Anonymous Comrade writes: "Canadian Health Minister Allan Rock Open to
Marijuana Decriminalization


Following the release of groundbreaking medical
marijuana guidelines, Canadian Health Minister
Allan Rock says he is keeping an "open mind" on
marijuana decriminalization. The comments were
made on Thursday following a tour of an
underground mineshaft in Manitoba where Canadian
government sanctioned medical marijuana is being
grown for eligible patients. Patient complaints
that the new medical marijuana regulations are
overly burdensome and mired in bureaucracy may be
irrelevant in the near future. A government
committee is expected to undertake a cost-benefit
analysis of Canada's marijuana laws and will be
looking at the various alternatives: status quo,
adult regulation and decriminalization. Rock has
questioned the wisdom of the criminal justice
approach and has stated that decriminalization is
a question worth examining. Public opinion is
almost evenly split on the issue, with roughly
half of Canadians in favor of marijuana law
reform, along with the Canadian Association of
Chiefs of Police, the RCMP and Conservative leader
Joe Clark. Along with numerous Canadian
newspapers, the Canadian Medical Association
Journal has editorialized in favor of marijuana
decriminalization. With calls for marijuana
regulation aimed at undermining the black market
growing in Canada and Europe, the United States
is increasingly isolated in maintaining a zero
tolerance approach to marijuana. The report can
be found at the Health Canada Website:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/archives/releases/2 001/2001_73e.htm and
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/archives/prairie_pl ant_sys.htm"