The Liberal government will have to do substantial work on the international stage before it can follow through on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's promise to legalize marijuana, new documents suggest. That work will have to include figuring out how Canada would comply with three international treaties to which the country is a party, all of which criminalize the possession and production of marijuana. Trudeau's plan to legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana is proving a complicated and controversial undertaking on the domestic front, in part because it requires working with the provinces. [continues 147 words]
OTTAWA - The Liberal government will have to do substantial work on the international stage before it can follow through on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's promise to legalize marijuana, new documents suggest. That work will have to include figuring out how Canada would comply with three international treaties to which the country is a party, all of which criminalize the possession and production of marijuana. Trudeau's plan to legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana is already proving a complicated and controversial undertaking on the domestic front, in part because it requires working with the provinces. [continues 294 words]
OTTAWA - The Liberal government will have to do substantial work on the international stage before it can follow through on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's promise to legalize marijuana, new documents suggest. That work will have to include figuring out how Canada would comply with three international treaties to which the country is a party, all of which criminalize marijuana. Trudeau's plan to legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana is already proving a complicated and controversial undertaking on the domestic front, in part because it requires working with the provinces. [continues 391 words]
Canada will run afoul of global treaties, Trudeau warned The Liberal government will have to do substantial work on the international stage before it can follow through on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's promise to legalize marijuana, new documents suggest. That work will have to include figuring out how Canada would comply with three international treaties to which the country is a party, all of which criminalize the possession and production of marijuana. Trudeau's plan to legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana is already proving a complicated and controversial undertaking on the domestic front, in part because it requires working with the provinces. [continues 565 words]
MARIJUANA: Trudeau's plans could face stiff international opposition, especially from the U.S., OTTAWA - The Liberal government will have to do substantial work on the international stage before it can follow through on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's promise to legalize marijuana, new documents suggest. That work will have to include figuring out how Canada would comply with three international treaties to which the country is a party, all of which criminalize possession and production of marijuana. Trudeau's plan to legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana is already proving a complicated and controversial undertaking on the domestic front, in part because it requires working with the provinces. [continues 367 words]
The Liberal government will have to do substantial work on the international stage before it can follow through on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's promise to legalize marijuana, new documents suggest. That work will have to include figuring out how Canada would comply with three international treaties to which the country is a party, all of which criminalize the possession and production of marijuana. Mr. Trudeau's plan to legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana is already proving a complicated and controversial undertaking on the domestic front, in part because it requires working with the provinces. [continues 190 words]
Ruling Big Blow to Tory Crime Plan OTTAWA -- The Supreme Court of Canada dramatically derailed part of the Conservative government's tough-on-crime juggernaut with a landmark ruling Friday that firmly supports a Vancouver safe-injection site for drug addicts. Dour Tories did not attempt to hide their disappointment at the 9-0 decision that left the government no wiggle room, firmly rebuked the Harper government's crime agenda and set a precedent on the division of federal and provincial powers. [continues 769 words]
80% Support Project To Use Abundant Crop For Legal Pain Drugs A new poll commissioned by the international think-think that is championing the legalization of Afghanistan's contentious opium poppy crop shows overwhelming Canadian support for the proposal. The Ipsos Reid survey of 1,000 Canadians conducted on behalf of the Senlis Council found that eight in 10 want Prime Minister Stephen Harper to get behind an international pilot project that would help transform Afghanistan's illicit opium cultivation into a legal way of providing codeine and other legitimate pain drugs to the international market. [continues 195 words]
U.K. Dismisses Poll Backing Limited Legalization OTTAWA - Britain's top diplomat in Canada has dismissed a poll, commissioned by the international think-tank that is championing the legalization of Afghanistan's contentious opium poppy crop, which shows that Canadians overwhelmingly support for the use of Afghan opium for medicinal purposes. "It is a surprise that people reach for silver bullets," British High Commissioner Anthony Cary said in an interview yesterday. Mr. Cary was responding to the release of an Ipsos Reid survey of 1,000 Canadians, conducted on behalf of the Senlis Council, which found that nearly eight in 10 Canadians (79%) want Prime Minister Stephen Harper to back an international pilot project that would help transform Afghanistan's illicit opium cultivation into a legal way of providing codeine and other legitimate pain medications to the international market. [continues 356 words]
Senlis Council Calls For Nato Action On Soaring Opium Production The United Nations has no choice but to legalize Afghanistan's poppy crop after its latest study documented "frightening" new levels of opium production, the Canadian-led Senlis Council think-tank and the Liberal opposition say. Afghanistan's status as the world's leading supplier of the key ingredient of heroin remained unchallenged as opium production soared 34 per cent in the last year, according to the latest annual audit by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, released yesterday. [continues 397 words]
There Would Still Be Much Illegal 'Leakage,' He Says Many have touted it as a simple and compelling solution to Afghanistan's chronic poppy problem: legalize the world-leading opium trade to take it out of the hands of criminals and terrorists. The controversial Senlis Council, the federal Liberal Party, a major Canadian foreign policy think tank, even a former Canadian NATO ambassador have all advocated some form of legal and controlled opium production. Doing so, they argue, would deprive drug dealers of massive profits while easing the pain of the world's sick and putting money into the pockets of poor Afghan farmers. [continues 475 words]
Illicit Drug Production Would Carry On, He Warns OTTAWA - Many have touted it as a simple and compelling solution to Afghanistan's chronic poppy problem: legalize the world-leading opium trade to take it out of the hands of criminals and terrorists. The controversial Senlis Council, the federal Liberal party, a major Canadian foreign policy think-tank, even a former Canadian NATO ambassador have all advocated some form of legal and controlled opium production. Doing so, they argue, would deprive drug dealers of massive profits while easing the pain of the world's sick and putting money into the pockets of poor Afghan farmers. [continues 310 words]
OTTAWA - Canada should spearhead an international effort to license opium production in Afghanistan for peaceful pharmaceutical uses to combat the country's chronic economic dependence on the illegal narcotic, deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff said Thursday. Ignatieff endorsed the proposal of the controversial London-based think-tank, the Senlis Council, which has called for a pilot project to study the licensing of the Afghan opium crop -- the backbone of the world's illicit heroin trade and the cornerstone of Afghanistan's impoverished economy. [continues 333 words]
OTTAWA -- Canada should spearhead an international effort to license opium production in Afghanistan for peaceful pharmaceutical uses to combat the country's chronic economic dependence on the illegal narcotic, deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff said Thursday. Ignatieff endorsed the proposal of the controversial London-based think-tank, the Senlis Council, which has called for a pilot project to study the licensing of the Afghan opium crop -- the backbone of the world's illicit heroin trade and the cornerstone of Afghanistan's impoverished economy. [continues 349 words]
Seeks Production Licensing In Afghanistan For Peaceful Pharmaceutical Purposes Canada should spearhead an international effort to license opium production in Afghanistan for peaceful pharmaceutical uses to combat the country's chronic economic dependence on the illegal narcotic, deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff said yesterday. Ignatieff endorsed the proposal of a controversial London-based think tank, the Senlis Council, which has called for a pilot project to study the licensing of the Afghan opium crop - the backbone of the world's illicit heroin trade and the cornerstone of Afghanistan's impoverished economy. [continues 348 words]
OTTAWA -- Canada should spearhead an international effort to license opium production in Afghanistan for peaceful pharmaceutical uses to combat the country's chronic economic dependence on the illegal narcotic, deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff said Thursday. Ignatieff endorsed the proposal of the controversial London-based think-tank, the Senlis Council, which has called for a pilot project to study the licensing of the crop -- the backbone of the world's illicit heroin trade and the cornerstone of Afghanistan's impoverished economy. [continues 96 words]
Economy Remains Hooked on Profits from Trafficking Haji Laly used to till golden wheat fields far larger than the 80 scorched and cracked hectares now under his care. But while his crop may be much smaller today, the wispy pink flowers are maturing into green bulbs that carry the promise of lucrative payback. "You know," the 48-year-old farmer says, "Russia was the bane of our existence. They came, they attacked, they destroyed our fields. Russia planted our fields with mines, so we had little plots. So we were compelled to grow poppy." [continues 1498 words]
A Ban On Opium Production Has Done Little To Stop The Trade In Illegal Drugs Haji Laly used to till golden wheat fields far larger than the 80 scorched and cracked hectares now under his care. But while his crop may be much smaller today, the wispy pink flowers are maturing into green bulbs that carry the promise of lucrative payback. "You know," the 48-year-old farmer says, "Russia was the bane of our existence. They came, they attacked, they destroyed our fields. Russia planted our fields with mines, so we had little plots. So we were compelled to grow poppy." [continues 2213 words]
Move would put traffickers in power: diplomat Colombia's ambassador to Canada says legalizing narcotics would not end the violence associated with her country's drug trade, unless Canada and the rest of the western "consumer" nations follow suit. "Legalization is not a choice for Colombia as long as consumer countries are not legalized," Fanny Kertzman told the Citizen in an exclusive interview. "Colombia cannot legalize by itself, otherwise Colombia will become an international pariah." The question of legalizing drugs has crept into public debate in Latin America as one possible means of crippling the lucrative drug cartels. Mexican President Vicente Fox recently speculated publicly about it. [continues 320 words]
Since Her Arrival In Canada, Fanny Kertzman's Outspoken Style Has Thrust Her Into A Hateful War Of Words Colombia's ambassador to Canada is reading what she calls her "hate mail." It's an e-mail titled "Urgent Action -- The Kertzman Affair" and is from the Toronto-based Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America. It urges supporters to begin a letter-writing campaign against the ambassador for what it calls her "libelous attack" on the group. "It's kind of confusing," Fanny Kertzman says with a smile, "because 'affair' in Colombia has a different sense." [continues 1285 words]
