Nunavut and legalized dope

It’s a great irony that those who have likely profited the most from distributing marijuana and hash to Baffin and Nunavik Inuit over the years include at least some members of a blatantly white-supremacist organization — the notorious motorcycle gang known as the Hell’s Angels.

So one of the strongest arguments that can possibly made for the eventual legalization of cannabis is that society’s thugs, low-lifes and bottom-feeders would no longer get rich by selling a substance that many believe is less harmful to human health than tobacco or alcohol.

To be fair, les motards are having a rough time in Quebec these days. Numerous members of that and other outlaw biker clubs are awaiting trial on a variety of criminal charges, including murder. There are plenty of other scum-bags who are likely taking their places already.

In any event, no matter how you feel about the recreational use of cannabis, one thing is clear: legalizing its sale and possession would remove a major source of profit for criminals — in Canada, and in Nunavut.

But don’t hold your breath. The federal government isn’t close to doing any such thing. The highly publicized cannabis control bill, which received first reading in the House of Commons in March, and will likely go before a parliamentary committee this fall, does not “legalize” marijuana possession.

The proposed new law would remove the possession of small amounts of cannabis from the Criminal Code, and replace the current penalties with small fines. The possession of cannabis would still be an offence, but not a crime, and those who are caught with small amounts would not get a criminal record.

This cautious measure, however, has prompted some people in Nunavut to worry.

One of them is Terry Young, the principal of Iqaluit’s Inuksuk High School. Last month, Young told Nunatsiaq News that he fears what might happen if young people in Nunavut were to gain easier access to cannabis.

Since Young works with teenagers every day, his views are worth heeding. The 1996 NWT Alcohol and Drug Survey showed that in the three Nunavut regions, 41.8 per cent of people aged 15 to 24 admitted smoking grass or hash within the 12-month period before the survey was taken. That age group includes most high school students. This is also a fairly old survey, but it’s likely that, if anything, those numbers have increased.

So if cannabis is to be decriminalized, and eventually legalized, the Nunavut government cannot stand idly by.

No one knows how cannabis affects the still-developing brains of children and young people, who are supposed to be learning large amounts of material in school. And simple common sense will tell you that no teacher is ever going to work well with students who come to school in a state of drug-induced stupefaction. We also know that many emotionally unstable young people have made suicide attempts while high on cannabis.

Cannabis use raises other serious public health issues. Last month, the president of the Lung Association of Saskatchewan, Dr. Brian Graham, had this to say about the issuance of marijuana to people who need it for medical purposes:

“The Lung Association regards marijuana smoking as a public health hazard. Health Canada should not be supplying marijuana in a form that will be inhaled into the lungs with dirty, irritating, toxic, carcinogenic smoke. The Minister of Health should never condone smoking of any substance,” Graham wrote on July 11.

Studies have shown that a person who smokes two or three joints a day will consume the same amount of cancer-causing material as a pack-a-day cigarette smoker. Researchers believe this is partly because dope smokers tend to hold smoke in their lungs for as long as they can, and because joints are unfiltered.

We know that large numbers of Nunavummiut, of all ages and backgrounds, smoke dope on a regular basis. In some communities, it’s almost universal. This means that Health Minister Ed Picco’s vigorous campaign against cigarettes may not produce fewer lung cancers and other respiratory diseases. Even if every single cigarette smoker in Nunavut were to kick their habit tomorrow, large numbers of Nunavummiut would continue to ingest large amounts of cancer-causing smoke into their lungs – in the form of grass or hash.

Quttiktuq MLA Rebekah Williams may have been thinking about that when she made the following comment in a series of questions for Nunavut’s health minister:

“I find it very strange that while our minister of health has introduced a bill in this House to impose restrictions on tobacco use, he has not said a word about marijuana, which is also a dangerous drug.”

Picco responded by saying that he supports the use of marijuana for medical purposes – but he said nothing about the public health implications of widespread dope-smoking.

The legalization of cannabis in Canada will occur, slowly and gradually. There are ardent propagandists on either side of the issue, and the views of pro- and anti-legalization proponents should each be treated with healthy skepticism. Right now, the federal government is taking a cautious approach, which is wise, because public opinion is still divided on the issue.

But it’s inevitable that the sale, possession and cultivation of cannabis products will one day be made legal in Canada, especially when obviously dangerous substances like alcohol and tobacco are already legal. This will remove control of the cannabis industry from criminal degenerates – but it will create serious public health issues that Nunavut had better be ready to deal with. JB