Canada's proposed decriminalization of marijuana : Projet de décriminalisation de l'usage de la marijuana au Canada : répercussions internationales et points de vue étrangers

It responded to the diversification and expansion of the spectrum of drugs of abuse and introduced controls over a number of synthetic drugs according to their abuse potential on the one hand and their therapeutic value on the other. [...] Nothing contained in this article shall affect the principle that the description of the offences to which it refers and of legal defences thereto is reserved to the domestic law of a Party and that such offences shall be prosecuted and punished in conformity with that law. [...] For example, although article 36 of the Single Convention requires the production and possession of (5) For a detailed review of the varying interpretations as they relate to the possession of cannabis, see Daniel Dupras, Canada’s International Obligations under the Leading International Conventions on the Control of Narcotic Drugs, paper prepared for the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs, [...] Penalties in the form of fines would still attach to minor cannabis-related infractions; and the possession of more than 30 grams of marijuana, possession of more than 1 gram of hashish, and production of more than three marijuana plants would be subject to criminal punishment, including the possibility of imprisonment. [...] A significant portion of the cannabis produced in Canada is smuggled into the United States.(25) The Board is concerned that the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs in Canada, in a report issued in September 2002, proposed to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act by introducing a criminal exemption and regulatory scheme for the production, possession and distribution of cannabis for