Now that they regressively passed bill C-8, there's

GOOD NEWS:Canada is going to have a drug policy review!

BAD NEWS: It's being done by the same bunch of prohibitionists that gave us the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

THE BACKGROUND

When the Parliamentary Committee that examined the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act brought their recommendations back to Parliament in October 1995, they recommended that a "comprehensive review of Canada's drug policy" be undertaken by the Ministry of Health, but only once the bill had become law.

Although it would clearly have made much more sense to have a review of drug policy before passing a new drug policy bill, the Senate Committee that examined the bill came to the exact same conclusion as Parliament. The Senate Committee recommended that the bill become law as is, but that their Senate Committee be allowed to participate with Parliament in the "comprehensive review" of drug policy.

THE CURRENT SITUATION

As it stands right now, the Ministry of Health has agreed to have the Standing Committee on Health launch a drug policy review. This review is scheduled to begin in the October, and will conclude in the spring of 1997.

There has been no formal participation by the Senate in this process so far, and it seems unlikely that Parliament will want the more open-minded Senators to be involved. The Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs has claimed that if they are not allowed to participate in Parliament's review then they will hold a separate review themselves. It remains to be seen what will come of this.

Even though the Senate passed the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act without significant amendments and made essentially the same recommendations as the Parliamentary Committee, there is still many reasons to believe that the presence of Senators on the Parliamentary drug policy review committee would be of great benefit.

During the Senate hearings, Senators were generally attentive and open minded, and apparently learned a great deal about drugs and drug policy that they didn't know before. This is in direct contrast to the Parliamentary hearings on the bill, in which witnesses were harassed and challenged by the Parliamentary Committee, often being told that they could not discuss the harmful effects of prohibition because "this is only a housekeeping bill."

Further evidence that the Senate will be a sympathetic participant is the difference in the way the two drug policy reviews are described. Parliament's Standing Committee on Health describes their review as being on "Policies on the Misuse and Abuse of Substances," while the Senate describes their review as being "a review of all of Canada's existing drug laws, and policies and programs."

The federal Minister of Health, David Dingwall, has stated that the Parliamentary review should focus on "demand reduction", which is often simply a euphemism of harassing and jailing users. Nowhere in the Parliamentary Committee's terms of reference is the term "harm reduction" used, and there is no mention of potentially harmful effects of prohibition.

In contrast to theie, the terms of reference for the review as recommended by the Senate include explicit references to "harm reduction" and a suggestion to "view drug use and abuse as primarily a health and social policy issue."

THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF HEALTH'S TERMS OF REFERENCE

What follows are the four Terms of Reference of the Parliamentary Health Committee Review of Policies on the Misuse and Abuse of Substances. Note that there is no mention of harm reduction, or even a "comprehensive review" of Canada's drug policies.

  1. To receive evidence about the harmful impact of misuse and abuse of legal and illegal drugs on the social behaviour and physical health of Canadians;

  2. To identify the relevance of variables such as age, sex, ethnicity, socio-economic status and geographic area on the demand for and effect of such substances;

  3. To examine effective measures for reducing the demand for and use of such substances through education, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation;

  4. To make appropriate recommendations on future policy actions to reduce the demand for such substances.

THE SENATE'S TERMS OF REFERENCE

I have already presented the complete senate recommendation in CClist post #40, and so what follows is just a reminder of a few of the key points.

To receive the full text of the Senate Committee's report on Bill C-8, including the technical amendments it proposed to the Bill, please call the Senate at 1-800-267-7362, email sencom@magi.com, or web http://www.magi.com/~sencom/rp-c8-e.htm. Requests should be directed to the Heather Lank, Clerk of the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs.

The Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs strongly urges that a Joint Senate and House of Commons Committee be struck to review all of Canada's existing drug laws, and policies and programs.

Without restricting its mandate, this Joint Committee should be authorized to:

The goal should be to devise a made-in-Canada drug strategy where all levels of government work effectively together to reduce the harm associated with the use of illicit and legal drugs.

WHO IS ON THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

The Parliamentary Review is to be undertaken by the entire Standing Committee on Health. It was a subcommittee of this committee that examined and passed the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

What follows is a list of all of the Members of Parliament on the Standing Committee on Health, along with their email address, their mailing address, and phone and fax numbers. The first set of phone and fax numbers are for their constituency office.

The Parliamentary Address should be followed by: House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6. No postage is required to write to an MP at their Parliamentary address.

I have provided a quote from all of the MPs for whom I have a quote or an idea of their thoughts on the issue of prohibition. Please contact all of these MPs and encourage them to support tolerance and harm reduction instead of incarceration and demand reduction. If you live in or near their riding then please call them and make an appointment to speak to them in person. Please forward me any statements any of them may make about the issue.

This review is our best and possibly last chance to make serious changes to Canada's drug policy. We have to put as much pressure upon our elected oppressors as we possibly can. Please contact each of these MPs.

LIBERAL MEMBERS:

(a complete list of email address for Liberal MPs)



Mrs Beryl Gaffney (gaffnb@parl.gc.ca)
Constituency: Nepean, Ontario
ph 613-990-8827, fax 613-990-4178
Parliamentary Address: Room 553 S, Centre Block
ph 613-992-2772, fax 613-992-1209




John Murphy (murphj@parl.gc.ca)
Constituency: Annapolis Valley - Hants, Nova Scotia
ph 902-681-0051, toll free 1-800-565-0051, fax 902-681-1046
Parliamentary Address: Room 732, Confederation Building
ph 613-995-8231, fax 613-996-9349

From personal correspondence:

"I would not support changes to Bill C-7 which would legalize the use of marijuana in Canada..."

"Rather than legalizing drugs to control quality, I believe that greater efforts should be made to educate people, in particular young people, of the short and long term hazards of drug use."



Andy Scott (scotta@parl.gc.ca)
Constituency: Fredericton - York - Sunbury, New Brunswick
ph 506-452-4110, fax 506-452-4016
Parliamentary Address: Room 244, Confederation Building
ph 613-992-1067, fax 613-996-9955

During hearings on The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act:

"Is there any evidence to suggest that offering a decriminalized opportunity to consume cannabis would increase consumption? I don't think there would be. I think people have already made that choice."



Georgette Sheridan (sherig@parl.gc.ca)
Constituency: Saskatoon - Humboldt, Saskatchewan
ph 306-975-6070, fax 306-933-2573
Parliamentary Address: Room 263, Confederation Building
ph 613-992-8052, fax 613-996-9899




Roger Simmons (simmor@parl.gc.ca)
Constituency: Burin - St George, Newfoundland
ph 709-643-2332, fax 709-643-9315
Parliamentary Address: Room 458 Confederation Building
ph 613-992-8655, fax 613-992-5324

Roger Simmons is the Chair of the Committee



Paul Szabo (szabop@parl.gc.ca)
Constituency: Mississauga South, Ontario
ph 905-822-2111, fax 905-822-2115
Parliamentary Address: Room 175, Confederation Building
ph 613-992-4848, fax 613-996-3267

Speech to Parliament on The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act:

"Marijuana is about 15 times more potent today than it was 10 years ago. Marijuana today is as potent as cocaine was 10 years ago. Let there be no confusion, marijuana is a dangerous drug which can have serious health impacts."

"...with regard to the commercial production of hemp that it is a long way off, if indeed it is appropriate at all."



Joseph Volpe (volpej@parl.gc.ca)
Constituency: Eglinton - Lawrence, Ontario
ph 416-781-5583, fax 416-781-5586
Parliamentary Address: Room 349, Confederation Building
ph 613-992-6361, fax 613-992-9791

BLOC QUEBECOIS MEMBERS:

(complete listing of all Bloc Quebecois MPs and their email addresses)



Antoine Dube (dubea@parl.gc.ca)
Constituency: Levis, Quebec
ph 418-834-7474, fax 418-834-7469
Parliamentary Address: Room 524, Confederation Building
ph 613-992-7434, fax 613-995-6856
web



 Although I do not have a direct quote available from Antoine Dube, I have
been informed by one of his constituents that he is in support of lowering
the penalties for marijuana, and possible complete decriminalization. 







Pauline Picard (picarp@parl.gc.ca)
Constituency: Drummond, Quebec
ph 819-477-3611, fax 819-477-7116
Parliamentary Address: Pilce 449, Ed de l'ouest
ph 613-947-4550, fax 613-947-4451
web







REFORM MEMBERS:

(a complete list of Reform MPs email addresses)




Sharon Hayes (hayes@reform.ca)
Constituency: Port Moody - Coquitlam, British Columbia
ph 604-469-6787, fax 604-469-6786
Parliamentary Address: Room 319, West Block
ph 613-947-4482, fax 613-947-4485
Web page




From personal correspondence:




"...there are numerous current studies which show that the use of cannabis
is indeed harmful to the user. At a time when we are moving towards
discouraging the use of tobacco products, I cannot see the reason for
allowing greater access to a narcotic substance."








Dr Grant Hill (hill@reform.ca)
Constituency: Macleod, Alberta
ph 403-938-5005, toll free 1-800-667-0478, fax 403-938-4156
Parliamentary Address: Room 619, Confederation Building
ph 613-995-8471, fax 613-996-9770
Web page




From personal correspondence:




"Your desire to have cannabis more available in Canada is something that I
am personally opposed to. This opposition is based upon two grounds. First,
in my experience as a physician I treated patients with addictions. Second,
the experiences of other countries where cannabis has been made far more
available than it is in Canada. In neither case have I found evidence of an
overall benefit for society."

THE CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE

Along with contacting the various MPs on the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health, you should also contact Nancy Hall, the Committee's Clerk. She is the one who you should contact to request trancgi of the Committee Hearings and Recommendations, as well as the one to contact if you wish to make a presentation to the Committee. You can reach her at the following address: Nancy Hall, c/o Standing Committee on Health, 6th Floor, 180 Wellington St., House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6. Phone 613-992-1775, fax 613-996-1626.

THE WEB SITE

Although there's not much there of interest now, there's the Standing Committee on Health Web page. I assume they'll put something up on the Drug Policy Review. Please mention that you'd like to see all relevant information posted to their web site when you contact these MPs.

Dana Larsen muggles@hempbc.com
Editor, Cannabis Canada, "The Magazine of Canada's Cannabis Culture"

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