I am organizing, as a member of the Scientific Commission of the International Society of Criminology, a series of panels regarding drug use, drug policy and crime at this upcoming conference. The conference link is below:
http://www.worldcongresscriminology.com/index.asp?pagina=prog&idioma=en
What to do about cannabis law? In November of last year the Harper government brought forward Bill C-26, an enactment that would mandate minimum jail terms for those who grow and/or distribute marijuana. In November of 2003 the Martin Liberals had introduced Bill C-17, a proposal that would have reduced penalties for marijuana possession and small-scale cultivation, but would have increased the potential maximum term for cultivation from 7 to 14 years.
What lies behind these proposals? How are we to read their intent, and what are the likely consequences? First, let’s acknowledge the best available science. Marijuana is a minor public health irritant, when placed alongside the likes of either tobacco or alcohol. The drugs that many of us consume every day – the socially acceptable drugs of western culture — are more likely to produce premature death than cannabis is, and taking past, current or future rates of use into account doesn’t alter this finding in the slightest. Granted, cannabis is not the benign food for the mind that some of its most enthusiastic supporters may claim, but if it is to be deserving of criminal censure we had better give serious thought to the criminalization of a wide range of psychoactive substances, from coffee to chocolate, and from tobacco to fine red wines.
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