cannabisnews.com: Canada: There's a Funny Smell in the Air





Canada: There's a Funny Smell in the Air
Posted by CN Staff on July 20, 2002 at 21:47:33 PT
Week in Review
Source: New York Times 
The big scoop in the Canadian news media last week came when a reporter asked Justice Minister Martin Cauchon if he had ever smoked marijuana. "But of course," replied Mr. Cauchon, Canada's top law enforcement officer. "I'm 39 years old." Smiling, he was quick to add that he had given it up.On the other end of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, another group of dogged reporters couldn't help but ask Prime Minister Jean Chrétien if he had ever smoked the stuff. 
"When I was young the word mari— uh, did not exist," the 68-year-old Mr. Chrétien said. "I learned about the word long after that. It was too late for me to try it." A reporter was quick to interject: "It's never too late, prime minister."All the banter about marijuana use comes at a time when Canadians are talking about decriminalizing pot smoking. It seems only natural that now that Britain decided last week to make possession of a small amount of marijuana a ticketing offense, that its liberal former colony would soon follow suit. Pot smoking is pervasive in Canada, after all, especially in British Columbia, which is also a major production source of marijuana sold in the United States. Marijuana use is so prevalent in Vancouver that the city has been compared to Amsterdam as a pot-smoker's paradise.The House of Commons is not currently in session. But Mr. Cauchon has suggested that the country should rethink laws that make marijuana illegal and crowd court calendars with pot-smoking cases.The Toronto Star agreed in an editorial last week, saying: "Marijuana remains a vice, like drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes. It would be better handled through public education, not by giving people criminal records."Still, Canadian opinion makers are wondering what the Americans will say. With relations with the Bush administration already on edge over increased American tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber, some Canadians think Washington could retaliate against any softening of Canadian anti-pot laws by tightening the border."Would softer pot laws stir wrath of U.S.?" asked the headline of an article in The Globe and Mail, a prominent national newspaper. "The neighbors are likely to yell," came the answer, "but not everybody thinks that's the end of the world."Source: New York Times (NY) Published: July 21, 2002Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company Contact: letters nytimes.com Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Related Articles:Alcohol and Pot: Our Guilty Pleasureshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13419.shtml Would Softer Pot Law Stir Wrath of U.S.? http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13401.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by kaptinemo on July 22, 2002 at 10:58:32 PT:
What CAN Washington do?
Close the border? There go all the US businesses dependent upon Canadian-made parts. Right down the toilet...(flushing sound). At a time when investor confidence is at an all-time low...when US businesses are on the ropes...when the US economy is absolutely reeling from Enron down to your local store on Main Street...when the US government cannot afford to disrupt the flow of goods and services because the economy is shaky and on life support...all Uncle can do is shake his fist...and impotently pee-and-moan.Screw the old codger, and just do it!
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Comment #4 posted by WolfgangWylde on July 21, 2002 at 07:23:48 PT
Overall a good article...
...with a few Prohibitionist shibboleths thrown in. Canada is not, nor has it ever been, a major source of marijuana imported to the U.S. 
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Comment #3 posted by John Tyler on July 21, 2002 at 07:03:11 PT
Canada
Washington needs Canada too much, and besides they are too white to invade. George W. and company may fuss, but I think and hope they will have to let Canada go on this issue.
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Comment #2 posted by goneposthole on July 21, 2002 at 06:02:11 PT
Change the laws, Canadian government
Washington can get as mad as it wants, so what? No matter what it is, Washington always retaliates, big deal.
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Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on July 21, 2002 at 01:16:26 PT
I can't believe this paper
Did the NYT bother to report on the California Supreme Court decision yet? I can't find it.
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