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
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
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