When it comes to the law, things tend to be black and white: guilty or innocent, prosecution or defence, criminal or victim. But we all know that in reality some people are a little bit guilty, while others are guilty as hell. Whether you believe Marc Emery is "a little bit guilty" or "guilty as hell" is as good a test of your socio-political views as anything. Emery, popularly know by his self-coined moniker "the Prince of Pot," is set to plead guilty to drug trafficking charges next week in a Seattle courtroom. It's expected that he will be sentenced to between five and 20 years in prison. [continues 551 words]
When I was 12 years old, my dad took me for a walk through the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. I think he was trying to scare me away from ever taking hard drugs - as if the Tamagotchi-toting preteen me needed any such urging - by showing me the worst examples of addiction. It worked - I was horrified. The Downtown Eastside is brutal. Take a five-minute walk east from the steam clock (a popular tourist trap in the chic Gastown district) and the patio dining and designer boutiques of the city The Economist called "the most livable in the world" give way to an open drug market where alleys double as public restrooms and thousands of the city's homeless wander the streets. [continues 2093 words]
