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Canada Has the Most Pot Smokers in Industrialized World

Canada Has the Most Pot Smokers in Industrialized World





Wednesday, July 11, 2007

By Marrecca Fiore


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Canada ranks fifth worldwide when it comes to marijuana usage, but ranks first among industrialized nations, according to the 2007 World Drug Report.

About 16.8 percent of Canadians ages 15 to 64 light up, compared to 12.6 percent of Americans in the same age bracket, according to the report. Canada�s usage is about four times the worldwide average of 3.8 percent, while the United States' usage is about three times the average.

Marijuana, or cannabis, remains the most commonly used drug in the world with almost 160 million people ages 15 to 64 using it in 2005, said the report, which was put out by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Usage is down slightly from 162 million, according to last year�s World Drug Report, which reviewed data from 2004.

The majority of it is grown in the Americas (46 percent), followed by Africa (26 percent). Canada�s usage trails behind Papua New Guinea and Micronesia at 29 percent each, Ghana at 21.5 percent, and Zambia at 17.7 percent. Among European nations, Cyprus topped the list at 14.1 percent, followed by Italy and Spain, both at 11.2 percent.

Although Canada is a top five user of marijuana, its use among high school students in Ontario declined 19 percent between 2003 and 2005. Cannabis use amongst 12th graders in the U.S. declined 18 percent between 1997 and 2006, and is 38 percent lower than it was at its peak in 1979, the report said.

Cocaine Use Twice as High for U.S. Students

Canada may have cornered the North American market on marijuana use, but U.S. teens are twice as likely to use cocaine as teens in the rest of the world, according to the report.

About 4.8 percent of U.S. 10th graders have used cocaine compared to an average of 2.35 percent of 15 and 16-year-olds in South America countries and an average of 2.4 percent of similarly aged students in European nations.

Overall, Spain had the highest percentage of cocaine users between the ages of 15 and 64 at 3 percent, followed by the U.S. at 2.8 percent, England at 2.4 percent and Canada at 2.3 percent.

Source

ITS TIME TO DECRIMINALIZE !!!!!

raising my gun finga ina di air

wait... what?

quote:

Originally posted by Abercrombie wait... what?

LMAO

quote:

Originally posted by _EuG_ ITS TIME TO DECRIMINALIZE !!!!!

It'll never happen!!

quote:

Originally posted by Abercrombie wait... what?

mari-giuana

160 million drug users worldwide? how the fuck do they come up with that figure? I use it (weed) fairly often but only my friends know so how would I (and everyone else like me) become a statistic? THose numbers just sound kinda silly, especially the weed usage down nearly 20% since 2003 or whatever. I don't buy that at all. It's easier to get now in most cities than it's ever been!

Re: Canada Has the Most Pot Smokers in Industrialized World

quote:

Marijuana, or cannabis, remains the most commonly used drug in the world with almost 160 million people ages 15 to 64 using it in 2005, said the report, which was put out by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Usage is down slightly from 162 million, according to last year�s World Drug Report, which reviewed data from 2004.

ah...how about nicotine, tobacco, or alcohol?

I'm shocked. No, really.

quote:

Originally posted by Mortyman LMAO It'll never happen!!

There is no question that it will happen eventually; legalization will follow thereafter. It is now a matter of time. Both the Ontario and B.C. Superior Courts have agreed that Canada and the U.S. have laws in place which are out of touch with much of the Western world's means of dealing with cannabis possession (and by not directly refuting them, the SCC implicitly accepted various facts about marijuana such as its non-physiologically-addictive nature, its not being a gateway drug, and so on in the cases of Malmo-Levine, Clay, and Caine).

The Fed Liberals officially support decriminalization of personal possession and did, in fact, have a bill in Parliament when they were last in power which would amend the Contraventions Act and make personal possession punishable by a monetary fine (although the bill did contain a somewhat unclear provision whereby a criminal penalty could result after three incidents of being found with the substance had occurred).

quote:

Originally posted by cenik The Fed Liberals officially support decriminalization of personal possession

That's debatable. They decriminalized it and almost immediately recriminalized it. Really seemed more like a publicity stunt to me than an honest policy.

Re: Canada Has the Most Pot Smokers in Industrialized World

quote:

Originally posted by _EuG_ Canada Has the Most Pot Smokers in Industrialized World ITS TIME TO DECRIMINALIZE !!!!!

I don't see the point in decriminalization. As an ex avid pot smoker, I don't remember having any REAL legal issues, or knowing anyone that did as a result of personal use. Only those that traffic marijuanna did, and will continue to have issues even after decriminalization. I can't see it happening, not with all the anti-smoking (nicotine) by laws. And really what would change if they did ??? its not like pot-smokers don't already smoke wherever they want anyway....(at least I did).

And If they DO decriminalize it, I think they should take it a step further and legalize it for taxation purposes (like cigarettes).
*puts on flame gear*
Aside from whatever benefits people believe 'getting high' may have, their are still numerous side-effects to ones health (most can be avoided by ingesting it) that cost our health care system millions.

ASIDE: If the people that produce the weed get rich of peoples habit...don't you think the country that permits this behaviour should get piece of the pie since they deal with the consequences???

quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut That's debatable. They decriminalized it and almost immediately recriminalized it.

Incorrect.

Marijuana was never decriminalized in Canada by any government. A few summers ago a court ruling in Ontario found the medical marijuana laws in effect at the time to be unconstitutional; as a direct result of that decision, during those summer months marijuana possession charges were not laid and/or were not brought to court. The medical marijuana laws were later altered and charges for possession began once again.

quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut [Governmental moves toward decriminalization seem] more like a publicity stunt to me than an honest policy.

Granted it is in the interests of the government to support policies which aim to reflect the facts that 1) more than 10% of the Canadian population uses cannabis each year and 2) the majority of Canadians support decriminalization; I do think, however, that since, among other things, 1) the bill was officially working its way through the parliamentary processes required for legislation to become law and 2) the Liberals officially declared their belief that personal possession of cannabis ought not to be a punishable offence warranting criminal penalties suggest that this party--unlike, for instance, the Conservatives--does honestly support a change in marijuana possession laws.

I believe that one day in the future people will look back at the history of marijuana criminalization and, essentially, shake their heads at the failure of such a movement (e.g. the enormous financial costs of prohibition, the unethical punishment of an act which harms only the individual participating in such act, the harmful consequences resulting from a criminal conviction (e.g. labeling, restrictions on travel, and so on), and so on).

quote:

Originally posted by Zentac_75 I don't see the point in decriminalization. As an ex avid pot smoker, I don't remember having any REAL legal issues, or knowing anyone that did as a result of personal use. Only those that traffic marijuanna did, and will continue to have issues even after decriminalization.

Even though police officers routinely insist that their efforts are directed primary at individuals/groups who traffic and produce marijuana, crime statistics continuously demonstrate that the vast majority of charges and convictions for marijuana-related offences (somewhere in the neighbourhood of 90% I believe) in Canada are for personal possession.

quote:

Originally posted by cenik Even though police officers routinely insist that their efforts are directed primary at individuals/groups who traffic and produce marijuana, crime statistics continuously demonstrate that the vast majority of charges and convictions for marijuana-related offences (somewhere in the neighbourhood of 90% I believe) in Canada are for personal possession.

Kudos... you seem very educated on this subject...just wondering with the 'charges and convictions', could it be the statistics are misleading. (ie. trafficers getting charged and convicted/pleading out with possession because of insufficient evidence to convict trafficing ???)

I ask again, because as someone who was part of the 'smoking' culture, I don't know ANYONE who was not trafficking that got convicted of possession. (charged yes, threatened yes, but not convicted)

Also, we did fall under the young offenders act at the time, not sure how I'd be treated now that I'm 25. (Somehow as I got older/wiser marijuanna related run-ins with the law all but dissapeared)

quote:

Originally posted by cenik Incorrect. Marijuana was never decriminalized in Canada by any government. A few summers ago a court ruling in Ontario found the medical marijuana laws in effect at the time to be unconstitutional; as a direct result of that decision, during those summer months marijuana possession charges were not laid and/or were not brought to court. The medical marijuana laws were later altered and charges for possession began once again.

I checked, and you're right, it wasn't the Liberals who decriminalized it, it was the Ontario Supreme Court who struck the laws down.

Doesn't this look even worse for the Liberals though? Does it not seem a little bit odd that they claim to support decriminalization, but that after the Supreme Court effectively decriminalized it, the Liberals acted very quickly to recriminalize it?

If you're trying to convince me that possession shouldn't be a criminal offense, you don't have to. You're preaching to the choir. But I'd rather have the Conservatives who are honest about their lame-ass "just say no" policy than the Liberals who promise one thing but do something completely different. That's worse than a bad social policy, it's a complete slap in the face.

The Liberals were in power for 12 years. They had plenty of opportunities to decriminalize pot. Even a lot of the police chiefs supported decriminalization, so it's not as though there was a swarm of political opposition. If the Liberals really wanted to change the law, then why didn't they when they had a majority government? (And don't even try to blame the U.S. for this - Chr�tien/Martin had no problem flipping them the bird)

Re: Re: Canada Has the Most Pot Smokers in Industrialized World

quote:

Originally posted by Zentac_75 I don't see the point in decriminalization. As an ex avid pot smoker, I don't remember having any REAL legal issues, or knowing anyone that did as a result of personal use. Only those that traffic marijuana did, and will continue to have issues even after decriminalization. I can't see it happening, not with all the anti-smoking (nicotine) by laws. And really what would change if they did ??? its not like pot-smokers don't already smoke wherever they want anyway....(at least I did).

spot on.

impressed:

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