There's something quasi quaint about the federal government introducing legislation to legalize marijuana. News reporting on the budding bill has generously employed terrible puns to create a sense of giggling excitement about it. A Canadian Press story advised that all of Ottawa is "buzzing" at the audacity that dope represents. Buzzing? Among the permanently buzzed, perhaps. Clearer eyes can't help recognizing the stale nature of the gesture, like watching poor old drunken Uncle Boo being shuffled into a cab long after the other guests have left the party. [continues 640 words]
The inescapable conclusion from the Supreme Court's recent ruling on Vancouver's so-called safe injection site for drug addicts is that even writers don't read anymore. No one who has actually read the Sept. 30 document, after all, could possibly contribute a single line of prose to the fantasy narrative echoing incessantly around the court's order to keep the Insite drug facility operating. The effect is significant for more than pedantic or forensic reasons. Democracy is, of course, distinguished from other political systems by its process. [continues 979 words]
