Pubdate: Wed, 02 Sep 2009
Source: Victoria News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2009 Black Press
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wOQxPi2c
Website: http://www.vicnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1267
Author: Roszan Holmen
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

POT ACTIVISTS PLAN MARCH ON LEGISLATURE

It's the largest club at the University of Victoria and its 400 
members are taking action against proposed legislation to toughen up on drugs.

The goal of Hempology 101 Society is legalization of cannabis through 
education, said club leader Kristen Mann.

"It's a safer recreational choice (than alcohol) for the kids to be 
using," she said. "It's an excellent raw material for everything from 
food to fiber."

On Sept. 9, the society celebrates its 14th anniversary with a march 
to the legislature to protest bill C-15.

The bill aims to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act by 
introducing minimum penalties for serious drug offences and 
increasing maximum penalties for cannabis production. It was 
introduced in, and died with, the last legislative sitting.

On June 8 the bill received its second reading; 195 members of 
Parliament voted in favour (including Saanich MP Gary Lunn) and 54 
voted against the bill (including Victoria MP Denise Savoie). Mann, a 
self-described marijuana user, objects to the heavier penalties 
prescribed in the bill.

"All that does is take (it) out of the hands of the judicial system 
and put it into the political system," Mann said. "(Marijuana) is not 
harmful to someone's health."

The group is hoping that local members of Parliament will speak at 
the rally. It will meet at 7 p.m. Sept. 9 at Victoria City Hall and 
end up the legislature by 7:30 p.m. For more information, e-mail  ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom