Prohibition is ineffective and harmful

"The decision to criminalize cannabis was made "without any apparent scientific basis nor even any real sense of social urgency"
– Senate Report Vol. 2, CH. 12, P. 274

"There has never, in history, been a good reason presented for marijuana being illegal," said Banks. "It's fundamentally important for people to understand that it's never been based on the facts. It's non-toxic, it's not addictive and has no provable, long-term irreversible effects."
– Senator Tommy Banks, Deputy Chair of the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs [source]

"In short, it is remarkable that, over seventy-five years later, we should still not know why cannabis was placed on the list of prohibited drugs."
– Senate Report Vol. 2, CH. 12, P. 257

"The continued prohibition of cannabis jeopardizes the health and well-being of Canadians much more than does the substance itself."
– Senate Report - Summary Report P. 45

Prohibition establishes a black market, he said, and “keeps prices artificially high ... attracting organized crime.”

Paradis argued prohibition betrays the role government seeks to play – the protector of public health – by driving drug use and abuse underground, contributing to death, illness and the spread of disease.

“It is also a serious and unnecessary drain on the resources of police, prosecutors, courts and corrections,” said Paradis.

“Ending prohibition is not giving up. It is nothing to do with admitting defeat. It is nothing more than recognition that a policy adopted almost a century ago for all the wrong reasons does not only fail to yield any results, it has created unintended consequences. It endangers our children far more than the drugs do.”

– Vancouver judge Jerry Paradis [source]

"We estimate the cost of enforcing cannabis drug laws to be closer to $1-1.5 billion per annum.
–Senate Report Vol. 2, CH. 18, P. 436

The principal public policy cost relative to cannabis is law enforcement and the justice system; we estimate this to represent a total of $300-$500 million per annum.
–Senate Report Vol. 2, CH. 18, P. 436

* 1.5 million Canadian citizens now have criminal records for possession of cannabis.
– Source: John Howard Society: Canadian Cannabis Policy - Factsheet 1, 2002

The costs of externalities attributable to cannabis are probably minimal; no deaths, few hospitalizations, and very little loss of productivity."
– Senate Report Vol. 2, CH. 18, P. 436

"Cannabis is widely used in every part of the world, does not have the harmful effects ascribed to it, and poses little risk to public health."
– Senate Report Vol. 3, CH. 19, P. 467

"Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man."
– U.S. DEA Administrative Law Judge, Francis L. Young, 1988
Excerpt from U.S. Federal Court Decision

"[Legalization] would prove beneficial, not only for users, but also for the federal and provincial governments because of the considerable revenue they might well derive from the sales taxes on such a popular product."
– Senate Report Vol. 2, CH. 12, P.281

Canada
The THC content of the 3,160 marihuana samples analyzed during the three-year period varies considerably. Although the highest value recorded was 25 percent, the yearly country-wide averages are much lower: 6 percent for 96-97, 5.5 percent for 97-98, and 5.7 percent for 98-99 (figure 7). In fact, almost a third of the samples were under 3 percent.
– Source: RCMP website

U.S.
"Average potency of all tested samples has increased 52.4 percent (from 5.34 percent THC to 8.14 percent) just within the past 5 years."
– Source: National Drug Threat Assessment 2007 - U.S. National Drug Intelligence Center (view graph)

U.K.
"There is no evidence of a significant increase in potency," authors determined. "Today's report shows that effective potency of cannabis in nearly all EU countries has remained quite stable for many years, at around 6-8 percent THC."

"Statements in the popular media that the potency of cannabis has increased by 10 times or more in recent decades are not supported by the limited data that are available from either the USA or Europe," the report concluded.

– Source: An overview of cannabis potency in Europe (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction)

"Cannabis alone, particularly in low doses, has little impact on the skills involved in automobile driving."
– Senate Report - Summary Report P. 18

"Patients will have difficulty finding a medical practitioner willing to complete the required declaration forms, and even more difficulty accessing the appropriate specialists. This situation has created an unacceptable barrier to access and one must conclude that physicians should not be the "gatekeepers" under the MMAR, a responsibility that they themselves do not desire. Even Health Canada recognizes that there is a problem."
– Senate Report Vol. 2, CH. 13, P. 310

"There is no justification for making [medicinal] cannabis an option of 'last resort'."
– Senate Report Vol. 2 CH. 13, P. 311

"Depriving an individual of the ability to choose marijuana as medication to alleviate the effects of a serious illness does violate the rights protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms."
– Senate Report Vol. 2 CH. 13, P. 312

"We are convinced that the government should not be the only distributor of cannabis intended for therapeutic purposes."
– Senate Report Vol. 2 CH. 13, P. 313

"Canadian-produced marijuana accounts for only approximately 2% of overall U.S. marijuana seizures at its borders."
– Source: United States-Canada Border Drug Threat Assessment, Oct.2004

46% of the cannabis consumed within the U.S. is imported from Mexico.
– Global Illicit Drug Trends, 2002 - United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention

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