Pubdate: Thu, 05 May 2016 Source: NOW Magazine (CN ON) Copyright: 2016 NOW Communications Inc. Contact: http://www.nowtoronto.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/282 Author: Marc Emery Page: 12 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?196 (Emery, Marc) THE PEOPLE HAVE TOKEN Prince of Pot reports on the state of cannabis culture around the world - and why 2016 is a big year for bud - in the lead-up to this weekend's Toronto Global Marijuana March In Canada we're pretty spoiled when it comes to marijuana availability and price. Although we're likely to be the first nation to legalize every aspect of cannabis availability, we're part of a worldwide trend to legitimize and legalize cannabis. Costa Rica legalized medical marijuana on May 1 to go along with efforts already in bloom in that country to industrialize hemp production. In Mexico, where the war on drugs has claimed untold numbers of lives, a Supreme Court decision has identified personal cultivation of cannabis as a constitutionally protected right. Mexico City will host its first marijuana growing expo, Expoweed Mexico, August 12--14. Colombia legalized medical marijuana in December, following Chile, whose government pays the cost of supplying 4,000 Chileans with their medical cannabis. But it's in Uruguay that the movement for legal weed is really flowering south of the equator. There, you can grow your own or have a cannabis club grow it for you. A nationwide retail distribution program supplied by six licensed distributors at $1 U.S. per gram is set to begin in June and will simultaneously offer the world's lowest--price weed and wipe out the black market. The Vietnamese group www.cannabisvietnam.org translates hundreds of article on cannabis from Western media and journals from around the globe. And anyone can grow and sell clones and cuttings of marijuana plants in Austria. A company called Flowery Field produces and sells 50,000 cannabis cuttings a month. Meanwhile, Poland submitted its recommendations on cannabis legalization to the UN Special Session on Drugs on April 20. Spain, the third -largest marijuana producer in the world after the United States and Canada, is growing huge quantities of cannabis and cannabis seeds in the Mediterranean coastal areas from Barcelona to Malaga. There are always jobs for good growers. Barcelona has 225 cannabis clubs. There are no borders in Europe if you travel overland, yet scarcity of weed is evident in Italy (Mafia and difficult police), Hungary, Romania and Bosnia - a reminder that marijuana won't legalize itself; persistent citizen pressure is required. Croatia and Slovenia have substantial cannabis cultivation going on, but there's no activism of any kind in France, and Holland has regressed somewhat from its 1990s heyday. Truth be told, the Dutch don't smoke pot. In Germany, only Berlin and Munich see much legalization activity. Sweden, meanwhile, has the most regressive marijuana laws in Europe. It's actually illegal to be high, not just to possess marijuana. In a case that's caused a media sensation, a paralyzed man was prosecuted last year for using cannabis to relieve symptoms of pain, anxiety and depression. Andreas Thorn was initially acquitted of drug charges in August 2015 after successfully arguing that his health was at immediate risk if he didn't use cannabis for medicinal purposes. Prosecutors appealed the decision, and on March 31 an appeal court sided with the government, ordering that Thorn be convicted and sentenced to a heavy fine. In Malaysia, activists have been harassed and threatened with arrest just for advocating for medical marijuana on their Facebook page. There's a similar repression in Malta, where prison terms of up to 10 years and high prices afflict the island. Unlike Malta, the seven Canary Islands are producing prodigious amounts of cannabis and have over 75 cannabis clubs serving 1.5 million islanders. In South Africa, activists are making headway getting the medical benefits of cannabis discussed, but the divide between blacks and whites in political organizations, along with a very corrupt ANC government, makes a united front difficult. Nonetheless, the first legal challenge against prohibition of "dagga," as it's called, goes before South Africa's Constitutional Court later this year. Closer to Canada, several U.S. states, including California, vote on legalization initiatives in November. The endgame is now before us. - --- Marc Emery will be back in Toronto for the 18th annual Global Marijuana March Saturday, May 7. - ------------------------ [sidebar] Toronto Global Marijuana March deets When: High noon - of course - for 2 pm launch, Saturday (May 7). Where: Gather at Queen's Park North, march along Bloor to Yonge, south to Wellesley and back to Queen's Park. Why: Legalize it! Bring your buds! - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom