News for August 12th, 2015

LOCAL
by Tom Matukala

Concordia and Mcgill are set to be the first university campuses to house the Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy group, which lobbies for reforms at the federal, provincial and municipal levels.

In a report by the Montreal gazette, the group advocates for dealing with drug usage as a health issue rather than criminally.

The group is also supporting the legalization of marijuana, fighting against minimum sentences for drug related offences, and advocating for safe needle exchanges.

The group says they want to promote safety over everything.

NATIONAL
by Patricia Petit Liang

Prime Minister Stephen Harper explained to citizens why he is opposed to the legalization of marijuana and safe-injection sites for drug users on Tuesday while campaigning in Toronto.

According to CTV News, Harper made several claims about drugs may not have been completely accurate.

Harper stated that the legalization of marijuana in Colorado has made it more available to children. 

However, while studies in the US are lacking, studies have found that since drugs were decriminalized in the Netherlands in 1976, cannabis use among young adults has declined.

Harper also claimed that marijuana use has been declining in Canada. 

While reports seem to find that people between the ages of 15 to 17 have been smoking less marijuana, more and more people are using it in and after their late twenties.

Harper did however support the use of programs that provide treatment to drug users, saying Canadas anti-drug strategy is based on prevention, enforcement, but most of all treatment.