When Spain's drug laws seemed very different from Canada's own
'They're smoking marijuana in the streets and no one seems to mind'
Spain had taken steps to soften its drug laws.
And in comparison with the Canada of 37 years ago, it was being a lot more lenient about the consumption of marijuana.
"They're smoking marijuana in the streets and no one seems to mind, because since July, it's all been legal," the CBC's Knowlton Nash told viewers of The National on Sept. 16, 1983.
"Spain's new socialist government changed the laws affecting soft drugs this summer."
The CBC's Don Murray took to the streets of Madrid to illustrate the practical effect of those changes to viewers.
'Smoking dope, legally'
Murray brought viewers to a public square where a group of seniors relaxed on a bench, as nearby young people were "smoking dope, legally," as he put it.
The new laws that had come into effect had allowed the possession of small amounts of soft drugs, Murray explained. Yet the sale of those drugs remained illegal.
The more permissive atmosphere pleased many younger voters, but did not appeal to everybody — including some of Spain's allies.
Unforeseen pushback
"Not so predictably, other countries have protested that the new law is a magnet for their young people, creating new headaches for their drug-law enforcement officials," said Murray.
Eliborio Hierro of Spain's Ministry of Justice told CBC News that Madrid had received complaints from France, Sweden, Norway and Japan.
But he said those complaints had been rooted in what was translated in Murray's report as "rumours that Spain allows the open use of drugs."
Hierro said Spain was trying "to correct this mistake," according to Murray.
Murray explained that the Spanish state appeared to be hesitant to take credit for the changes it had brought forward, evidently in the wake of the political pressures the drug reforms had created.
