cannabisnews.com: Lightening Up on Cannabis Use 





Lightening Up on Cannabis Use 
Posted by CN Staff on July 16, 2002 at 11:38:42 PT
Editorial
Source: Guelph Mercury 
There is nothing too terribly damaging in inhaling an occasional puff of marijuana smoke into your lungs. Premier Ernie Eves has admitted to doing it when he was tad younger than he is now. Energy Minister Chris Stockwell did it too -- and look where it has gotten him. Heck, even you (along with 48 per cent of the Canadian adult population) may have tried pot. So why an English storm over the issue? 
There, the government has announced its intention to lighten up on cannabis and its many users. It's not going to go so far as to legalize the stuff, but it is going to make it sort of OK to carry a reefer or two in your pants pocket or perhaps even behind your ear. What it is still not going to declare OK is to grow, market or otherwise distribute the stuff. So what is the message? It is the same message that a parliamentary committee on this side of the pond which has been studying this issue (at least we think that's what they've been doing with it) has been passing along unofficially and perhaps unwittingly. It is that marijuana is not the worst substance you can put into your body, but it's certainly not the best either. It is that distributing marijuana is not what nice people do, and that growing it is still very naughty. Of course, few people get arrested anymore either in England or in Canada for simple marijuana possession (there are simply too many simple possessors to bother with) though police still have that little option in their arsenal. But people do get busted for dealing the drug, and people who turn agricultural skills to cultivating it can expect an unpleasant call from the police at some point in their careers. The question is: Where will the now-freer simple possessors get their supply? The answer is that they will naturally continue to get it from illegal dealers. Dealers will acquire it from illegal pot-growers or importers, and the ring-leaders (who the police will try very hard to catch) will continue to risk arrest to rake in their mountains of tax-free cash. A lot of issues could certainly be addressed by simply licensing growers (marijuana is now Ontario's third largest cash crop), establishing authorized and controlled distributorships and having the stuff packaged, sold and taxed (like cigarettes) on the retail market. But neither English, Canadian and especially not U.S. legislators seem prepared to take that bold and admittedly politically-risky step just yet. So we will continue to assign police to the dangerous (and costly) task of putting growers out of business and tracking down dealers. We'll also continue to suffer the ill effects of massive thefts of hydro-electric power by illegal marijuana-growing operators. This is nuts. This is also considered the political way it has to be. Indeed, the next step in this curious process (as recommended to both the Ontario legislature and Hamilton city council) may be to grant utilities the power to place liens on properties where illegal grow operations have sapped electrical power without paying for it. The measure may help Ontario's privatized power companies defray the cost of the thefts (now running at an estimated $500 million a year across the province). It will also ease them into the real estate business. What it won't do is supply a large and growing market with what it really wants -- a legitimate and reliable supply of domestic pot. Source: Guelph Mercury (CN ON)Published: Friday, July 12, 2002Copyright: 2002 Guelph Mercury Newspapers LimitedContact: editor guelphmercury.comWebsite: http://www.guelphmercury.com/Related Articles:Government Considering Decriminalizing Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13431.shtmlPot Laws Could Be Eased, Cauchon Says http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13427.shtmlMarijuana Party Denounces Cauchon's Idea http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13403.shtml 
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Comment #2 posted by Darwin on July 16, 2002 at 14:08:21 PT
And now a minority in Russia is speaking up too!
Russian radical party calls for legalization of marijuana, sparking angry response from top drug expert 
Tue Jul 16, 9:47 AM ET
By ERIC ENGLEMAN, Associated Press Writer MOSCOW - A small but vocal Russian political group called for the legalization of marijuana Tuesday, sparking an angry response from Russia's top drug expert, who said such a step would be "terrible" for Russia. Members of the Transnational Radical Party held what they called a "street referendum" in downtown Moscow, extolling the virtues of legalizing marijuana and asking people if they favor it."Hemp and its derivatives are less harmful than alcohol and tobacco," said Anatoly Khramov, the head of the party's Moscow office, according to the Interfax news agency."Light drugs remain under the control of mafia structures and bring them tremendous profits," he said, arguing that marijuana should be made legal to take it out of the criminal realm.The party complained that Moscow authorities had denied their request to hold a day-long street action, instead limiting it to three hours. In a statement carried on the party's web site, the party said it had filed a complaint in city court.Tuesday's street action prompted an angry response from Nikolai Ivanets, the top drug abuse expert at Russia's Health Ministry. Speaking on Echo Moscow radio, Ivanets warned that legalizing "light" drugs like marijuana would be a "danger to the nation.""It would be terrible, if this is allowed," Ivanets said, adding that "from the medical point of view, marijuana opens the way to other harder drugs" that are more addictive.Under Russian law, people charged with obtaining and keeping even a small amount of marijuana face up the three years in prison. They can also be sentenced to seven to 15 years for distribution.Drug use, especially harder drugs like heroin, has exploded since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, leading to a sharp rise in AIDS ( news - web sites) cases among addicts who share dirty needles.A recent poll of 1,600 Russians conducted by independent All-Russia Public Opinion Center, or VTSIOM, found that 99 percent of those surveyed said the country's drug problem is "very serious" or "serious enough." Only one percent called it "not very serious." The poll, conducted in late June, had a 3.8 percent margin of error.This is not the first time the Transnational Radical Party has grabbed headlines with a political act. On Monday, the group used a Moscow river boat to send an anti-war message to Russian President Vladimir Putin ( news - web sites).Party members boarded a tourist ferry and unfurled a banner calling for immediate peace talks between Putin and Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov, just as the ferry passed by the walls of the Kremlin.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 16, 2002 at 13:31:07 PT
Security Alert
Virus Tempts with Peek at Passwords 
‘Frethem’ spreading around Internet quickly 
By Bob Sullivan, MSNBC 
July 15 — A new computer virus with the tempting subject line “Re: Your password!” began worming its way around the Internet Monday. Dubbed “Frethem,” the virus is rated a medium risk by most researchers because it is spreading relatively quickly. According to antivirus firm Symantec Corp., Frethem has already infected computers inside 25 companies since its initial discovery early Monday. Complete Article: http://www.msnbc.com/news/780651.asp?cp1=1
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