Originally posted by: FrancesBeansRevenge
Originally posted by: NewSc2
I don't see anything about Canada mentioned in the article.. it's all UK
Yeh.. sorry my bad. I added Canada in the mix because of it's current push for decriminalisation.
🙂
Where you looking for this?
LISA SCHLEIN
CBC
GENEVA (CP) - An official with the UN drug watchdog questions whether Canada is too hasty in allowing the medical use of marijuana but praised Ottawa for having legislation in place to control a variety of other narcotics.
"We have to be much more positive about Canada this year because it has finally put all the psychotropic substances under its national law," says Herbert Schaepe, secretary of the International Narcotics Control Board.
Canada now "fully complies" with the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, which obliges governments to introduce control measures such as licensing of companies, import-export authorizations, prescription requirements and inspections.
The board had said last year that Canada was the only developed country that failed to live up to the treaty, and this "could adversely affect efforts to control quite a number of substances." Psychotropic drugs such as benzodiazepines - familiarly known as "bennies" - phenobarbital and amphetamines were allowed to make their way through Canada to illicit markets in the United States as a result, it said.
"So, I think with these changes and with the co-operation between the police authorities of Canada and the United States, this is something which is probably now solved," Schaepe said.
The board is part of the UN International Drug Control Program based in Vienna, Austria. It released its latest annual report on the global drug control situation on Wednesday. A key point is that far from making poor countries rich, illicit drug production keeps most people in developing countries trapped in poverty.
As for North America, the report says cannabis remains the most common drug of abuse and is widely available in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Schaepe said a significant amount of cannabis seized in the United States "is coming from Canada where probably the attitude of the authorities is more liberal than on the other side of the border."
The board is concerned that the Canadian government may be jumping the gun on "the medical use of cannabis," he said, and may be making some exceptions in this regard "before research into the supposed medical benefits of cannabis has been completed."
"What we do not understand is why the legislators cannot wait until this medical research comes up with definite results."
Two years ago, a Canadian court sided with an epileptic who said he needed marijuana to control his seizures. In response, Ottawa adopted regulations that allow the use of marijuana for medical reasons under certain circumstances.
But the regulations have been criticized for being cumbersome and unfair, and there have been further court rulings and appeals that left an air of uncertainty over Canadian laws on marijuana.
Schaepe also expressed misgivings about Vancouver's proposed safe-injection sites for drug users.
"We think it is not in line with international conventions when the government or local governments just condones the abuse of substances which are coming from the illicit market and opens up places where this can be done," he said.
Vancouver officials explained that the city wants to incorporate harm-reduction measures, such as better health treatment for addicts, in its drug strategy which includes prevention, treatment and enforcement.
The UN report notes that after the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, the amount of drugs seized at airports and border crossings in both Canada and the United States "decreased considerably."
The board says "enhanced border controls" resulted in "reduced availability of cocaine and heroin on illicit markets" - which has generally led to increased prices.
cbc.ca
