cannabisnews.com: Of Course I Inhaled. So What?





Of Course I Inhaled. So What?
Posted by CN Staff on July 22, 2002 at 07:32:56 PT
By Lysiane Gagnon
Source: Globe and Mail 
Yes, of course, I did, and I inhaled, too. Not very often, though. For some reason, marijuana didn't agree with me. During the pot-filled parties of the '70s, I would occasionally take a puff from a passing joint -- more to avoid standing out than for pleasure. I never rolled a joint in my life. I wouldn't even know how to do it.So it's kind of weird to think that I came very close to being jailed for owning pot. The story came back to my mind last week, when Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said he might decriminalize marijuana possession.
Some 25 years ago, an acquaintance to whom I had done a favor gave me some of her home-grown pot as a gift. It weighed maybe 80 grams. I politely thanked her and put the plastic pouch in my tote bag, intending to pass it on to someone who really liked the stuff. Then I completely forgot about it.The following day, I left for the airport with my then-boyfriend to visit his brother in Boston. I was in a feisty mood. When we got to customs, I chided the officer for asking too many questions. Risky behaviour, indeed -- because an angry customs officer can do anything, including search your bags. Mercifully, this didn't happen.We got to Boston. As we were driving out of the airport in my boyfriend's brother's car, I rummaged through my bag for my lipstick and hairbrush -- and found the pot I had forgotten about."Hey," I exclaimed joyfully, "look what I have for you! Marijuana from Quebec!" My boyfriend turned to me with a horrified look. "What? You had this in your bag when we crossed the border? And you were foolish enough to argue with the customs agent?"Only then did I realize the trouble I could have been in if the pouch of pot had been discovered.I later told the story to Serge Ménard, then one of Quebec's top criminal defence lawyers. (He later went into politics and is currently Quebec's Minister of Transport.)"You would have received a frantic call from me if I had been caught," I told him, still laughing at the story, "but I'm sure you would have got me out of jail in no time at all."He didn't laugh. "It would have been very serious, Lysiane. Even with a devoted lawyer, you could have spent quite a few years in jail. Can you imagine this? Your parents' despair? Your career ruined? You in a jail cell, forced to watch TV for hours on end with prostitutes and child murderers?"I protested. "Listen, I don't like pot, I never rolled a joint in my life, this is exactly why I forgot I had pot in my bag! So why on earth would I have been found guilty?""It wouldn't have mattered a bit," he said. "Criminals always have alibis.""But I would have had witnesses! All my friends could have testified that I never was a pot smoker!""All criminals have witnesses," Mr. Ménard said.Needless to say, I can't disagree with the idea of removing possession of marijuana from the Criminal Code, even though it would undoubtedly put a wedge in our relations with the United States. Ideally, a higher degree of tolerance north of the border would have a positive influence on our neighbours, whose repressive policies are responsible for thousands of young people spending years in prison for simple possession of small amounts of soft drugs. Jail being the best school for crime, this system transforms pot smokers into hardened criminals.Practically everyone I know smoked pot once, some still do, and none of them evolved from pot to harder drugs. As for me, I'd rather have a glass of wine. Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author: Lysiane GagnonPublished: Monday, July 22, 2002 – Print Edition, Page A13Copyright: 2002 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.ca/Related Articles & Web Site:Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmPut That in Your Pipe and Smoke Ithttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13499.shtmlDecriminalizing Pot: Why Stop There?http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13493.shtmlSmoking Out The Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13492.shtmlWould Softer Pot Law Stir Wrath of U.S.?http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13401.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by E_Johnson on July 22, 2002 at 09:49:50 PT
Ask your liver cherie
Practically everyone I know smoked pot once, some still do, and none of them evolved from pot to harder drugs. As for me, I'd rather have a glass of wine.
Although you may prefer the wine, I am pretty sure that your liver would prefer the spliff.
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Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on July 22, 2002 at 09:18:49 PT:
Vive Lysiane de Quebec!
This is the end for the antis in Canada. Because when the media types get off of their duffs and tell the truth the focus gets turned on the fog of hysteria and lies.As most of us know, the average citizens of both of our nations have fuzzy-minded ideas as to the state of penalties if you are caught. The ones that toked 'way back when' think that the cannabis laws are somehow lax. They are, for the most part, oblivious as to the increased degree of ferocity of the laws as they stand today. By pointing out how the laws have become extraordinarily punitive in relation to the offense is to invite questions as to why they are so vicious to begin with, given the fact that the law targets generally peaceful people.And antis really, really, really don't want those questions asked. Because, just like pulling on a loose thread can unravel a garment, such questions would lead to much more dangerous (for antis) lines of qusetioning.And something else. Something they have subjected us to from the very start...but which they, themselves cannot afford to have happen: public ridicule. Ms. Gagnon's gently reproving tone in commenting at the worst aspects of cannabis laws is as corrosive to an anti's irrationality as any container of hydrofluoric acid would be. Because way down deep, antis lack a sense of humor. And that truth becomes evident very quickly when they fly into fulminating rages when challenged on their nonsense.
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Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on July 22, 2002 at 08:40:56 PT
yes TM
The Canadian media is lining up to support this. VERY different from the US, where the media criticizes virtually every drug policy reform initiative.United We Stand, one nation under the Christian Right, with hypocrisy, apathy, and repression for all!
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Comment #2 posted by Ethan Russo MD on July 22, 2002 at 08:15:31 PT:
She Says It All
"Ideally, a higher degree of tolerance north of the border would have a positive influence on our neighbours, whose repressive policies are responsible for thousands of young people spending years in prison for simple possession of small amounts of soft drugs."Amen
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Comment #1 posted by TroutMask on July 22, 2002 at 07:41:11 PT
falling...
Hm. This domino seems to be falling with a speed and volume I hadn't anticipated. How beautiful!-TM
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