| Essential information for an informed debate about cannabis policy. |
 SUPPORT for Cannabis Law Reform: |
OPPOSITION to Cannabis Law Reform: |
|
| Conservatives | Conservatives | |
| Liberal | Police Unions | |
| NDP | Other | |
| Other |
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."
- Upton Sinclair
 Tony Cannavino |
Tony Cannavino A lot of people in Canada think that it's legal to smoke marijuana and (think) it's not worse than tobacco. Well, tobacco is very harmful for your health. Imagine marijuana. Source: CTV News |
|||
 Armand La Barge |
Chief Armand La Barge “For many years, there has been a debate in this country about legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana. I'm here to say marijuana is illegal because it is dangerous, it's not dangerous because it is illegal,” Chief Armand La Barge said. Source: 18 grow-ops raided during police operation |
|||
 Barry McKnight |
Chief Barry McKnight "Marijuana is a harmful drug. It's as simple as that – no ifs, ands or buts. Period, end of sentence." "Police officers must have the discretion to decide whether to issue a ticket or to send it to court," stressed Chief MacKnight, who does not support outright legalization of what he described as a harmful drug. Source: Pot busts bounce back
Audio interview with Barry McKnight regarding Canadian drug policy, including use rates and potency of cannabis in Canada.
|
|||
 Vernon White |
Chief
Vernon White Chief White agrees with the continued prohibition on pot, while at the same time acknowledging a widely-held attitude that people caught with small amounts of it shouldn't be saddled with criminal records. But the chief said the exercising of discretion by cops, not decriminalization, is the way to address that concern. Source: Police chief supports marijuana decriminalization "My support will be in having a frank discussion about whether or not we want people to have criminal records for possession of marijuana," White said. |
|||
 CACP |
Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police Police chiefs slam `flawed' pot bill Back in 2001 the CACP supported decriminalization... "The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has also advocated decriminalization, saying prosecuting people for small amounts ties up scarce resources." ...but now they were opposed to the Liberal's "decriminalization" bill because it took away police discretion to lay charges for small amounts of marijuana -- an option police say is needed to deter traffickers and repeat offenders. |
|||
 |
Ontario Association Of Chiefs Of Police |
|||
 |
Cpl. Gary Frail of the RCMPs Drugs and Organized Crime Awareness Service. "Drugs are illegal because they're bad; they're not bad because they're illegal," said Frail. Source: Pot Author Urges Legalization |
|||
 Julian Fantino |
Julian Fantino Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino likened decriminalizing marijuana to legalizing murder yesterday as he rejected arguments that legal pot would cut down on organized crime operations now growing it. "I guess we can legalize murder too and then we won't have a murder case. We can't go that way," Fantino said. Source: Legal pot murder on justice |
| Here's a link to an article from the magazine published by the International Association of Chiefs of Police entitled "Drug Legalization: Why It Wouldn't Work in the United States." Excerpt: "I encourage police executives to speak out against drug legalization, and I hope the information in this article has provided some of the resources they need as they prepare to make these speeches." --- The Police Chief magazine Excerpt from March 2005 Issue description: "This issue of the Police Chief focuses on the drug legalization arguments, marijuana, and methamphetamine laboratories." |
Police Services Act -
Political Activity, Sec. 46: Related article: |
