cannabisnews.com: U.S. Warns Against Liberalizing Laws on Pot





U.S. Warns Against Liberalizing Laws on Pot
Posted by CN Staff on October 02, 2002 at 08:08:17 PT
By Campbell Clark
Source: Globe and Mail 
A move toward possibly decriminalizing marijuana brought warnings yesterday from U.S. officials and lawmakers, who cautioned that Canada should not succumb to "myths" and warned of new disruptions to border trade.The Bush administration's drug czar, John Walters, said decriminalization would be a mistake based on misinformation. "I hope the Canadian government does not head down the risky path of decriminalization or legalization," he said in a statement sent to The Globe and Mail.
While Mr. Walters said that he respects Canada's right to set its own policy, the chairman of a congressional drug-policy committee said he believes decriminalization would prompt U.S. lawmakers to tighten border controls, disrupting Canada-U.S. trade.Representative Mark Souder said decriminalization would make Canada a centre of supply and traffic of marijuana that would likely cause Congress and the Bush administration to take tougher measures to police the border."Obviously Canada can do whatever it wants with its laws," Mr. Souder, chairman of the House of Representatives subcommittee on criminal justice, drug policy and human resources, said in an interview with The Globe and Mail. "But to the degree there's less harmonization with our laws, it means that the border traffic is going to slow down."If there's a higher risk of illegal drugs moving, because decriminalization functions as de facto legalization . . . we're not going to sit idly by and not check."The prospect of riling the United States, which maintains a strict policy at the federal level against marijuana, is one of the concerns that has held the government back from an outright promise to decriminalize the drug.But in Monday's Speech from the Throne, the government signalled it is moving toward liberalizing marijuana laws by including the "possibility" of decriminalization in its blueprint of priorities.Decriminalization would end jail terms, heavy fines and criminal records for simple possession of marijuana, replacing them with a minor sanction similar to a traffic ticket. That would stop short of full legalization, which would allow the open, commercial sale of pot.Mr. Walters, President George W. Bush's director of national drug control policy, argued that moves toward liberalizing pot laws have been fuelled by misinformation that suggests marijuana use is not a danger."We recognize Canada's sovereignty, but caution the Canadian people not to fall for the same myths about marijuana that far too many Americans have fallen for," he said in the statement."We have learned through hard experience that marijuana is a dangerous drug with serious public health and social consequences, and I hope the Canadian government does not head down the risky path of decriminalization or legalization."The political momentum for relaxing pot laws is growing in Canada, however. The Canadian Medical Association has estimated that 1.5 million Canadians regularly smoke pot, and polls show that almost half of Canadians favour legalization while more -- some surveys say seven in 10 -- want decriminalization.Last month, a Senate committee called for full legalization, citing several studies in rejecting arguments that marijuana is addictive, extremely harmful or leads to stronger drugs.Mr. Souder, an Indiana Republican Indiana, acknowledged that the same debate over pot laws is brewing in his country.But he predicted that those in the administration and Congress who would favour tightening border controls in response to decriminalization in Canada would win out. Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author: Campbell ClarkPublished: Wednesday, October 2, 2002 – Print Edition, Page A5Copyright: 2002 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.ca/Related Articles:Senate Report on Cannabis: Get Whole Story http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14319.shtmlOttawa Considers Decriminalizing Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14312.shtmlCanadian Pot Debate Worries U.S. Officialshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14302.shtml
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Comment #9 posted by DdC on October 02, 2002 at 21:13:25 PT
The Governments Real Position on Cannabis
http://www.wealth4freedom.com/Elkhorn.html
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Comment #8 posted by DdC on October 02, 2002 at 20:54:28 PT
Don't Hold Your Breath in All This Smoke...
By Elizabeth Bromstein 
Source: Montreal Gazette "I don't think I want pot to be decriminalized," a friend once told me as we sat on his balcony, him smoking a spliff, me yammering on about the evils of the war against drugs. "It's the only law I break on a regular basis," he continued. "It makes me feel like I'm doing something taboo. The rest of the time I'm such a good guy." It's a good thing he feels that way, because it's not going to happen. If you are a marijuana advocate who has been fooled by the attention the war on drugs has been getting in the media lately, wake up and smell the smoke being blown up your ... oh, right, can't write that. Onward. Of course, we can't touch this issue without making the medicinal/recreational distinction. Medicinal toking might be legalized and the cops around here might have to find other ways to make themselves feel like big men besides busting places with names like the Compassion Club. But beyond that, nothing is going to happen, even though anyone with an IQ of over 70 knows decriminalizing pot would be the smartest thing to do. Last Tuesday, Jean Chretien told reporters that although he supports legalization for medicinal purposes, he simply said No when asked whether his government intends to decriminalize marijuana possession. Why? For the same reason he probably wouldn't have shoved that protester if he didn't know he was well protected. He doesn't have the guts. And who can blame him? Canada has invested a lot of money in the war against drugs and as you might have read in Saturday's Gazette, cannabis offences accounted for three-quarters of drug-related offences in 1999. Remove those offences and, as Tom Naylor, professor of economics at McGill University, pointed out, the so-called "drug problem" becomes quite minuscule. That would be embarrassing. But the embarrassment would be nothing compared with the wrath of the United States, the superpower with whom we share the longest unprotected border in the world. How long do you think all that good will would last if we were to decriminalize the herb? We're talking about a country that invested $1.3 billion in Plan Colombia, the purpose of which, according to that country's president, Andres Pastrana, is to help eliminate the production of drugs, generate employment, boost trade and bring peace to the country - the practice of which includes aerial spraying of herbicides on to legal and illegal crops alike, killing the livelihood of peasant farmers, not to mention poisoning waters and endangering Colombia's fragile ecosystem. We're talking about a country that bars people from entering if they've ever smoked pot in their life. And they do ask you. I know people who have been asked. Smuggling would become an immense problem and the U.S. would never put up with it. Knock, knock! Who's there? A Canadian. Get out of the car and keep your hands where I can see 'em! And what would all that ill will do to trade policies? Can we afford to find out? Let us suppose for one moment that there might be one or two corrupt cops or politicians out there working with the Mafia and the bikers who control the drug trade. And let us just suppose that the Mafia and the bikers might not want pot decriminalized because it would cut into their revenue. That also might cause a little ill will. Back to reality. The fact of the matter is, Chretien simply won't take the risk, and I can't think of a politician who would. Joe Clark has made his pro-decriminalization stance clear but a) Will the Tories ever get into office again? And b) If they did, would his conviction go the way of Chretien's GST promise? I'm willing to bet $17 (that's all I have in the bank) that the answer is b. I hope I'm wrong and if anyone in office is reading this, please take it as a challenge. Stand up and do something right, you pussy! Come on. Prove me wrong! I dare you. Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)
Author: Elizabeth Bromstein
Published: June 5, 2001
Copyright: 2001 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc.
Contact: letters thegazette.southam.ca
Website: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Canadian Links
http://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmPM Says No To Looser Drug Laws
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9895.shtmlMarijuana Use Will Remain a Crime: Chretien 
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9894.shtmlPM Puppet
http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/politics/media/36/36842.gifCanada Moves Toward Decriminalizing Marijuana 
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9892.shtml Stand Up and Do Something Right...
http://www.cannabinoid.com/boards/politics/media/36/36976.gifCannabis Hemp: The Invisible Prohibition Revealed
http://www.sumeria.net/politics/invpro.htmlThe Elkhorn Manifesto
http://www.wealth4freedom.com/Elkhor.htmlTrust the People
http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/politics/media/36/36974.jpg
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Comment #7 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on October 02, 2002 at 18:03:49 PT
LTE
Sirs,  Of course John Walters hopes the Canadian government doesn't loosen the pot laws. He remembers his history. Canada ended alcohol prohibition before the USA did. In doing so, the USA was vividly shown the error of its ways. The same thing is happening with cannabis. Mr. Walters is fighting for job security, and perhaps to be remembered as something other than "the last drug czar", the man in charge of the wall when it finally came down.  Whether or not the threat of border tightening are to be believed, Canada needs to show Mr. Walters that it is indeed a sovereign nation, and one that cannot be intimidated into continuing this persecution of a harmless minority.
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Comment #6 posted by firedog on October 02, 2002 at 13:21:59 PT
Cutting off your nose... to spite your face
Tightening border controls would hurt the USA as much as it would hurt Canada. Canada is the USA's largest trading partner by a wide margin, with $27 billion in trade during July 2002. As John Tyler said, tightening the border would slow down that trade and make a bad economy worse.Our current administration has about as much respect for national sovereignty as it does for state's rights. On that basis, I'd expect them to do everything in the book to bully Canada into submission.But when GM and other companies with large Canadian operations hear about the mullah crowd's threats, we'll see how far it goes, especially when these companies are already hurting bigtime from the recession.
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Comment #5 posted by afterburner on October 02, 2002 at 12:14:21 PT:
Up here in "Grandmother's Land"
John Walters, stay on your own side of the "medicine line." If you respect Canadian sovereignty, stop making your bully threats of trade sanctions. Read the Nolin Senate report, and learn the truth.
Senate Report on Cannabis: Get Whole Story 
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Comment #4 posted by malleus on October 02, 2002 at 09:46:11 PT
The last line is always the kicker
"Mr. Souder, an Indiana Republican Indiana, acknowledged that the same debate over pot laws is brewing in his country. But he predicted that those in the administration and Congress who would favour tightening border controls in response to decriminalization in Canada would win out."Now, why would they feel themselves so secure in their positions? Because right now the debate is happening over people's coffee tables, not the House and Senate, where it has been deliberately stifled all these years.But the prohibs are living in a dreamworld if they think the debate will never LEAVE those coffee tables. Their actions in California have caused some people who used to be unthinking rubberstampers of their actions to sit up and take notice. The issue has received more press and media attention than ever before. Even though the corporately controlled US media has been studiously ignoring this, the rest of the world is watching this very intently. Because as we used to say, the measure of a country is how it treats it's own people. The wretched treatment of the sick and dying in the USA has not gone as unnoticed as these idiots like Souder wish it would. It's being noticed, all right - and being commented upon.The US is busily pointing fingers and bellowing when it should keep it's inflammatory gestures and blatherings to itself and LISTEN. Because other countries are trying, not through total self interest but with some alarm, to warn us that an old friend seems to have been bitten by the fascism bug, and is succumbing slowly to the disease it carries.How this debate will go in the future will be an indicator of the US's intentions towards the rest of the world. For if it treats it's own people badly, can foreigners expect better?
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Comment #3 posted by John Tyler on October 02, 2002 at 09:40:04 PT
Canadian Trade
Canada can do what they want, but if they don't do what we (USA) want, we are going to play the "slow the border trade" card. That tatic cuts both ways though. Lots and lots of people south of the border depend on Canadan trade for employment. They won't like it one bit if they get layed off because of some political ploy.
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Comment #2 posted by WolfgangWylde on October 02, 2002 at 09:05:56 PT
Complete and total BS..
...on the part of our "officials", of course. But that is to be expected. The real question is if the Canadians have the guts to stick out trade sanctions, and don't kid yourselves - that's what slowing things down at the border means. I'm not holding my breath.
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Comment #1 posted by goneposthole on October 02, 2002 at 08:56:34 PT
full prohibitionist mindset
Fortunately, the Canadians must be using these two nuts as laughing-stock.
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