Pubdate: Tue, 04 Apr 2006 Source: Link, The (CN QU Edu) Copyright: 2006 The Link Contact: http://thelink.concordia.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2694 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n386/a06.html Author: Nick Metaxas EMERY A HACK Dear editor, I went to go see Marc Emery speak at Concordia and I was very disappointed with what I heard. I support the decriminalization of marijuana so when I heard Emery's arguments in defence of this cause I couldn't help but cringe. I mean, come on, citing Genesis to make a case for marijuana is just silly. So the Bible doesn't explicitly prohibit the use of any plants. So what? What about poppies or coca shrubs? Should we apply Emery's logic to these cases and decriminalize opiates and cocaine for theological reasons? Clearly not! Emery spent his time bringing up bad points like these instead of focusing on more salient issues. For example, private individuals owning seeds enables them to grow their own pot and thus cut the intermediary of organized crime out. This deprives drug traffickers of vital income. Emery started strong with this point, but then proceeded to tell the audience about how marijuana helped alleviate his anxiety the first time he performed cunnilingus. At that point, I started to question Emery's commitment to staying out of jail. Another argument he brought forth that really pissed me off was when he said that marijuana users are "the most oppressed people in the world." I'd like to call the standards by which Emery identifies oppressed people into question. I'm sure we can all think of numerous groups that qualify as more oppressed than pot smokers do. How about homeless people, the mentally ill, aboriginal peoples in the Americas, homosexuals, women, Palestinians--I think all these groups have a more legitimate claim to being an oppressed people than a bunch of stoners who have the luxury of smoking pot and tuning out for a few hours. As discouraging to the marijuana cause as I found Emery's discourse to be, I still support his being tried in Canada. This is not due to any affinity I have for Emery as an individual but rather because his case raises many nationalist concerns. He is a Canadian citizen that was engaging in illegal activities in our country. I see the U.S.'s request that we extradite him for trial in their country as an attack on our sovereignty. These crimes were committed here, which begs the question, just whose country is this anyways? Where does our government get its mandate from, the Canadian electorate or the U.S. ambassador? Nick Metaxas, Hounours Religion - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom