NORML Canada
Press Release
Teen Marijuana Use Up-- Thanks to the Prohibition
of Marijuana
posted DrugWar.com
Oct. 7, 2004
White Shark
OTTAWA, Oct. 6 /SEDCWire/-- The National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Canada (NORML
Canada) is concerned that more Canadian teens are using cannabis
as opposed to alcohol. This comes after reports of a study carried
out by Queen's University in partnership with Health Canada, as
reported
today by Sarah Schmidt of the CanWest News Service.
"Teens are turning to marijuana as a
drug of choice, regardless of the confused policy the Federal
Government, which continues to demonize cannabis and offers a
so-called "decriminalization" policy without the foresight
of providing a legal regulated market," said Jody Pressman,
Director of NORML Canada. Not only does this breed disrespect
for the rule of law, it demonstrates an abdication of
responsibility on the part of our elected leaders."
"This demonstrates that the Canadian
drug policy on cannabis is an abject failure. When kids cannot
access beer, wine, or spirits because they exist in a
regulated framework that demands ID, they turn to their local
marijuana dealer -- who never asks for proof of legal age because
of zero oversight and zero
controls," said Pressman.
"Canadian Parliamentarians should keep
this in mind when crafting a bill to reform Canada's marijuana
laws," said Pressman. "They have consistently refused
to deal with the supply and market regulation issues. If they
only are doing minor changes to the offence of possession without
regulating the market,
Canadian youth will continue to be the targets of increased police
enforcement and victims of the criminal elements in the unregulated
marijuana market. It's time for a new approach. It's time our
politicians tried to solve the problem instead of trying to make
it go away."
Pressman concluded, "Prohibition has
never succeeded from keeping marijuana from
being consumed, it has simply made it more attractive and more
dangerous. We need to take the criminal element out of the equation
and adopt regulations which allow Canadians not drug dealers to
decide who marijuana is sold to. We need to follow the recommendations
of the Fraser Institute to regulate and tax the sale of marijuana,
taking the estimated $2 billion a year out of the pockets of organized
crime and putting it into the federal coffers for social programs
like health care, home care, and day care."
-----
For further
information:
Jody Pressman-
NORML Canada,
(613) 270-0602;
Website: www.norml.ca/
