Bravo to La Ronde security. Seriously guys, you done good. By informing that ill-mannered hooligan that his Bob Marley tee-shirt did not comply with the park's and Six Flag's family-friendly dress code, a bold and important step has been made. By making an example of this dastardly medical equipment company sales representative (or so he describes himself - I'm guessing he's actually an international arms-dealer) these brave security guards are letting everyone know that innocuous visual references to semi-legal substances like marijuana - or "Mary J" as I'm told the kids refer to it - simply will not be tolerated in such a wholesome environment, which, coincidentally frequently smells like the substance in question. [continues 359 words]
Some one hundred years ago, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. constructed the foundational maxim of legitimate legal order: "Justice must be seen to be done as well as to be done." These thirteen simple words embodied the hopes and strivings of those of compassionate conscience and noble purpose who recognized that a just society is predicated on the recognition of the claim by every citizen on a presumptive tolerance from the state. Few statements could underlie better why the acquittal of Basil Parasiris was right and just. Parasiris and his family were awakened before dawn by police officers who battered down the door to his home. He said he acted in self-defence in the shoot-out that followed which resulted in the death of police constable Daniel Tessier. Parasiris claimed throughout that he did not know they were police and thought it was a break-in. Some of the officers had come right to his bedroom door. As tragic as Tessier's death was, the jury agreed and in a manner of speaking a break-in was just what it was. [continues 881 words]
Re: Medicinal 'Weed' Helps the Ill: Doctor (the Suburban, Dec. 13). Mark Ware is a quack. Marijuana is great medicine, but the bunk-weed that Dr. Ware is using is barely even marijuana! The research Ware is conducting uses the PPS marijuana grown in Flin-Flon. This pot has been widely criticized as being weak and possibly contaminated. It has been zapped with gamma-irradiation, which kills a lot of the active ingredients. So technically, Dr. Ware isn't doing research with real marijuana -- he is doing research with contaminated, weakened and treated half-weed, which will completely skew any scientific results. Any scientist worth his reputation would realize that this research is a joke and scientifically worthless! Russell Barth Federal Medical Marijuana License Holder Ottawa [end]
I'm writing about Lucille Hagege's story: Medicinal 'weed' helps the ill: doctor (The Suburban, Dec. 13). I agree that the medicinal 'weed' helps the ill. And the recreational 'weed' also helps people relax, enjoy food and sex more. So why do adult citizens of a so-called free country need permission from their government to do so? And why does a so-called sovereign nation need permission from its neighbouring country to allow its adult citizens to buy, sell, produce or use this medicinal and recreational 'weed'? Kirk Muse Mesa, AZ [end]
One day, when he was in a Jamaican hospital doing graduate research on chronic pain, Dr. Mark Ware noticed that some of his patients were coping with their pain much more easily than others. Intrigued, he asked an old Rastafarian his secret. "It's the herb, Doc," replied the man. That's when the doctor found his vocation. Ware is now a leading authority on the medical uses of cannabis and works at the McGill University Health Centre Pain Clinic. But in order for his medical research to continue, he says the public and the media need to stop confusing the therapeutic use of cannabis with recreational use. [continues 694 words]
Jason Magder calls marijuana a drug in an article about Ricky Williams (Ban Williams,The Suburban, May 31). It is a plant, a weed, a harmless herb. Please stop mimicking the kiss-ass drones making a living keeping pot illegal. If nothing else, be original. Your drivel is unchanged from Anslinger's 1936 movie Reefer Madness. M. Burkhart San Diego, CA [end]
Any hope that the Canadian Football League was the ethical and moral standard for all other professional leagues was dashed this week when the Toronto Argonauts signed NFL veteran runningback Ricky Williams. Williams, a Miami Dolphins' player who has failed four drug tests in the NFL and has been suspended for a year was welcomed to the Argos with open arms by GM Adam Rita. Only Montreal GM Jim Popp seems to be sounding the alarm bells, but seeing as the Als just got by the Argos in last year's playoffs, Popp's concerns can be dismissed as sour grapes. Popp's credibility is even more questionable, considering that he wanted to put Williams on his negotiation list, but Toronto beat him to the punch. [continues 315 words]
