THE GREAT DRUG COMMISSIONS ON MARIJUANA
The following are listed at the front and end of :
Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1894:
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The commission has come to the conclusion that the moderate use of hemp drugs is practically attended by no evil results at all."
U.S. Panama Canal Zone Report, 1925:
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The influence of [marihuana] ... has apparently been greatly exaggerated.... There is no evidence ... that it has any appreciably deleterious influence on the individual using it."
U.S. LaGuardia Commission Report, 1944:
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There [is] no direct relationship between the commission of crimes of violence and marihuana ... and marihuana itself has no specific stimulant effect in regard to sexual desires. The use of marihuana does not lead to morphine or cocaine or heroin addiction."
The British Wootten Report, 1969:
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[We] intended to present both sides of the controversy.... But once the myths were cleared, it became obvious that the case for and against was not evenly balanced. By any ordinary standards of objectivity, it is clear that cannabis is not a very harmful drug..... Possession of a small amount of cannabis ... should not be punished by imprisonment...."
The Canadian LeDain Commission Report, 1970:
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Physical dependence to cannabis has not been demonstrated and it would appear that there are normally no adverse physiological effects ... occurring with abstinence from the drug, even in regular users.... Since cannabis is clearly not a narcotic we recommend that the control of cannabis be removed from the Narcotic Control Act.... The Commission is of the opinion that no one should be liable to imprisonment for simple possession."
U.S. National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, 1972
:"There is little proven danger of physical or psychological harm from the experimental or intermittent use of natural preparations of cannabis.... Marihuana's relative potential for harm to the vast majority of individual users and its actual impact on society does not justify a social policy designed to seek out and firmly punish those who use it.... Existing social and legal policy is out of proportion to the individual and social harm engendered by the drug."
The Dutch Baan Commission, 1972:
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Cannabis does not produce tolerance or physical dependence. The physiological effects of the use of cannabis are of a relatively harmless nature.... The current law does not respect the fact that the risks of the use of cannabis cannot be equaled to the risks of the use of substances that are pharmacologically much more potent.... This hurts the credibility of the drug law, and the prevention efforts based on the law are made untrustworthy."
Commission of the Australian Government, 1977:
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One of the most striking facts concerning cannabis is that its acute toxicity is low compared with that of any other drugs.... No major health effects have manifested themselves in the community.... Legal controls [should] not [be] of such a nature as to ... cause more social damage than use of the drug.... Cannabis legislation should be enacted that recognises the significant differences between ... narcotics and cannabis in their health effects.... Possession of marijuana for personal use should no longer be a criminal offence."
U.S. National Academy of Sciences Report, 1982:
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Over the past 40 years, marijuana has been accused of causing an array of antisocial effects including ... provoking crime and violence, ... leading to heroin addiction, ... and destroying the American work ethic in young people. [These] beliefs ... have not been substantiated by scientific evidence.... The advantages of a policy of regulation include ... the savings to economic and social costs of law enforcement ... , better controls over the quality and safety of the product, and, possibly, increased credibility of warnings about risks."
Australian National Drug Strategy Committee, 1994:
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Australia experiences more harm ... from maintaining cannabis prohibition policy than it experiences from the use of the drug.... We conclude that cannabis law reform is required in this country."
Report by the Dutch Government, 1995:
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Cannabis is not very physically toxic.... Everything that we now know ... leads to the conclusion that the risks of cannabis use cannot ... be described as "unacceptable" .... It has been demonstrated that the more or less free sale of ... [marijuana] for personal use in the Netherlands has not given rise to levels of use significantly higher than in countries which pursue a highly repressive policy.... Dutch policy on drugs over the last twenty years ... can be considered to have been successful."