About Marijuana (Cannabis)An overview
Who smokes cannabis?
According to recent statistics provided by Auckland University's Alcohol
and Public Health Research Unit, 53% of New Zealanders aged 15-45 have
tried cannabis, and 18% continue to regularly do so.
That's about 1.5 million New Zealanders who have broken the law, and
half a million who continue to break it.
Many successful business and professional leaders -- including many
elected officials such as Prime Minister Helen Clark, Health Minister
Annette King, Justice Minister Phil Goff, Education Minister
Trevor Mallard and Wellington Mayor Mark Blumsky -- admit they have
smoked cannabis. We must reflect this reality in our state and federal
laws, and put to rest the myth that cannabis smoking is a
fringe or deviant activity engaged in only by the margins of American
society. Cannabis smokers are no different from their non-smoking peers,
except for their cannabis use.
Why should we decriminalise or legalise cannabis?
As US President Jimmy Carter acknowledged: "Penalties against drug use
should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug
itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws
against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use."
Cannabis prohibition needlessly destroys the lives and careers of
literally thousands of good people each year in this country. More than
12,000 New Zealanders were arrested on cannabis charges last
year, and more than 133,000 New Zealanders carry criminal records for
cannabis offenses. Almost 90 percent of these arrests are for simple
possession, not trafficking or sale. This is a misapplication
of the criminal sanction that invites government into areas of our
private lives that are inappropriate and wastes valuable law enforcement
resources that should be focused on serious and violent
crime.
What about kids and cannabis?
Cannabis, like other drugs, is not for kids. There are many activities
in our society that we permit adults to do, but forbid children, such as
motorcycle riding, skydiving, signing contracts, getting
married and drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco. However, we do not
condone arresting adults who responsibly engage in these activities in
order to dissuade our children from doing so. Nor can we
justify arresting adult cannabis smokers on the grounds of sending a
message to children. Our expectation and hope for young people is that
they grow up to be responsible adults, and our obligation to
them is to demonstrate what that means.
The NORML Board of Directors has adopted a set of principles called the
"Principles of Responsible Cannabis Use," and the first principle is
"Cannabis consumption is for adults only; it is irresponsible to provide
cannabis to children."
Critics claim that cannabis is a "gateway drug." How do you respond to this charge?
There is no conclusive evidence that the effects of cannabis are
causally linked to the subsequent use of other illicit drugs.
Preliminary animal studies alleging that cannabis use "primed" the brain
for other drug-taking behavior have not been replicated, nor are they
supported by epidemiological human data. Statistically, for every 104
Americans who have tried cannabis, there is only one
regular user of cocaine, and less than one user of heroin. Cannabis is
clearly a "terminus" rather than a gateway for the overwhelming majority
of
cannabis smokers. Almost all people first start with using alcohol and
then tobacco, and then some try cannabis. Hardly any then try other
drugs.
For those minority of cannabis smokers who do graduate to harder
substances, it is cannabis prohibition -- which forces users to
associate with the illicit drug black market -- rather than the use of
cannabis itself, that often serves as a doorway to the world of hard
drugs. The more users become integrated in an environment where, apart
from cannabis, hard drugs can also be obtained, the greater
the chances they will experiment with harder drugs.
In Holland, where politicians decided over 25 years ago to separate
cannabis from the illicit drug market by permitting coffee shops all
over the country to sell small amounts of cannabis to adults,
individuals use cannabis and other drugs at rates about one-third that
found in New Zealand.
But isn't cannabis addictive?
Substantial research exists regarding cannabis and addiction. While the
scientific community has yet to achieve full consensus on this matter,
the majority of epidemiological and animal data
demonstrate that the reinforcing properties of cannabis in humans is low
in comparison to other drugs of abuse, including alcohol and nicotine.
According to the US Institute of Medicine (IOM), fewer
than one in 10 cannabis smokers become regular users of the drug, and
most voluntary cease their use after 34 years of age. By comparison, 15
percent of alcohol consumers and 32 percent of tobacco
smokers exhibit symptoms of drug dependence.
According to the IOM, observable cannabis withdrawal symptoms are rare
and have only been identified under unique patient settings. These
remain limited to adolescents in treatment facilities for
substance abuse problems, and in a research setting where subjects were
given cannabis or THC daily.
Compared with the profound physical syndrome of alcohol or heroin
withdrawal, cannabis-related withdrawal symptoms are mild and subtle.
Symptoms may include restlessness, irritability, mild agitation
and sleep disruption. However, for the overwhelming majority of cannabis
smokers, these symptoms are not severe enough to re-initiate their use
of cannabis.
Don't alcohol and tobacco use already cause enough damage to society?
Why should we allow another intoxicant?
While there are indeed health and societal problems due to the use of
alcohol and nicotine, these negative consequences would be amplified if
consumption of either substance were prohibited.
Cannabis is already the third most popular recreational drug in New
Zealand, despite harsh laws against its use. Hundreds of thousands of
New Zealanders smoke it responsibly. Our public policies
should reflect this reality, not deny it.
In addition, cannabis is far less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco. It
fails to inflict the types of serious health consequences these two
legal drugs cause. Around 500 people die each year in New
Zealand from acute alcohol poisoning. More than 5000 deaths each year
are attributed to tobacco smoking. By comparison, cannabis is nontoxic
and cannot cause death by
overdose. According to the prestigious European medical journal, The
Lancet, "The smoking of cannabis, even long-term, is not harmful to
health. ... It would be reasonable to judge cannabis as less
of a threat ... than alcohol or tobacco."
No one is suggesting we encourage more drug use; simply that we stop
arresting responsible cannabis smokers. In recent years, we have
significantly reduced the prevalence of drunk driving and tobacco
smoking. We have not achieved this by prohibiting the use of alcohol and
tobacco or by targeting and arresting adults who use alcohol and tobacco
responsibly, but through honest educational campaigns.
We should apply these same principles to the responsible consumption of
cannabis. The negative consequences primarily associated with cannabis
-- such as an arrest or jail time -- are the result of
the criminal prohibition of cannabis, not the use of cannabis itself.
Unless stated otherwise, copyright © 1998-2005 by NORML New Zealand, working for marijuana law reform Published on: 2003-03-09 (5517 reads) [ Go Back ] |
