users.

WASHINGTON - Jamaican Prime Minister Percival Patterson said on Monday that he found "persuasive" the arguments for decriminalizing the private use of ganja, the local term for marijuana or cannabis. A commission of inquiry in Jamaica has recommended decriminalizing ganja for private use for adults, for medicinal purposes or as a religious sacrament.

Patterson, who is on a private visit to Washington, told reporters he wanted parliament to discuss the commission's report in the autumn and the government would then recommend whatever legislative amendments are needed. Asked what he thought of the report, he said: "I find the recommendations of the report persuasive."

"I want to make it absolutely clear that we are not considering legalizing in the sense of making it legal for people to grow, to sell, to export. It is for private use and of course it will have to be confined to adults," he added.

Patterson said that as part of a decriminalization process, Jamaica would have to take some diplomatic steps because of international treaties and agreements it has signed. "That process we intend to begin shortly," he added.

The United States, the main source of visitors for Jamaica's tourist industry, is expected to oppose decriminalization but Patterson said Washington had not conveyed any formal views on the proposals. The tourist industry in Jamaica has suffered in the short term by the unrest of early July, when 25 people were killed in clashes between security forces and residents in the western neighborhoods of the capital Kingston. "But we feel pretty confident that we will be able to overcome it in the medium and long term," Patterson added.

Subj: Australia: State Government Announces Drug Law Reforms
Pubdate: Sun, 26 May 2002
Source: Age, The (Australia)
Copyright: 2002 The Age Company Ltd

STATE GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES DRUG LAW REFORMS

Cannabis would remain illegal under the Western Australia government's proposed drug law reforms, state Health Minister Bob Kucera announced today. He said penalties for the personal use of cannabis would include infringement notices for people found in possession of less than 30g or two plants. The infringement notice scheme has the support of WA Police Commissioner Barry Matthews, who has told the state government he believes the changes are workable and will free-up police time and resources to deal with serious drug dealers and traffickers. Under the scheme, people caught with small amounts of cannabis for personal use will receive an infringement notice and the drug will be confiscated. However police will retain discretion and will be able to charge a person with a criminal offence if they believe the intent of the scheme is being flouted.

"Offenders will have the option of paying their fine, expiating the fine by attending an education session, or contesting it in court," the minister said.Mr Kucera said the proposals were not a soft option to drug dealers because anyone found with large quantities of cannabis would be charged with a criminal offence. He said the state government would begin drafting the new legislation with input from police and justice officials and expected the new regulations would be in force by the end of the year.

HOLLAND's HARRY POTTER AIMS TO MAGIC AWAY DRUG CAFES.

THE coffee shops of Amsterdam, where cannabis and other soft drugs are sold openly, are under threat after the swing to the right in last Wednesday’s general election. The Christian Democrats, likely to form a coalition with the radical anti-immigration Pim Fortuyn List, have vowed to close such cafes across the Netherlands, blaming them for the growing drug use among the young.

The party leader, Jan Peter Balkenende, a devout Christian who is expected to be prime minister, promised to end tolerance of cannabis. “This is not a battle we’re going to win overnight,” said Marcel Maer, a Christian Democrat spokesman. “But we will chip away at the coffee shops, greatly reducing their number over the next two years until hopefully we can get rid of them altogether.”

Balkenende, nicknamed Harry Potter for his youthful, owlish looks, expects resistance not only from the shops and their users but also from his prospective coalition partners. Fortuyn, assassinated a week before the election, was known for liberal views on drugs which some members of his List are believed to share. The government of Wim Kok, the outgoing Labour prime minister, had reduced the number of coffee shops in the country from 1,200 to 840 — a quarter of them in Amsterdam. The amount of drugs a customer may buy was cut from 30g to 5g.

A recent report concluded that the average age of drug users was continuing to fall, however, and drug-taking was common among schoolchildren. A sharp rise in sales of hard drugs has challenged the view that tolerance of cannabis frees police to combat the trade in heroin and cocaine. Concern has also been growing over links between some coffee shops and organised crime.

“We expect rules making it harder for coffee shops to keep their licences,” said Reier Elzinga, chairman of the Association of Cannabis Retailers. “With Pim at the helm we were safe, but we’re no longer sure.” Drugs policy is only one of the issues that Balkenende will have to hammer out with his coalition partners. Immigration could be even more contentious.Fortuyn, who called Islam “backward”, demanded an end to all immigration — a policy dismissed by Balkenende as unacceptable. Fortuyn’s heirs have made little mention of the subject since their victory, however, and seem prepared to soften their stance.

While talks continue, attention has focused on some of the more colourful MPs who were elected under Fortuyn’s banner. The party, which came second with 26 of the 150 parliamentary seats — compared with the Christian Democrats’ 43 — was formed just three months ago. Reports last week suggested that Fortuyn was so concerned about some of his colleagues that he hired a detective agency to investigate them.

One member believed to have been under scrutiny is Cor Eberhard, a sports photographer who became a pornography magnate and earned millions from erotic websites. Eberhard denies impropriety. “I’m clean as a baby,” he said.

Internal feuds have led to several resignations and only one founder, John Dost, remains. He drives a Rolls-Royce Corniche convertible and keeps a yacht in the south of France, but has faced embarrassing questions about his financial affairs.The Dutch tax authorities confirmed that in lieu of unpaid taxes, they took control of an office building in Rotterdam in which the party had its base, and seized other assets. Dost blamed his accountant. “The tax office has forgotten to pass on information to the registry office,” he said.

Even more disappointing is the disappearance of Winny de Jong, a former model and actress who worked for the agriculture ministry and was seen as a possible succesor to Fortuyn. “Winny’s at home in bed,” said Mat Herben, Fortuyn’s former spokesman who was chosen as party leader instead. “She’s worn out by the pressure and hasn’t been able to get over Pim’s death. It’s difficult for many of us suddenly to be at the centre of media attention.”

The Social Security and Health Committee (SGK in German) of the Swiss 'Staenderat' (the upper house of the Swiss parliament) voted 6:4 in favour of legalising use, possession and personal cultivation of cannabis for adults. It also supported the government's proposal to tolerate commercial cultivation and retail sales of cannabis under a set of guidelines that control if cases are prosecuted or not. Sale to minors or to non-residents of Switzerland will still be prosecuted.

The committee deviated from the government's proposal of March 9, 2001 in two details: Possession of small quantities of hard drugs such as heroin or cocaine will not be subjected to the expediency principle, as had been recommended by a commission of inquiry in 1999. Furthermore, cannabis will not be decriminalised from age 16 up (in line with existing Swiss age limits on beer and wine sales). Instead the age limit will be 18, the same age limit as for sale of distilled spirits.

Next the draft bill will be subject to debate and a vote by the whole upper house, then the lower house and finally a referendum (probably in 2003). According to a February 2001 poll some 50-53% of Swiss voters favour decriminalisation or legalisation of cannabis.

An estimated 600 000 Swiss are estimated to be current users of cannabis

The Portuguese Government has voted to decriminalise the consumption of illegal drugs such as cannabis and heroin.

Drug users will now be treated as sick people in need of medical help.

Previously, drug users and those caught in possession of small amounts of banned drugs for personal use faced up to a year's imprisonment.

The sale and trafficking of illegal drugs remain crimes.

Under the new law police will report drug takers to special local authority commissions which will ensure addicts seek treatment.

"The idea is to get away from punishment towards treatment," government spokesman Carlos Borges told Reuters news agency.

The ruling Socialist Party, which is one seat short of an outright parliamentary majority, was backed in the vote by the Communist Party and other left-of-centre parties.

Referendum call

The main conservative opposition party, the Social Democrats, had urged the government to call a referendum on the proposed new law.

Prime Minister Antonio Guterres rejected the referendum idea on the grounds that the change being put forward was not sufficiently sweeping to merit a national vote.

A significant proportion of prisoners in Portugal's jails are there for drug-related offences, but the number of people sentenced simply for possession or consumption is very low.

"It would not be more than a couple of dozen," said one government official.

Portugal becomes the third member of the European Union, after Spain and Italy, to decriminalise the consumption and possession of small quantities of drugs.

HOME AFFAIRS COMMITTEE REPORT - EMBARGOED PRESS NOTICE FROM LEGALISE CANNABIS ALLIANCE

21 May 2002

The Home Affairs Select Committee has called for a major shake-up of the Government's drugs policy, concentrating on education and harm reduction for users rather than criminal sanctions. In its long awaited report, supported by all but one member, the Committee has recommended that cannabis be reclassified as a class C drug and ecstasy as class B. It also recommends the creation of a new offence of "supply for gain" in order that the distinction between so-called social supply and dealing is clearly reflected in the available penalties. The Committee says the main focus should be on the 250,000 "problematic users"-mainly heroin addicts-whose habit causes most damage to themselves and others. It recommends a trial programme of carefully supervised heroin prescription to addicts along the lines of those under way in The Netherlands and Switzerland. The Committee also recommends a pilot programme of safe-injecting rooms in order to get chronic heroin users off the street and into a more orderly environment. This would require amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 allowing drugs agencies to work with users and to allow pharmacists to supply drug users with goods that reduce risk. However, the Committee firmly rejected calls for legalisation and regulation. It said: "We acknowledge there are some attractive arguments. However, those who urge this step upon us are...asking us to gamble the undoubted potential gains against the inevitability of a significant increase in the number of users, especially among the very young". The Committee declined to recommend decriminalisation on the same grounds.

Chairman, Chris Mullin MP said: "All drug use is to a greater or lesser extent harmful and should be discouraged. However, we have to face the fact that, whether we like it or not, large numbers of young people take drugs. As far as users are concerned, our priorities should be realistic education, readily available treatment and harm reduction. Above all, we need to focus on that relatively small minority of drug users who are making a misery of their own lives and those of others. The criminal law should be reserved primarily for dealers. Government policy is already moving in that direction and I hope this report will encourage ministers to go further".

David Cameron MP, Conservative member of the Committee said: "Drugs policy in this country has been failing for decades. Drug abuse has increased massively, the number of drug-related deaths has risen substantially and drug-related crime accounts for up to half of all acquisitive crime. I hope that our report will encourage fresh thinking and a new approach. We need to get away from entrenched positions and try to reduce the harm that drugs do both to users and society at large."

Liberal Democrat member of the Committee Bob Russell MP said: "The inquiry confirmed that the overwhelming majority of the population does not take illegal drugs, and never has done. Even among young people it was reassuring that most of them do not take drugs. I recognise, however, that there is a minority which uses harmful drugs for self-abuse of their bodies and minds. Balanced laws and regulations need to take account of such use and misuse. The overall cost to society, specifically to the National Health Service and the consequences of criminal activity, caused by the current levels of drug abuse has to be addressed. The only acceptable use of drugs is for medical purposes."

SUMMARY OF KEY CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. We believe that drugs policy should primarily be addressed to dealing with the 250,000 problematic drug users (paragraph 38).
2. While acknowledging that there may come a day when the balance may tip in favour of legalising and regulating some types of presently illegal drugs, we decline to recommend this drastic step (paragraph 66).
3. We accept that to decriminalise possession of drugs for personal use would send the wrong message to the majority of young people...and that it would inevitably lead to an increase in drug abuse. We, therefore, reject decriminalisation (paragraph 74).
4. We are not persuaded that an intent to supply should be presumed on the basis of amounts of drugs found; we therefore recommend that the offences of simple possession and possession with intent to supply should be retained without alteration (paragraph 77).
5. We recommend that a new offence is created of "supply for gain", which would
be used to prosecute large scale commercial suppliers (paragraph 83). 6. We support...the Home Secretary's proposal to reclassify cannabis from Class B to Class C (paragraph 121).
7. We...recommend that ecstasy is reclassified as a Class B drug (paragraph 135).
8. We recommend that the number of treatment places for cocaine users is substantially increased. We recommend that resources are channelled into researching and piloting innovative treatment interventions for cocaine users (paragraph 140).
9. We consider that the risks posed by cocaine to the user and to other people merit it remaining a Class A drug (paragraph 141).
10. We recommend that more treatment places are created for crack users and that resources be channelled into researching and piloting more effective treatments. We further recommend that in the meantime efforts are redoubled to extinguish supply of crack cocaine (paragraph 147).
11. We recommend that the Government substantially increases the funding for treatment for heroin addicts and ensure that methadone treatments and complementary therapies are universally available to those who need them (paragraph 160).
12. We recommend that appropriate treatment forms a mandatory part of custodial sentences and that offenders have access to consistent treatment approaches within the prison estate as well as outside it. This should include strictly supervised methadone treatment in the first instance (paragraph 169).
13. We recommend that a proper evaluation is conducted of diamorphine prescribing for heroin addiction in the UK...as compared with methadone prescribing regimes (paragraph 178).
14. We recommend that the guidance and training provided to practitioners prescribing diamorphine to heroin addicts is strengthened (paragraph 179).
15. We recommend that an evaluated pilot programme of safe injecting houses for heroin users is established without delay and that if...this is successful, the programme is extended across the country (paragraph 186).
16. We conclude that the Dutch and Swiss evidence provides a strong basis on which to conduct a pilot here in Britain of highly structured heroin prescribing to addicts. We recommend that a pilot along the lines of the Swiss or Dutch model is conducted in the UK. Should such a pilot generate the positive results which one would expect...we recommend that such a system should supersede the little-used "British system" of licencing (paragraph 190).
17. We believe that all drugs education material should be based on the premise that any drug use can be harmful, and should be discouraged (paragraph 201).
18. We conclude that General Practitioners are, for the most part, inadequately trained to deal with drug misuse. We recommend that training in substance misuse is embedded in the undergraduate medical curriculum and postgraduate General Practice curriculum...We recommend that the Department of Health funds more training courses in substance misuse for existing General Practitioners (paragraph 218).
19. We recommend that a target is added to the National Strategy explicitly aimed at harm reduction and public health (paragraph 245).
20. We recommend that the Government reviews Section 9A of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, with a view to repealing it, to allow for the provision of drugs paraphernalia which reduces the harm caused by drugs (paragraph 252).
21. We recommend that Section 8 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is amended to ensure that drugs agencies can conduct harm reduction work and provide safe injecting areas for users without fear of being prosecuted (paragraph 257).
22. We recommend that the Home Office and the Department of Health urgently review the current legal framework on the dispensation of controlled drugs by community pharmacists (paragraph 260).
23. We recommend that Drug Abstinence Orders are amended to carry the requirement of access to treatment (paragraph 264).
24. We recommend that the Government initiates a discussion within the Commission on Narcotic Drugs of alternative ways-including the possibility of legalisation and regulation-to tackle the global drugs dilemma (paragraph 267).

"What has been blowing in the wind for a year is official. Sweden will not be pursuing its prohibitionist crusade when it takes over European Union Chairmanship next year. There has been hot debate in Swedish media for months now following semi official reports that Sweden is giving up its role as Europe's super drug war hawk. The aggressive and powerful prohibitionist organisations in Sweden, ECAD, Hassela and the National Organisation For A Drug Free Society were livid with anger when the news was first reported in 1999. They demanded that Swedens crusade should continue unabated. The  Governments response has been that there is no longer any sympathy in Europe for Swedish style hard line prohibitionism.

Yesterday, 19 September, the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag) officially opened with a statement of government policy for the coming parliamentary year. Swedens goals during their chairmanship of the European Union are extensivly laid out. As expected, there is no mention of drugs or drug policy.

The relevant section of the policy statement is:

*******************

Statement of Government Policy presented by the Prime Minister to the Swedish Riksdag on Tuesday, 19 September 2000

<cut>

During this parliamentary year one task will predominate. On 1 January 2001, Sweden will, for the first time, assume the presidency of the European Union.

Three areas will receive high priority:

First, enlargement of the EU is our generation's opportunity to secure peace and freedom, democracy and prosperity in the whole of Europe. Sweden will be proactive in carrying the enlargement negotiations forward with the aim of achieving crucial progress during our presidency. Enlargement will have a greater impact on our immediate neighbourhood than anything else. The combination of mature welfare states and young, rapidly growing democracies round the Baltic Sea opens unique opportunities for development in our part of Europe.

Second, full employment is the Union's most important economic and social goal today. Unemployment in Europe must be brought under control. Both economic reforms and greater social participation are needed. The employment summit in Stockholm in March 2001 will define the direction of future work. In order to make Europe the world's most dynamic, competitive and knowledge-intensive economy, cooperation is now under way, involving the comparison of member states' national policies in relation to each other and at global level.

Third, environmental issues will be a central concern of the Swedish presidency. Priority will be accorded to EU endeavours to prevent climate change, and to efforts to strengthen legislation against chemical emissions. The environmental summit in Goteborg in June will adopt a long-term strategy for ecologically sustainable development in the EU.

A Union close to its citizens is predicated on openness and democracy. A gender equality perspective must inform all EU activities. The position of consumers must be strengthened. A research group will be appointed to study major EU-related issues and to encourage public debate on the future of the Union.

Sweden will continue the work of developing the EU's civil and military capability to manage crises and prevent conflicts. Cooperation between the EU and Russia will be promoted. Particular attention will be given to nuclear safety and the environment, the fight against organised crime, and the situation in Kaliningrad.

Prior to and during the Swedish presidency, the Government will maintain continuous contact with the political parties in the Riksdag. We want to see close cooperation between the various actors who are in a position to disseminate knowledge and information about European cooperation. At the same time the Swedish presidency offers us a unique opportunity to present the best of Sweden.

<cut>

This is a major about face for Sweden who, ever since joining the European Union, have had the export of their repressive policy as a major objective. One reason behind their about face is most certainly the collapse of the repressive policy within their own country. Escalating recreational drug use, an alarming rise in the number of hard drug addicts and one of Europe's highest death rates amongst drug users leaves them with nothing to brag about and hardly an example for others to follow.

Recent reports show drug use is rampant in Swedish prisons, with drug offences now accounting for 30% of all new prison sentences handed out.

Sweden has lost the drug war and have now become an alarming example of the failure of prohibition. Despite the official dropping of their prohibionist crusade, the Swedish prohibitionist organisations, especially ECAD, are still active and will continue to make a lot of noise. They present us with an excellent opportunity to show prohibition up for what it is and what it does. I'm beginning to like ECAD and look fowards to seeing them mentioned in the media. My keyboard is at the ready." John Yates.

[perhaps the most significant developments come in the form of heroin clinics and methodone substitution programmes]

" A new drug policy was voted on march 15, 2001 in Luxembourg. The new law has still a repressive spirit. There will be no depenalization of consumption of drugs. The policy only differenciates between Cannabis. Ecstasy in exemple is treathened at the same level as hard drugs.

Consumption of cannabis will be pusished with 10001 to 100000 Belgian Francs (Luxembourg has Belgian and Luxembourgish Francs) Cannabis consumption in presence of minors will be punished additionally with 8 days to 6 month imprisonment.

Consumption of hard drugs means the same fine and/or an imprisonment of 8 days to 6 month. There are some more special cases, I think it's irrelevant to tell you that, concerning the consumption of docters and so on...

Methadone programs get a legal base with the new law and so called shooting-rooms (heroine consumption) and the distribution of seringes will get legal.

There are not mayor changes! There is no prison set on cannabis consumtion, the fines and prison-fines are set down, but the spirit of the law keeps repressive. Long time already nobody went into prison for cannabis smoking or for detention of small amounts cannabis. The law is rather adopted to the actual proceedings...

Before under the old Labor/christdemocratic-Government there was a temptation to depenalize the consumption of cannabis from prosecution, but after the elections of 1999 the situation changed, because we now have a christdemocratic/democratic-government. Before the election the law could not pass the state-council (similar to a second parliament). The mayor opposition was, that it would not to be possible that consumption will be allowed but selling, buying and detention is prohibited.

What if an elected president of an Américan nation called for the legalization of drugs and nobody outside of his country reported it?

That's what happened twice in the past month when Uruguay President Jorge Batlle called for other Latin American leaders to join him in opposing US-imposed drug policy.

"If this powder was worth only ten cents, there would not be organizations dedicated to make a billion dollars to fund armies in Colombia," said Batlle, speaking about cocaine policy on November 20th at the 10th Latin AmericanSummit of Heads of State in Panama City.

Batlle (pronounced baht-yuh) said other countries must confront the question of legalization. "How do you create the money that sustains all of this?  Do you believe that while this substance has this fantastic market value that there is any mechanism that can impede its trafficking? How do you make this product lose value so that nobody is interested anymore in this business?"

The 72-year-old Uruguay leader, elected in November of 1999 in his fifth run for the presidency, said that the countries of América "must stop playing games and treat the theme of drugs seriously at its root. And if I am wrong, then why are we afraid to ask ourselves the question?"

Source: Terra.com News, Montevideo Uruguay, November 20, 2000

http://www.terra.com.uy/canales/actualidad/5/5086.html

Brussels - Monday Today marks the 40th anniversary of the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs signed in New York.

A summit of European experts on drugs policy gathered this weekend in Brussels to analyse the results of forty years of prohibition. They find that "current policy is extremely harmful to public health and a violation of human rights at huge financial costs" The original aim of the 1961 convention was to establish a drugs free society in 25 years. It turned out to be an illusion. The experts feel that society would be better off accepting that it never was or will be drugs free. According to them, "today's knowledge calls for radical change. Governments should take on the responsibility of regulating the drugs situation. To avoid further unnecessary human suffering and economic loss, decriminalisation of both production and consumption of drugs is needed".

Among the results of the meeting, the following conclusions can be mentioned:

1. Policies aiming at a drugs free world are directly responsible for - non access to sterile injection equipment leading to the large Hepatitis pandemic, and of course AIDS, - the incarceration and criminalization of drugs consumers and peasants involved in drugs production - the spread of unsafe consumption patterns due to the lack of genuine prevention, information and healthy circumstances - the destruction of livelihoods, and generations of violence in poor communities in both developing and developed countries - the destruction of environments due to fumigation strategies Hence, drugs policies do far more damage to society in general than the drugs themselves.

2. Europe, traditionally a place where humanitarian values have been developed, should start to conceive a different policy. In fact, some countries have already done so: many successful experiments with innovative drugs policies are taking place on a local level, and an increasing number of authorities are no longer afraid to question current drugs legislation. However, the 1961 Convention continues to be the basic principle for drugs policy of almost all countries in the world. There is no willingness to debate whether this strategy actually works. Neither has there been a serious evaluation on its effectiveness.

3. We believe that drugs policies should have two basic priorities: public health and the respect of human and civil rights. In our view, drugs consumption should be accepted as part of life. In order to reduce eventual harm related to it, drugs production, trade and consumption should be regulated.

Therefore, in the coming year, we will prepare an international Conference to take place in the European Parliament. In this Conference, we will present to European parliamentarians, members of the European Commission and the Council of Ministers our concerns with current strategies based on the 1961 Convention and propose that a serious, independent and thorough evaluation is taken on.

The International Coalition for Just and Effective Drugs Policies can be contacted in the following countries: Belgium: Joep Oomen, ENCOD (tel. 32 3 272 5524, E-mail: encod@glo.be) Denmark: Jorgen Kjaer, Brugerforeningen (tel. 45 35 36 01 50, E-mail: jk@brugerforeningen.dk) France: Gerard Leblonde Valièrgue, Ligne Blanche (tel. 33 1 42 06 32 51, E-mail: lblanche@noos.fr) Germany: Astrid Forschner and Monika Meyer, JUBAZ (tel. 49 69 24002431) Italy: Mattia Diletti, Forum Droghe (tel. 39 6 67 60 44 53, E-mail: mdiletti@fuoriluogo.it) Netherlands: Job Joris Arnold, MDHG (tel. 31 20 624 47 75, E-mail: mdhg@xs4all.nl) Spain: José Luis Sanchez, Grup Igia (tel. 34 639 05 28 90, E-mail: info@igia.org) United Kingdom: Andria Efthimiou-Mordaunt, the John Mordaunt Trust (tel. 44 77 59 86 83 73, E-mail: usersvoice.jmt@dial.pipex.com)

A TEA OF POT

AN Amsterdam-style cafe where cannabis is openly sold and smoked has opened on one of Britain's busiest shopping streets. Customers can buy £10 bags of the drug over the counter - and smoke it with their afternoon cannabis tea. The Hemp Cafe recently opened on London's famous Camden High Street, a fashionable shopping area popular with youngsters, students and also tourists. Situated below a bustling clothes shop, it attracts a lot of passing trade - and the queue of people waiting to buy cannabis often stretches into the street. At one point business was so brisk the marijuana ran out and the manager had to send for more. Inside - with its psychedelic walls, low lights and reggae music - 14 punters were rolling and smoking joints and two were puffing on a large "bong" pipe.

The air was so thick with sweet-smelling smoke that huge fans have beeninstalled to disperse the fumes. Polite signs ask punters to refrain from smoking in alcoves because of ventilation problems. Sunday Mirror reporters were told by the waiter pouring their tea that they should place their order for cannabis with a hooded man seated behind a nearby serving hatch protected by iron bars. He placed two plastic bags stuffed with green herbal cannabis on the counter and said: "They're £10 each. Choose which bag you want. It's good gear. I've only got weed. No resin (solid cannabis blocks) today." A few minutes later a PC and WPC stopped outside the cafe and began chatting to staff from Leatherland, the clothes shop upstairs.Despite clouds of cannabis smoke wafting past, they did not come inside toinvestigate.The cafe manager - a Middle Eastern man in his 30s - asked customers nearthe door to stop smoking until the police left, but he was ignored.

A well-dressed, middle-aged woman, who had bought a bag of cannabis from the serving hatch minutes earlier, was puffing on a joint in a corner. She said: "I'm not leaving until the police have gone - I'm stoned and I will just burst out laughing." But the manager reassured her: "Don't worry. They won't do anything. Just don't smoke in front of them." Before our reporters left, he asked them to sample some more products. "We've got Cannabis Tea and Magic Mushroom Tea," he said. They bought a bag of each for £6. Both the cannabis and magic mushroom tea bags contained small amounts of cannabis and dried raspberry leaves. Despite the Government's plans to downgrade cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug, cafes like this are still illegal and owners who sell pot over the counter face a maximum of 14 years in jail. The proposed legislation only affects users of cannabis in England and Wales, who will no longer be arrested for possession of the drug but escape with a police caution.

So far the police have come down hard on attempts to establish cannabis cafes in the UK. Last month Colin Davies, 44, owner of the Dutch Experience cafe in Stockport, Greater Manchester, was jailed for three years for smoking a joint during a police raid on the caf'e's opening day. That cafe did not sell cannabis but did allow customers to smoke joints on the premises. Drugs Minister Bob Ainsworth has warned: "If someone was to open a cannabis cafe they would be breaking the law and could find themselves in prison. "Those inside the cafe could be arrested too." Cannabis cafes originated in the 1970s in Amsterdam, where marijuana laws are extremely relaxed. The cafes operate under strict regulations and are subject to the approval of local authorities. Although they sell and allow cannabis to be consumed on their premises, they are not entirely legal and cannot obtain supplies of cannabis within the law.

However, the Dutch government believes these coffee shops are beneficial because they have separated the supply of cannabis from that of other, more dangerous and addictive drugs. A spokesman for Leather Land said: "As far as I know the cafe downstairs doesn't sell cannabis. But it's nothing to do with us." A Scotland Yark spokesman said: "Selling cannabis is an offence, and we will investigate the allegations."

Cannabis Cafe for Milton Keynes!

Source: Milton Keynes Citizen, UK
Pub Date: Thursday 20 September 2001

LEGALISE cannabis campaigner Patman Denning says he wants to open Milton Keynes’ first marijuana café . He’s been inspired after visiting Britain’s first Amsterdam-style coffee shop. Patman, of Old Farm Park, went to Stockport on Saturday to support his friend and fellow cannabis fan Colin Davies who was opening the illegal Dutch Experience café. During the grand opening about 20 police officers raided the premises and Mr Davies was arrested, as well as four Dutch people brought in to advise him on his new and risky venture.

Soon after Mr Davies’ arrest a crowd of between 50 and 60 people, including Patman, held a protest. Yet, despite openly smoking marijuana in front of police, the defiant Patman was not arrested.

“The police had already been in,” said Patman, who says cannabis eases the symptoms of his MS. “I was there when they arrested some of the Dutch people. “About 2pm the police left and the door was reopened. It is still open as a café but you can’t get anything from it because they had all their stuff confiscated.

“I was banging on the window saying, ‘let me in, I want my medicine’. Then the police threatened to arrest me if I did not move.

“As soon as they started doing that, I thought I would skin up outside in front of the police. They did not do anything.”

Following Saturday’s events, Patman, who stood for his own Legalise Cannabis party in this year’s general election, said he would like to open a similar coffee shop in Milton Keynes.

He said that by providing cafes, users would not need to buy cannabis from dealers who could expose them to other, more harmful drugs.

Leicester coffee shop to open doors in July (LCA Press Release)

The details of the location are to be kept under wraps until nearer the
opening day (hopefully 1/7/02). Owner of the coffee shop, Mr Chris Peabody said: "Proposals for 'shooting galleries' so people can use heroin, in a safe environment has only strengthened my resolve to open my "cannabis cafe" - A safe house for cannabis users

"With the announcement of the re-classification of cannabis from B to C, much support is expected for this soon to open venture. It will reflect the tolerance and friendly nature of Leicester multi-cultural, multi-belief city. "The shop will operate on a 'members only' scheme, allowing people to read, relax, play games (chess, scrabble etc), and smoke cannabis in a safe and peaceful environment. No-one under eighteen-years-old will be admitted. I for one would rather walk home knowing the people around me had been smoking cannabis, rather than rowdy drunks looking for a fight."

Editors contact:

Chris Peabody
phone: 07762 887273
Email: bcrys@hotmail.com
WebPages: http://www.geocities.com/pickleweasle66/weasleganja

Dear HEMP friend, Just a quick note to let you know about HEMP SA's response to the Olsen Liberal Government's insane plans to reciminalise Cannabis users and growers in SA. In case you haven't heard, Olsen has _proposed_ that "hydroponics" be totally banned. Anyone caught growing even ONE plant face up to TEN YEARS IN JAIL and/or FINES OF UP TO $50,000!! For more than 100 plants the penalties would rise to 25 YEARS JAIL and $500,000 fines!! Olsen is also proposing to lower the expiable limit of plants from 3 to one (outdoor only) and to introduce a licensing regime for hydroponic stores that would require them to keep detailed records of customers.

HEMP SA is furious at these proposals and is committed to campaigning strongly on this issue in the lead up to the State Election (which MUST be held before next March). Already we have begun a counter-offensive, putting out a media release at the same time as Olsen's press conference, updating our website (http://www.hemp.on.net/) and doing radio, TV and talkback interviews. We are planning the next phase now and need you help, input and financial support. We are meeting at the Conservation Council 120 Wakefield St, City (opposite the Fire Station) this Tuesday, 31/7/01 at 7.30pm and on subsequent Tuesdays at the same time. All interested people are encouraged to come along. If you can't make it but want to be kept informed send us an e-mail, in any case we'll keep posting out regular bulletins to you. We are looking to stage a rally as soon as we can but need funds to organise and publicise it.

Under the SA's election laws we can accept anonymous donation of up to A$1499 without having to disclose the donor's identity, so feel free to kick in. The easiest way is a direct credit to our Australian Central Credit Union acct: BSB number: 805 050 145302 HEMP SA INC Alternatively, you can send us a cheque or money order to HEMP SA inc, PO Box 1019, Kent Town, 5071. (Please don't make the same mistake others have done and send us cash in the mail and expect it to get to us!) Please forward this e-mail this to your friends, relatives and colleagues who you think may be interested in supporting us. We REALLY NEED your help! WE CAN'T DO IT ALONE!

Thanks for your support

Jamnes Danenberg
Co-convenor
HEMP SA inc

Plaid Cymru today overhauled its drugs policy and called for the decriminalisation of cannabis - against the wishes of its own leadership.

The Welsh nationalists' annual conference voted in favour of decriminalising the use of cannabis for recreational and medicinal purposes - defying the party leadership which warned against the move. Under the policy, the drug would be available legally only from registered licensed premises.

Delegates also backed calls for a major public awareness campaign about the dangers of cannabis use. The party wants cannabis decriminalised for medicinal use once ''a sufficient evidence base has proven efficacy and an appropriate treatment protocol developed as a model''.

Despite opposition from top ranks of the party, the proposal is now adopted as official party policy. The party has now ditched its former policy calling for a Royal Commission to examine decriminalisation of the drug - against the advice of its own shadow Welsh health minister Dai Lloyd and its parliamentary leader. Dr Lloyd, a practising GP, said cannabis causes depression and new evidence suggests it makes users violent. He said there was no such thing as a soft drug. The party's parliamentary leader, Elfyn Llwyd, warned smoking cannabis could caused cancer and psychosis.

''I agree with it for medicinal purposes, but for heavens sake unless we know definitely more about the medical problems it will cause we should not lay open our children's future to this extremely dangerous drug,'' he said.

Leading calls for the drug to be decriminalised, delegate Robert Hughes (Merthyr Tydfil) said it was wrong to label cannabis users as criminals. And he said decriminalisation would stop cannabis users mixing with people pushing more dangerous drugs. It would also enable parents and teachers to talk honestly to children about the harmful drugs ''that blight the lives of our young people''. He said setting up licensed premises would also attract visitors thereby boosting the tourism industry.

David Blunkett told a Home Office Affairs Committee that he intends to propose a reclassification of cannabis to a Class C drug, instead of class B. This was recommended earlier this year by the Police Foundation in their Runciman report. IF the proposal is adopted it will mean a change probably next Spring. What would that mean?

* the maximum sentence for possession will be 2 years instead of 5 years;
* the maximum sentence for supply will be 5 years instead of 14 years;
* other convictions such as conspiracy or knowingly involved would also have reduced sentences;
* people arrested on other offences may still get prosecuted for cannabis;
* people cultivating cannabis without a license may still face prosecution;
* people can still be arrested under other police powers, then searched;
* as now, anyone arrested outside can have their house searched.

ON the street, it will mean a great deal less work for police. The police may decide, in fact, to turn a blind-eye (as they already do sometimes) to non-troublesome smoking, or they may decide to stop you, confiscate your cannabis, give you a police warning, a caution, or summons you to court at a later date to be dealt with. Or they could still arrest you. But it means that the police would not HAVE to arrest you on every small possession that a person gets stopped fro.

It may well mean more smoking in public without hassle, even more dealers being more open, but IT AS A FAR CRY FROM LEGALISATION or even decriminalisation. Dealers may still offer crap cannabis or hard drugs, swap for stolen property etc, and will not be taxed.

As far as I can see, although the proposal does show that this time the Home Secretary has chosen to listen to someone, the move is really of greater benefit to the police than the cannabis user or the public.

POLICE officers have been told not to arrest anyone caught with cannabis for personal use, the Sunday Mail can reveal. All eight Scottish forces adopted the secret policy because they were wasting time arresting suspects with small amounts of the drug. Last night a source close to Justice Minister Jim Wallace confirmed cannabis has effectively been decriminalised in secret. Police have become frustrated after prosecutors binned 45,000 drug cases last year - one in five of all reported.

The source said: "There might not be a formal signed policy document from the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland but that doesn't mean the policy is not in place. "In an ideal world, every crime would be properly investigated and prosecuted.But we have to live in the real world where the possession of cannabis is nolonger seen as a law enforcement priority. "It means that if you don't have a record and there are no other offences involved you would be incredibly unlucky to be prosecuted for possession of cannabis."

Last July, police in London adopted a "softly, softly" approach to cannabis possession, in an initiative sanctioned by the Home Office. Officers in Lambeth were instructed not to arrest cannabis users with small amounts for personal use. Local Metropolitan Police commander Brian Paddick was later suspended amid allegations that he had smoked cannabis, which he claimed were part of a smear campaign against him. Cannabis is due to be downgraded from a Class B to a Class C drug by Home Secretary David Blunkett this summer. That would reduce the penalties for cannabis offences but police officers will still be required to send a report to the procurator fiscal when someone is caught in possession of the drug, even if it is a small amount.

Yesterday, David Liddell, director of the Scottish Drugs Forum, said: "Officers in urban areas are changing their attitudes to the use of cannabis. "This could be because of the overworked legal system, but also because they want to focus on drugs like heroin and cocaine. "Perhaps officers in rural areas will still adopt a hardline to cannabis use, but we've certainly been told that officers in urban areas are more tolerant." One senior police officer said: "As long as there's a public desire for us to prosecute people in possession of controlled substances - heroin, speed, ecstasy or cannabis - then the courts will be under huge pressure from the sheer volume of cases.

"The fact of the matter is that these cases are regularly being binned for administrative convenience because the courts can't handle the level of work being put to them." Last year, Strathclyde Police, which covers around half the country, reported around 12,000 people to the fiscal for alleged possession of cannabis. The total number of drugs-related cases, ranging from possession to trafficking of Class A drugs, to reach court in 2000 was 6500 - down a fifth from the peak of 8200 in 1997. Joe Grant, general secretary of the Strathclyde Police Federation, said: "We're are frequently hearing from officers that they're concerned and frustrated that the procurator fiscal is marking case no proceedings to expedite their workload." Tory Justice spokesman, Bill Aitken, said: "The use of cannabis is illegal. I find it deeply distressing that there should be, on the face of it, a back door approach to decriminalising drugs."

Norway: Commission set to call for decriminalization (Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 16:33:08 +0100)

A government-appointed commission will soon set off some political dynamite, reports newspaper Aftenposten. The commission recommends decriminalizingnarcotics use and possession, liberalizing pornography rules and raising theblood-alcohol limit allowed for driving a car.

The proposals are sure to spur heated debate among politicians who appointed the commission back in 1994 to "modernize" Norwegian laws. The commission'sconclusions are due to be turned over to Justice Minister Odd Einar Dørum inMarch. The commission, according to Aftenposten, believes only the sale ofnarcotics should be penalized. Both usage and possession would be allowed underthe commission's proposal.The commission's reasons for decriminalizing drug use and possession remainunknown, but it's likely they follow the reasoning of law professor JohsAndenæs, who has pointed out inconsistencies in current laws. Publicauthorities, for example, hand out free hypodermic needles to drug addicts,even though drug use is illegal.

Other commission recommendations also are bound to set off fireworks, including one that would remove censoring of porno films. The commission also wants to make it harder to convict motorists of vehicular manslaughter, while it also wants to return Norway's allowable blood-alcohol level for motorists to 0.5, from today's 0.2.The commission has been working on revision of Norwegian laws for more than seven years. Commission members include the head of Norway's white-collar crime unit, a Supreme Court justice, a state attorney, a professor at the University of Oslo and a well-known defense attorney.

ILL MAN CAN SMOKE CANNABIS, SAYS BENCH

Source: Western Mail, Wales
Pub Date: Wednesday, 9 October 2002
Subj: Wales: Ill man can smoke cannabis, says bench

WELSH magistrates have made legal history by acquitting a man who smoked cannabis for medicinal purposes. It is the first time magistrates have allowed a person who admitted the crime to successfully defend himself on the grounds that he was doing it out of necessity rather than for pleasure. Crown court juries have acquitted in these circumstances. Last night, police and politicians said the decision added further confusion to the law on cannabis and the Crown Prosecution Service warned it was considering an appeal.

Defendant Brad Stephens, from Carmarthenshire, said he had told the court he would kill himself if he couldn't carry on using the drug. And although the 55 grammes of cannabis he had in his possession on the day police raided his home was confiscated, Carmar-then magistrates agreed that his defence was legitimate.

Mr Stephens, who has cervical spondylosis, is prescribed morphine for daily use to combat the pain, but told the court he could not do without cannabis. After the verdict he said, "I'm over the moon. There are hundreds of thousands of other people who say exactly the same thing as I'm saying and it would be great if we were allowed to obtain it without having to break the law."

Last night a Home Office spokeswoman said that possession remained an arrestable offence, although the Government was looking at new guidelines for police. Mr Stephens's solicitor, Mike Reed, said the magistrates had used their common sense. "Hopefully the police and CPS will also use common sense in future, as the Government has suggested." An Association of Chief Police Officers spokesman said, "People have been getting confused and at the moment a lot is down to the discretion of the police officer."

Marijuana laws take another pounding in Ontario

Pubdate: Saturday, January 11, 2003
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Website: http://www.globeandmail.ca/
Author: Kirk Makin

Canada's marijuana laws absorbed another punishing blow yesterday when a Toronto judge concluded that the law is invalid and acquitted a man of possession. Ontario Court Judge John Moore added momentum to a string of recent court rulings that have pummelled the law, saying their combined force leads down "a common-sense path."

Judge Moore endorsed a ruling by a Windsor, Ont., judge last week. He said the government erred when it created regulations to govern medicinal marijuana without enacting them in Parliament as legislation. He said the procedure was at odds with instructions from the Ontario Court of Appeal in a 2000 ruling. Judge Moore also denied a federal request to hold off on the case against Martin Barnes until the Windsor ruling could be appealed. The chain of events signifies that as with abortion, so with marijuana: The courts are slowly, but surely, forcing Parliament to put up or shut up. The decisions have tightened a noose activists began fashioning years ago, when they realized that their best chance for marijuana reform lay with the judiciary.

On Thursday, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled that a marijuana-distribution scheme for the ill was so inaccessible as to render it unconstitutional. The same day, a judge near Ottawa acquitted ex-lawyer Rick Reimer of the rare charge of impaired driving caused by marijuana. Ontario Court Judge Bruce McPhee said he was left with reasonable doubt as to whether Mr. Reimer was impaired when police stopped him with a joint in his hand.

At the same time, a major decriminalization challenge is burning a hole in the Supreme Court of Canada docket. It could be heard as early as next spring. The scenario has echoes of the battle over abortion rights, which reached its peak in a 1988 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that struck down the existing abortion-law regime. When the federal government failed in a subsequent attempt to create a new law, the abortion war was effectively over. "Parliament now has a chance to either bring in a marijuana decriminalization bill or just let the laws die judicially," said Alan Young, one of several lawyers who worked on a litigation strategy.

He said in an interview that he believes that the latest rulings "will be the final nail in the coffin." He predicted that if the government tries to cut its losses by setting up a truly accessible distribution scheme for the ill, it will swiftly recognize how much money can be made from marketing marijuana. Decriminalization will quickly follow, he said.

Canada's marijuana laws worry U.S.
Tuesday, October 15, 2002 Posted: 10:53 AM EDT (1453 GMT)

TORONTO, Canada (AP) -- American officials caution they may be forced to drastically slow trade across the northern U.S. border if the Canadian government relaxes its marijuana laws.

The changes being considered by Prime Minister Jean Chretien's government would make the penalty for getting caught with a joint similar to a traffic ticket. By contrast, the zero tolerance policy of the United States makes possession of even small amounts illegal.U.S. drug policy experts say decriminalizing marijuana in Canada will increase drug use in America and trafficking by organized crime elements on both sides of the border. Washington would respond with tighter border checks that could hinder trade crucial to the Canadian economy.

"We intend to protect our citizens. We would have no choice," said John P. Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The issue joins a growing list of differences between the North American neighbors that share the world's largest trade partnership, worth more than $1 billion a day. Despite their military ties and common democratic values, Canada has traditionally adopted more liberal social policies, in part to distinguish itself from its powerful neighbor. Examples include diplomatic ties with Cuba, a ban on capital punishment and more lenient immigration policies.

Canada already has a legal industry for hemp, cannabis cultivated with very low amounts of the chemical that produces the high sought by marijuana smokers. The U.S. government prohibits hemp production. Last year, Canada implemented a medical marijuana program that allows some patients to possess and grow pot. The Canadian Supreme Court will hear a constitutional challenge to marijuana laws this fall, and a senate committee has called for the complete legalization of pot -- a much more radical step than decriminalization.

Despite such signals, lawyer and medical marijuana advocate Alan Young said Canadians should wait before lighting that celebratory joint.

"It's actually going to be a longer battle than you think," he told a September 30 demonstration in Toronto by dozens of people seeking legal access to marijuana. "There's a lot of backward steps being taken." Young cautioned the crowd that police had not let up against marijuana users. He cited police crackdowns in pot-rich British Columbia and other provinces, including a recent raid that shut down a Toronto club where doctor-certified patients could get marijuana.

He also said Canada has backed off from a plan to provide government-grown pot, though it allows approved patients to grow their own or designate someone to do so. He blamed the decision on American pressure. Eight U.S. states have taken some kind of step toward permitting the medicinal use of marijuana: California, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada and Colorado. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, has ruled there is no exception in federal law for people to use marijuana, so even those with tolerant state laws could face arrest if they do.

Canada already is a major source of marijuana used in the United States, with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of dope with exotic names like B.C. Bud and Quebec Gold smuggled in everything from sod trucks to hockey equipment bags. Decriminalization north of the border will create new headaches for the United States, said Rep. Mark Souder, R-Indiana., chairman of the Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources.

"We're still finding it hard to believe this could actually happen," he said in a telephone interview, but added that if it does, tougher border security would follow. "Probably it would be some sort of change in, at the very least, spot-checking, more aggressive checking, possibly background checking" of trucks and other vehicles crossing the border, he said. "Hopefully we could do it with not too much disruption, but there would be changes."

With pot valued on the street at about $3,000 a pound or more, increased smuggling is almost a certainty, Souder said. "You're basically becoming the supplier," he said. "You're kind of the wholesaler and our guys are more like the retailers."