In Memoriam Of The Ganja Mine: 2000-2009 Lately, it seems like every day brings news of another celebrity death. It started in June with David Carradine. Since then, Arturo Gatti, Billy Mays, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Koko Taylor, Michael Jackson and the Taco Bell dog have all gone to join the Great Gig in the Sky. So let's take a moment to remember the Flin Flon grow-op. Since 2000, an unused mineshaft 600 km northwest of Winnipeg and 1,000 feet underground has been growing the only government-approved marijuana in the country. [continues 496 words]
So another Winnipeg winter has come and gone, and spring is finally here. We as Winnipeggers now find ourselves in limbo between the two main complaining seasons. Spring and autumn can be very trying times for all of us in this fair city as it can sometime be unclear exactly what we should be complaining about. Some people are still complaining that it's too cold, while the more forward-thinking among us have already begun complaining that's too hot, or that there are too many bugs. [continues 540 words]
I strongly disagree with Harinder Aujila's assertions that students are better off "reaching for the bottle" and "smoking marijuana is not as good as drinking." There is absolutely no comparison, cannabis is by far safer than alcohol in every way. And "cannabis is no lighter drug than anything else" makes me question Aujila's credentials. In fact (arguably) there is no debate, cannabis isn't even a drug but rather a relatively safe God-given plant which has not been known to cause an overdose in over 5,000 years of documented use. That's safety on a Biblical scale that no other so called drug may claim. Stan White Dillon, Colorado [end]
"All drugs are harmful." Really? Science and history indicate that, even when smoked, the benefits of marijuana use far outweigh the so-called "dangers." Marijuana has never killed anyone, and is a proven treatment for conditions such as HIV/AIDS, morning sickness, ADD/ADHD, migraines, nausea, anorexia, arthritis, cachexia, Crohn's, epilepsy, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, gout, chronic pain, high blood pressure, diabetes, spasticity, and Parkinson's. New science shows how cannabis blocks a protein that causes Alzheimer's and recent science out of Germany shows how cannabinoids stimulate the body's production of TIMP-1, which helps healthy cells resist cancer invasion. [continues 58 words]
Is The Leafy Green A Vice, A Dangerous Drug Or A Casual Pastime? Drugs are bad. This consensus has driven the questionable War on Drugs in the United States, the criminalization of anything with the word "hallucinatory" in the description and the mantra repeated by at least three generations of parents in North America. But of all the red-lighted substances in the legal gamut, the most controversial drug by a mile is marijuana. Is marijuana a vice, or is it just "a lot of fun," in the words of occasional user Derrick King? [continues 519 words]
Our federal Conservative government has a disturbing tendency to circumvent judicial deliberation by imposing upon courts their own authoritarian sense of justice. Whenever 'public' fears of rampant crime within the country must be quelled, Prime Minister Harper and his minions consider the most effective political maneuver to be the cobbling together of bills which aim to impose mandatory minimum prison sentences for myriad offences. This supposedly 'tough on crime' strategy embodies the curious mentality with which the Harper Conservatives regard crime: that all transgressions are committed by individuals or groups of individuals, and extenuating circumstances surrounding their offences count little compared to the fact that they are naturally immoral and should be punished. [continues 677 words]
Cameron MacLean wrote on 2/7: "A central tenet of our legal system is that in order for an act to be considered criminal, one must clearly show a victim." Even though this may seem obvious on the surface, it is in fact not true. Consider drunken driving, which is a crime even when no one is hurt. That said, I wholly agree with the writer concerning the lousy, cowardly treatment of Marc Emery by the Canadian authorities. Their duplicity is revolting. The authorities accepted without objection the taxes Emery paid - on the income generated by marijuana seeds, a popular product - and were glad to pocket the revenue they exacted from this young entrepreneur. But now, frightened by the United States, they are quivering and want to hand Emery over. The Canadian government has disgraced itself in its meek and obsequious acquiescence to the demands of a foreign power, and in the shameless betrayal of a citizen whose money it gladly took while the going was good. It will be a great shame on the Canadian people if they do not stop their government from the dishonorable conduct of handing Emery over to the U.S. drug warriors. The whole world is watching. Harry Fisher Woodland Hills, CA 91367 [end]
Dear editor, Cameron MacLean is to be commended for his thoughtful piece, "Marc Emery: poster child for the U.S. war on drugs," in the Feb. 7 issue of the Uniter. Marc Emery is a high profile victim of America's misguided and notoriously flawed 'war on drugs,' which has now begun to rear its ugly head in the policies and rhetoric of Steven Harper's federal Conservative government. As a representative of the University of Winnipeg's chapter of Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy (CSSDP), I feel it is my responsibility to point out that the nascent Canadian version of the 'war on drugs'-coming in the form of proposed legislation such as Bill C-26, with its promises of a tougher stance on illegal substances through an increased emphasis on law enforcement-is destined to fail. It is either naive or deceitful of Harper's Conservatives to suggest that implementing such policies will bring about meaningful and positive change in drug use and distribution within Canada, when the American legislation upon which such policies are based has had the opposite effect. [continues 425 words]
Dear Editor of the Uniter, Readers should know most Americans that have heard this story are also opposed to extraditing Marc Emery (Marc Emery: Poster Child For U.S. War On Drugs, Feb. 7, 2008) from Canada. Another reason to oppose cannabis (kaneh bosm / marijuana) persecution that doesn't get mentioned is because it's Biblically correct since Christ God Our Father, The Ecologician indicates He created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good, on literally the very first page. The only Biblical restriction placed on cannabis is that it is to be accepted with thankfulness (see 1 Timothy 4:1-5). Truthfully, Stan White Dillon, Colorado [end]
The case of Marc Emery is many things for different people. It is a sobering reminder of how one's own arrogance can backfire. It is a chilling example of how the sovereignty of our institutions has eroded in the face of American pressure. But most clearly, for this writer, it is a demonstration of the extent to which Canada's drug laws have backslid into hypocrisy and absurdity. For those that don't know, Marc Emery is the leader of the B.C. Marijuana Party, the founder of Cannabis Culture magazine, and a long-time marijuana activist. He, along with colleagues Michelle Rainey and Greg Williams, are fighting extradition to the United States, where they face charges of selling marijuana seeds over the Internet, and a potential life-long prison sentence. [continues 483 words]
Re: Canada's Drug Strategy A Failure, Report Claims Dear Editor, Canada's drug strategy will continue to fail so long as it's modeled after the U.S. approach. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime; it fuels crime. The good news is that Canada has already adopted many of the common sense harm reduction interventions first pioneered in Europe. The bad news is that Canada's southern neighbor continues to use its superpower status to export a dangerous moral crusade around the globe. [continues 142 words]
Canada's drug strategy has failed to reduce many of the most deadly consequences associated with illicit drug use, according to a new report published by the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. The report, published in the HIV/AIDS Policy and Law Review, critiques the Federally-funded drug strategy renewed in 2003. The authors conclude that the strategy has focused overwhelmingly on anti-drug enforcement and supply-reduction initiatives, which the authors claim have failed to reduce the availability of and demand for illegal drugs, and which, in many cases, exacerbate drug-related harms. At the same time, Canada's drug strategy has neglected new and innovative harm-reduction methods, such as needle exchange programs and Vancouver's safe-injection site, which have proven to be effective. The report goes on to argue that there is a lack of leadership, coordination, accountability, and clearly defined targets and goals against which the effectiveness of the strategy could be measured. [continues 686 words]
