Cannabis 

The Report of the Canadian Government Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs - 1972

Canadian Government Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs, published by Information Canada, Ottawa, Canada, 1972, Crown Copyrights Reserved

See also:  The Interim Report

Contents
Figures and Tables page xi

Note to Reader page xiii

1.    Introduction     

• The Commission's Public Hearings
• The Commission Research Program   
• Consultation, Advice and Information

2.    Cannabis and Its Effects     

• Introduction   
  • The Identity and History of Cannabis   
  • The Cannabis Literature   
  • The Pharmacological Classification of Cannabis   
• Chemical and Botanical Aspects
  • The General Chemistry and Botany of Cannabis   
  • Illicit 'Street' Cannabis
• Medical Use
• Administration, Absorption, Distribution and Physiological Fate
  • Administration and Absorption   
  • Distribution, Biotransformation and Excretion   
  • The Detection of Cannabinoids in the Body   
• The Review of Cannabis Effects: Some General Considerations   
  • The Scope of the Review   
  • The Question of Dose   
  • The Importance of Time   
  • Commission Experiments on Cannabis Effects   
  • Pharmacologically Active Constituents of Cannabis   
  • Quantitative Comparisons Among Cannabis Studies   
• Phenomenological, Perceptual and Sensory Effects  
  • Some Subjective Characteristics of the Cannabis 'High'   
  • Experimental Evidence of Sensory-Perceptual Effects   
• Intellectual and Cognitive Effects   
  • Psychomotor Performance and Driving   
  • Psychomotor Performance   
  • Automobile Driving   
  • Attitudes of Users Towards Driving   
  • Experimental Studies of Driving Skills   
  • Driving Records   
  • Accident Investigations   
  • Conclusions Regarding Traffic Hazards   
• Adverse Psychological Reactions   
  • Adverse Reactions   
  • Adverse Psychological Reactions to Cannabis in the East and in Non-Industrial Countries      
  • Adverse Reactions in North America   
    • Clinical Reports From North America   
    • The Incidence of Adverse Reactions in Patient Samples   
    • The Incidence of Adverse Reactions in Non-Patient Samples   
  • American Experience in Vietnam   
  • Laboratory Reports of Adverse Reactions   
  • Summary and Discussion of Adverse Psychological Reactions to Cannabis   
• Aggression, Violence and Crime   
• Physiological Effects   
  • Acute Effects   
  • Chronic Physical Effects   
• Tolerance and Dependence   
  • Tolerance   
  • Physical Dependence   
  • Psychological Dependence   
• Cannabis and Other Drugs   
  • Pharmacological Interaction   
  • Patterns of Multiple-Drug Use   
    • Cannabis and alcohol   
    • Cannabis and tobacco   
    • Progression to heroin and other drugs   
• Annex A: Preliminary Summary of Commission Cannabis and Alcohol Experiments    
  • Experiment 1: A Comparison of Delta 9 THC and Marijuana Effects in Humans
    • Procedure   
    • Results   
    • Discussion   
  • Experiment 2: Effects of Marijuana and Alcohol on Some Automobile Driving Tasks    
    • Procedure   
    • Results
    • Discussion
  • Experiment 3: Effects of Marijuana and Alcohol on Psychomotor Tracking Performance    
    • Procedure   
    • Results   
    • Discussion   
  • Experiment 4: Effects of Marijuana on Visual Signal Detection and Glare Recovery    
    • Procedure   
    • Results   
    • Discussion 
• Annex B: The Addiction Research Foundation Experimental Studies of the Chronic Effects of Marijuana-A Discussion of the Preliminary Summary
  • Procedure
  • Pilot Experiment
  • Main Experiment-Phase 
  • Main Experiment-Phase 2
  • Summary of Preliminary Findings and Progress to Date
  • Discussion 
• Annex C: Some Directions for Future Research on the Pharmacological and Chemical Aspects of the Non-Medical Use of Cannabis
• Notes 

3.    Legal and Illegal Sources and Distribution of Cannabis

• Legal Sources and Legal Distribution
• Legal Sources and Illegal Distribution
• Illegal Sources and Illegal Distribution
• Sources
• Importation 
• Domestic Distribution
• Notes 

4.    Patterns and Extent of Cannabis Use 

• Social History of Cannabis Use in North America
• The Social Career of the Cannabis User
• Levels of Cannabis Use
• Cannabis-Using Populations
• Commission Survey Data 
• Notes 

5.    The Law 

• Introduction
• The International Framework
• The Constitutional Framework
• The Criminal Law Basis of Federal Legislation
• Other Possible Bases of Federal Jurisdiction in Relation to Non-Medical Drug Use
• Jurisdiction with Respect to Health
• Provincial Power to Create Penal Offences
• Jurisdiction with Respect to Education
• Legislation and Law Enforcement
• History
• Authorized Distribution and Possession of Cannabis
• Prohibitions and Penalties
• Applicable Provisions of the Criminal Code
• Juvenile Delinquency Legislation
• Special Methods of Enforcement
• Discretion Exercised by Police and Prosecutors
• Sentencing Policy 
• References 

6. Conclusions and Recommendations 

Conclusions and Recommendations of Gerald Le Dain, Heinz Lehmann, J. Peter Stein

• The Issues
• What Constitutes Legitimate Grounds for Social Concern
• The Bases for Social Concern About Cannabis
• General
• Effect on adolescent maturation
• Effect on driving
• Effect on mental health
• Effect on multiple-drug use
• Cannabis and other crime
• The Objective of Social Policy
• The Available Instruments of Social Policy
• Whether, in Principle, the Criminal Law Should Be Used in the Field of Non-Medical Drug Use
• Control of Availability
• Control of Quality and Potency
• The Control of Demand
• The Effect of a Change in the Law on the Perception of Harm
• The Costs of Applying the Criminal Law to the Distribution and Use of Cannabis
• The Balance of Benefit and Costs
• Summary Statement of Conclusions and Recommendations

Conclusions and Recommendations of Marie-Andree Bertrand

• Prohibition: Expensive and Inneffective
• The Non-Educative Character of the Law
• Absence of Controls on Price, Quality and Potency
• The Harm of Cannabis
• Effects on the Sensory, Cognitive and Psychomotor Functions
• Physical Effects
• Amotivational Syndrome
• Mental Health
• Possible Effects on Maturation
• Cannabis and Criminality
• Progression and Multi-Drug Use
• Arguments Against Legalization
• Conclusions
• Recommendations

Conclusions and Recommendations of Ian L. Campbell

• Notes 

Appendices 

Appendix A: Convictions and Sentences Involving Cannabis in 1970 and 1971

Appendix B: Commissioners and Staff

References and Selected Bibliographies 

Glossary   

Figures and Tables


Figure
The Structures of Dominant Cannabinoids    18

Figure 2
Numbering Systems for the Tetrahydrocannabinols    19

Figure 3
Cannabis Sativa L    20

Table I
Qualitative Analyses of Illicit Cannabis Samples In Canada    26-27

Table 2
Quantitative Analyses of Some Illicit Cannabis Samples    28-29

Table 3
Cannabis Seizures, In Pounds, Between 1968 and 1971 As Reported by
the R.C.M. Police    170

Table 4
Approximate Wholesale Value of R.C.M. Police-Reported Cannabis
Seizures Between 1968 and 1971    170

Figure 4
Major International Cannabis Routes Terminating In Canada    174

Table 5
Cannabis Use: Estimates of Proportions Who Began Use, Were Using, Had Ever Used, and Had Apparently Terminated Use, by Year and Survey   
Table 6
Range of Dispositions in Fifteen Hypothetical Cases    251