TWO news events this week cast in stark relief the folly of Canada's drug war. The first, highlighted on America's Election Night, was a decision by the people of Washington State to legalize the possession of marijuana and to regulate its production and sale. The second was the high-profile seizure of 300 kilograms of the drug, together with cash and cars, from members of a suspected crime ring following a seven-month investigation by Canadian police. Side by side, the incidents paint a sad picture. Even as Washington residents are moving to place control of this relatively harmless substance into the hands of their government, Canadian taxpayers are spending untold sums to keep it in the hands of gangsters. The police involved in Tuesday's raids can't be blamed for doing their jobs, but the entire costly, dangerous exercise - and the time-consuming prosecutions that will follow - would be unnecessary were it not for our antiquated laws. [continues 108 words]
Q&A with Mark Haskell Smith - - Heart of Dankness: Underground Botanists, Outlaw Farmers and the Race for the Cannabis Cup by Mark Haskell Smith published by Broadway Books (256 pages). WHILE Mark Haskell Smith was doing research for his novel Baked the Los Angeles Times made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Learning that he was going to be attending the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam they asked him if he would consider covering the world championship of weed for them as well and they would put his findings in their Calendar section. [continues 1934 words]
To the Editor: This letter is in response to Constable Radley's plea for public help in the struggle against heroin drug abuse in our community of Dawson Creek. I am a mother and am praying with others. I challenge the churches in town to re-open or re-vitalize their prayer meetings to join in the desperate prayed for God to move in and clean up our city. We want the folks involved in the drug culture to be saved from the sin; and to find a new, happy life in serving God. Hallelujah, we are beginning to win. Cathy Speitelsbach [end]
Marijuana reform advocates hope Washington and Colorado states' vote Tuesday to legalize and tax marijuana sales will add momentum to their push for change in B.C. While it's not yet clear if the U.S. federal government will allow state-by-state legalization of recreational marijuana use - other states already allow medical marijuana sales - the vote has huge implications here. Washington state estimates it would collect $560 million in the first year from a planned 25-per-cent tax on the sale of licensed, regulated marijuana through authorized stores. [continues 278 words]
This is the intriguing subtext - or maybe dominant theme - of Tuesday night's decisive Electoral College victory by incumbent and now, more than ever, history-making U.S. President Barack Obama: The U.S. is becoming, well, Canadian. That will seem like a wild exaggeration to some. But consider. The campaign itself was as nasty and divisive as always on the advertising side, and at street level. But at the presidential level, there was courtesy. Mitt Romney-haters will disagree, but at no time in the campaign, certainly not in public, did Romney bare his fangs in anything like a Rush Limbaugh-style display of rage. He was aggressive but respectful. More to the point, his policy positions - during the campaign at least - were centrist. But it was too little centrism, too late. [continues 662 words]
The legalization of marijuana by voters in Washington state and Colorado during Tuesday night referendums is further evidence that Canada's drug laws are badly out dated and in need of reform. The decision by voters in those states to legalize recreational pot - and the extension of medical-marijuana rights in other parts of the U.S. in plebiscites - follows a chorus of calls by prominent leaders on both sides of the border that the war on drugs has been a gigantic failure, particularly when it comes to marijuana. [continues 129 words]
Perhaps one of the solutions to improving voter turnout in B.C. is to figure out why it works in the U.S. Kamloops Mayor Peter Milobar noted Americans treat their right to vote in a different way than do many Canadians. "It is one of the most convoluted and difficult systems to track," Milobar said, "yet their voter turnout is two or three times ours. "I go to vote and I can do it in 15 minutes. People in Florida stood in line for five, six hours, to vote." [continues 389 words]
Referendums: Washington State, Colorado Results Will Help Local Campaigns, Activists Say B.C. marijuana activists say propot referendum results in Washington state and Colorado will aid them in their quest to decriminalize bud here. Citizens in those two U.S. states voted to legalize pot Tuesday night, and local activists believe the American results should make it easier for B.C.ers to vote in a referendum that's now in the works. "The war on drugs is over," said euphoric pot activist David Malmo Levine. "This is the beginning of the end. You put one hole in the dam - the water starts rushing faster, and eventually the dam breaks." [continues 524 words]
Unlike some passionate B.C. potheads, I don't think marijuana is a gateway-to-heaven herb that will usher in an era of peace, harmony and brotherly love. Nor do I think it's harmless. In fact, I find its link with schizophrenia, well, troubling. But neither is marijuana an evil, reefer-madness-inducing weed that we should fight a demonstrably futile, decades-long war to eradicate. As Washington state and Colorado voters now have shown, measures for legalizing the recreational use of pot increasingly appear to make sense. They may even help turn some young people off the drug. [continues 431 words]
I was appalled to see the picture of Marc Emery's wife holding a Canadian flag with a marijuana leaf in the middle, instead of our proud maple leaf. That definitely doesn't represent the Canadian flag, nor the country that I call home. How insulting! Baljit Pooni, Abbotsford [end]
Canadian drug law reform advocates were rejoicing after two U. S. states voted to legalize marijuana this week, even as the Harper government brought into effect tough new penalties for pot. The states of Washington and Colorado voted in favour of ballot-box propositions to remove criminal penalties for the possession and sale of recreational marijuana on Tuesday, the same day drug measures in Canada's Safe Streets and Communities Act came into effect. The new measures legislate a minimum six-month jail sentence for growing as few as six marijuana plants. [continues 772 words]
The future appears hazy for British Columbia's thriving underground pot industry, even as two U. S. states have voted to allow citizens to legally use the drug recreationally. Business consequences could range from mild to sending marijuana producers' livelihoods up in smoke, depending on how much of the estimated $ 6- billion to $ 8- billion annual economy is now being exported south of the border, analysts say. Opinion on the impact of the votes in Colorado and Washington state varies considerably, but those urging Canada to adopt a more evidence- based policy on marijuana say the latest development means Canada is falling behind the U. S. [continues 227 words]
The rate of criminal charges for pot possession has risen dramatically in past decade There is a myth that lighting up a joint in public can't get you arrested in B. C. And that misperception, say police, may be leading to an increase in criminal charges for marijuana possession. It's still illegal to possess marijuana in Canada, and pot possession charges in B. C. have been rising faster than population growth for the past decade, according to numbers obtained from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics' uniform crime reporting survey. The survey collates data from police forces across the country. [continues 870 words]
It tasted like vindication to B. C.' s Marc Emery, the prince of pot and a clarion voice for 20 years in the debate over legalizing marijuana. Voters in Colorado and Washington state decided Tuesday to create new legal regulatory regimes for cannabis that allow personal possession for those over 21 starting next month, and envision production and retail outlets in a year or so. Emery, who helped finance the crusade to Free the Weed for roughly 15 years, couldn't have asked for more. [continues 882 words]
Advocates buoyed by U.S. vote Marijuana use should be a health issue, not a legal issue, says a Nanaimo doctor and addictions expert. Voters in Washington and Colorado passed ballot initiatives Tuesday to legalize marijuana for recreational use. It legalizes possession of up to one ounce of marijuana for anyone over 21 and farmers can be issued state licences to grow it and sell products in standalone stores. Nanaimo residents who support the legalization of marijuana hope this decision will have ramifications across the border, boosting the bid to legalize the drug in Canada. [continues 555 words]
In Tuesday's United States election, 55 per cent of Washington voters supported a state initiative to make it legal for residents to have up to an ounce of marijuana in their possession for recreational use. Colorado voters also supported a similar initiative. Previously both states only allowed possession of marijuana for medical purposes, which is also what's permitted in Canada. Don Skogstad, a criminal lawyer who splits his time between Nelson and Penticton, supports Canada-wide drug reform and has become the go-to lawyer for people in this area facing drug-related charges. He said unlike across the border where marijuana laws can change state by state, BC can't legalize recreational marijuana on its own. Ottawa would have to make that decision for the whole country. [continues 549 words]
With a smile, Victoria constable keeps tabs on social media In the old days, Victoria police Const. Mike Russell might have been walking a beat, talking to shopkeepers and taking the pulse of a neighborhood. On Thursday morning, he was doing an updated version of that task, tapping into the social media networks to see what was happening in the city. That's when he stumbled upon the following message posted on the social news website, Reddit: "Where/how could an aspiring pot smoker such as myself buy weed on campus/near campus? I want to try it but have no idea how to get started at UVic, despite its apparent widespread use. Thanks!" [continues 392 words]
Re: "Washington voters agree to legalize pot," Nov. 7. We now know on Dec. 6, a huge new market for our superior product opens right next door. Think of the millions of new tax revenue, the employment, not to mention the major blow to B.C. gangs. Does our government, which represents the majority, have the courage to stand up against the feds to exploit this potential export market for the benefit of all British Columbians? Nope. Ken Milbrath Victoria [end]
Economic impact unclear as two U.S. states vote for legal use VANCOUVER - The future appears hazy for British Columbia's thriving underground pot industry, even as two U.S. states have voted to allow citizens to legally use the drug recreationally. Business consequences could range from mild to sending marijuana producers' livelihoods up in smoke, depending on how much of the estimated $6 billion to $8 billion annual economy is currently being exported south of the border, analysts say. Opinion on the impact varies considerably, but those advocating for Canada to adopt a more evidence-based policy on marijuana say this week's votes mean Canada is falling behind the U.S. in developing evidence-based policy. [continues 854 words]
C-10. Federal bill's mandatory sentencing for serious drug crimes came into effect on Tuesday If you grow six marijuana plants, prepare to spend six months in the slammer. Canada's drug prohibition laws got tougher as a component of Bill C-10 came into effect Tuesday, legislation B.C. MLA and former police chief Kash Heed dubbed "ridiculous" when it comes to marijuana. The bill imposes harsher penalties and mandatory jail time for drug offenders who participate in organized crime, sell drugs to or near youth, and produce drugs where they could be a safety hazard to youth or residents. While the law doesn't put mandatory penalties on simple possession, it includes jail time for production of six to 200 marijuana plants and increases maximum sentences to 14 years. [continues 203 words]
Inside British Columbia
