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POLL: GOVERNMENT OUT OF TOUCH WITH CANADIANS ON POT LAWS
Source: NORMAL, 11-25-04

OTTAWA--The Liberal government's policies on marijuana use are out of touch with Canadian public opinion according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Canada (NORML Canada). NORML Canada's Executive Director Jody Pressman today released results of a new national opinion poll and they show the government's proposed marijuana legislation is far behind the curve:

Here are some highlights:

. Almost six in ten Canadians say adult Canadians who possess small quantities of marijuana for personal use should be left alone.

. There is significant support in Canada for taxing and regulating marijuana. A majority of Canadians say it should be treated the same way as wine, beer or spirits.

. A majority of Canadians say spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year to enforce marijuana laws is a poor or very poor use of police resources.

The poll was conducted on behalf of NORML Canada by SES Research Inc between October 26th and November 1st. It is based on a random national telephone survey of 1,000 Canadians. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1%, and is considered accurate 19 times out of 20.

"The results show Canadians feel the government is going in the wrong direction" said Pressman. "The people are way ahead of government on this issue because they understand prohibition isn't working now and it never will. Taxing and regulating cannabis would generate billions of dollars in new revenue for social programs and finally remove the criminal element from the sale and distribution of marijuana," says Pressman.

NORML Canada calls on the Opposition parties to ensure the government's legislation is either amended to provide a bill more in line with the views of the voting public or defeated altogether.

Pressman says the government should follow the main recommendations of the Senate Committee Report on Marijuana chaired by Senator Pierre-Claude Nolin. "It is one of the most exhaustive, persuasive and well researched study on the subject ever conducted in Canada. The government is pretending it doesn't exist because it can't deny the science or the substance of the Nolin Committee Report."

The full details on the polling are available on line at www.norml.ca or at www.sesresearch.com

For further information, please contact:

Jody Pressman, Executive Director, NORML Canada at (613) 270-0602
Marc-Boris St-Maurice, President, NORML Québec (514) 808-8682
Nik Nanos, President and CEO, SES Research Inc. at (613) 234-4666

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