cannabisnews.com: Should Marijuana Possession Be Decriminalized?





Should Marijuana Possession Be Decriminalized?
Posted by CN Staff on October 07, 2002 at 10:40:41 PT
Transcripts from Global Sunday
Source: Global Sunday
 Heather Hiscox:  Good evening everyone, I'm Heather Hiscox in Calgary. Welcome to Global Sunday the forum for the issues and topics that matter most to Canadians. Tonight, you don't hear anything from the Senate for years and then BAM! they want to legalize pot, sell it, apply the GST the whole package. And then this week in the throne speech the government says legalization not likely. But they will consider decriminalization that will put possession of marijuana on par with a parking ticket, just a fine, no jail time. In most parts of this country you can't even take a nice bottle of wine out in public. So what is going on? Is the government serious about all this? And what about our friends to the south? What will the west wing say if Ottawa declares neutrality in the war on drugs? We'll talk to the director of White House drug policy in just a few minutes.
But first, joining us in Toronto, an advocate of a more lenient and some would say more realistic approach to marijuana, Osgoode Hall law professor Allan Young. Mr. Young, welcome.  Allan Young: Hello. Hiscox: First of all in the past couple of weeks Mr. Young there's been nothing but talk of legalization, now decriminalization, why is this issue so hot now? Young: Too much talk, we should have done something about it thirty years ago, but I think the reason why it's front and centre is because we live now in an era where there's more Canadians smoking marijuana than ever. Plus the fact we're devoting more law enforcement resources prohibiting cannabis so there's sort of a log jam there. More people smoking, more police officers enforcing the law. Something's got to break.  Hiscox: If Canada does in fact go this route, decriminalization, how would a decriminalized Canada look and work different from what we have now under prohibition?  Young: No different than it is today. The only thing that would happen is we'd free up a lot of money to fight predatory crime, serious crime. But in terms of Canadian social life, we're not going to become a nation of potheads. Studies show that any country that decriminalizes, consumption rates usually drop or stay the same. A lot of young people smoke marijuana because of the forbidden fruit syndrome. You take away that criminal allure and suddenly consumption rates go down. So the only things that would happen would be good things. Hiscox: Alright, but some say that if you decriminalize the only people who benefit from that are the criminal gangs who control the supply operations. Young: No. No. No. Once you remove the criminal sanction the prices decrease. There's something called a crime tariff, when there's illegal contraband, organized crimes make a lot of money off the product. Once you decriminalize there's less profit involved and it'll become more of a cottage industry with people simply growing for themselves. You get rid of organized criminality when you remove the criminal sanction. Hiscox: So you think that people will. This will limit people to strictly home-grown operations? Won't they go elsewhere to buy? Young: No I don't think so. And it will be a very small market. There's really no reason for organized crime to get involved with a product that is decriminalized. They will stick to cocaine and heroine and that...that's unfortunate...ravages the country. But in terms of marijuana, no, it will be just a cottage industry of people smoking marijuana. A sort of like a sixties hippie commune almost. Really it's not a criminal issue. Hiscox: But it's not a small cottage industry. This is a massive industry. It's British Columbia's largest cash crop. Young: No question but eighty percent of marijuana now is grown domestically. We do not import marijuana from foreign jurisdictions. When you don't have to import, you don't need organized crime. I represent lots of cultivators and they may grow large commercial operations but they are not the type of criminal that we actually are afraid of. Hiscox: Alright, people who are afraid of this direction that Canada may be taking, in just a few minutes I'm going to be talking to U.S. drug czar John Walters, a man you know well, he said this week decriminalizing Canadian laws will rile his government and they're going to clamp down on our border. First of all, should we proceed anyway? Young:  Oh yeah, we are not the fifty-first state. We are sovereign nation. The United States is out of step with the rest of the world. The western world has decriminalized largely and Canada should follow suite. And we should show the United States we are a sovereign nation in terms of domestic policy. We should not be afraid of them. Hiscox:  Okay but there's a good chance that this has been a factor in why we haven't proceeded down this road as you've said for many many years.... Young:  For thirty they've been holding us back. No question in my mind. Hiscox:  ...so how do this time...how do we overcome the American objections? Young:  We simply have to realize that they are full of hysteria. They have a war on drugs and you have to understand one of the tools of war is propaganda. So they are going to spread so much misinformation about marijuana, what's happening in Canada. We have to just simply hold tight and realize that we are moving along the right path. We are doing what Europe has done, what Australia has done. This is a benign substance and we should not let a rabid American drug policy force our hand. Hiscox:  Alright. So the Senate Committee this past few days, legalization, we heard talk in the throne speech, decriminalization, where would you like to see it fall? Young:  Well, ultimately I'd like to see it legalized but as a baby step decriminalization is a good thing because it will show Canadians that the country won't go to pot so to speak. We need to move slowly because there are some people who are hesitant, but ultimately it should be legalized distribution and taxed like any other product. There'll be a lot of money to spread around for government coffers. Hiscox:  And do you think we'll actually see it come through this time? Young: Well, it all depends on how we deal with the Americans. If we stand steadfast in our own mission, we'll be fine. But is we simply allow ourselves to be subdued by American influence, we will maintain this folly for another thirty years. Hiscox: Allan Young in Toronto, thank you for joining us today. Young: My pleasure. Hiscox: Here's a statement you may remember....QUOTATION MARKS: "When I was in England, I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn't like it and didn't inhale and never tried it again." - Bill Clinton Hiscox: ...the words of then governor Bill Clinton.There are few governments in the world more obsessed with drug control than the United States as you can imagine they're not amused with Ottawa's musings on decriminalizing marijuana. John Walters is director of the White House office of National Drug Control Policy and joins us now in Washington DC. Welcome Mr. Walters. John Walters: Pleasure to be with you. Hiscox: You said something this week sir that provoked many people here in this country, I'd like to read it back to you, you said I hope the Canadian government does not head down the risky path of decriminalization or legalization. Why is it risky? Walters: Well, I....my father was born in Toronto I went to school at the University of Toronto. I have a special personal tie to Canada as I think many Americans do. This isn't a you know squabble I think among some of the closest neighbours in the history of humankind. I...from my point of view the United States has learned long and hard the dangers of marijuana and I would hate to see Canada have to not learn from our lesson because it's been a log of pain. Today in the United States the single biggest drug of abuse is marijuana. Of the six million people we're trying to provide treatment for, over sixty percent have a dependency on marijuana. People my age don't understand the danger it poses here and they don't understand that for young people in particular, we have more juveniles today coming in for marijuana dependency than for alcohol and they are more dependency on marijuana than all other legal drugs combined. Hiscox: Okay, so those are the risks you see for this coun...So are you afraid for us some sort of reefer madness is that what you are you saying? Walters: Well I'm afraid that there's some kind of reefer madness madness that people who watched this movie in the past and say look there's too much hysteria about marijuana and they forgot about it. I mean people my age who are baby boomers have to remember that the marijuana that was talked about when they were teenagers had one percent THC content the psychoactive ingredient. Today on the street in the United States, it goes from seven to over ten percent and there are a high potency variety some of which are grown in British Columbia that go to twenty to thirty percent THC content. This is not your father's marijuana here in the United States, it's a much greater substance of abuse. Eighth graders have doubled their use here. So this is a issue that affects children and it is the single biggest source of addiction that we're trying to treat. People in the United States don't understand that. I also hope that people in Canada have at least that information when they make that decision. Hiscox: Alright. Let me interrupt here. And yet despite all the arguments that you just made. From Australia to the UK to Holland to twelve American states and Nevada may follow in November already have variations of decriminalization for possession, why is your office then out of sync with what seems to be sort of worldwide, public opinion on pot? Walters: Well, I don't think we are out of sync frankly. First of all in the United States generally, there is no massive groundswell for legalization. There have been well funded efforts by George Soros and two very wealthy individuals that have expanded outside the United States to make...to create a con. That marijuana is medicine. That marijuana is harmless. That marijuana is not a drug of abuse. That marijuana should be treated like alcohol. Again look at what's happening in Europe. Take the example that's frequently used. Holland is on the verge if anything of toughening up its laws because enormous growth in crime and in not only marijuana consumption, but in cocaine and heroine. The argument was you could medicalize this. But think about what that argument really means. How is the disease of addiction spread? It's spread by non-addictive users. They're the carriers. If you want more addiction, increase the number of carriers. That's what drug legalization does. And the fact of the matter is we already have too many people who are victims of this substance and the dependency it produces. Why would you want to create more? Hiscox: Well I guess that's the big question, is it? Already you said your war on drugs and all of your hard stand on prohibition has not stopped people. Marijuana is available. People are continuing to smoke it so why then not take a more realistic approach and move toward decriminalization? Walters: Yes, I think that's a misunderstanding in maybe the way the war on drugs was used that we've created and I think that need to correct it. The old view of when the war on drugs was used as a phrase it was used to try to bring society together, make this a priority and do a better job against the drug problem. That still needs to be done. But they'd left the impression that it's going to be one time or another time. Keeping people healthy is a public health problem just as raising young people and educating them is a problem that you have to as a civilized society has to continue. You don't say...Hiscox: Alright. Walters: ...you spent some money. You're not...the problem's not over so you quit and let more people be addicted. It's...it is a responsibility of civilized society to prevent young people from becoming addicted to addictive substances even if you're not perfect. Hiscox: Let me move to another subject Mr. Walters. You said also this week in response to our throne speech that Canada's decriminalization would prompt U.S. lawmakers to tighten border controls and disrupt Canada U.S. trade, what did you mean by that? Walters: I don't think I said that. I think actually a member of congress said that in the same article. But look I believe that our countries are working together now across the northern border for the war on terror as well as increased problems with drugs. I've met with Canadian officials in Ottawa. I've met with Canadian officials in our western states. We are now a major supplier of cocaine to Canada and it's being exchanged for high potency marijuana and the precursor chemicals for methamphetamine, which Canada is supplying to us. Our law enforcement, RCMP, and our DEA and other law enforcement agencies are working better to create a better way of protecting both of our populations, which is what I think both countries are concerned about and rightly so. Hiscox: But because this whole move towards decriminalization is for personal use, small amounts of pot for personal use, il.... trafficking would of course still remain illegal.Walters: Well, the problem that of course with drugs has been that they... it's an insidious destroyer and user of national boundaries as a shield and we have this problem in the southern part of this hemisphere, Mexico, Columbia have been ravaged by drugs that are now becoming problems of dependency in their own population. Some of the greatest growth we've had in relationships with them is sending information on treatment and prevention to Canada and not only Canada but Mexico and Columbia I should say and other nations in the hemisphere. No nation has ever been a major source or transit nation without developing devastating consumption problems in...within its own boundaries....Hiscox:  Alright.Walters:  ...That's the broader history here and I just hope that in the debate...and Canada is a sovereign country. It will make up its own mind. They are responsible people. They are people who we respect. The comments I've made are simply to say don't not learn from the pain and suffering that we've had to endure too much because of bad choices by Americans.Hiscox:  U.S. drug czar John Walters thank you from Washington tonight. So there you have it, to smoke or not to smoke. More on marijuana plus taxes, tigers and a manly poke at the monarchy our panel is next. We're back in two minutes.Source: Global Television (Canada)Published: Monday, October 07, 2002Copyright: 2002 Global Television Contact: http://www.canada.com/aboutus/contactus/Website: http://www.canada.com/national/globalsunday/Related Articles & Web Site:Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmGoing Out With a Bong http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14369.shtmlU.S. Warns Against Liberalizing Laws on Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14331.shtmlSenate Report on Cannabis: Get Whole Story http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14319.shtml 
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on October 08, 2002 at 11:40:59 PT
afterburner 
I had Jim Wakeford's web page on one of my pages but it didn't work anymore so I removed it and when I did I wondered why the web site was gone and how he was. Aids is a horrible disease and I understand why he wants to die with dignity. My son's social worker had a lethal cocktail of drugs if my son would have wanted them. I had no say in the matter and he didn't use the drugs but he was at peace knowing that if he had wanted to quit the fight he could have.
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Comment #22 posted by afterburner on October 08, 2002 at 11:31:48 PT:
Jim Wakeford, Father of Oolagen:
Jim Wakeford, Father of Oolagen:A Personal Story about the Man from North of the Medicine Line in Grandmother’s Land, Canada.Jim Wakeford was instrumental in bringing the medical marijuana issue to the Canadian courts, eventually winning a medical exemption from the Canadian government to grow his own medicine. Despite the exemption he was repeatedly hassled by the police. This is a man with a long history of service to the community. He founded and ran for many years a residential treatment centre for street youth with drug problems. The centre was called Oolagen. “Oolagen” is a Cree word that means “a place where flowers grow.” Oolagen had difficulty obtaining funding and almost closed several times. The community leaders at times condemned Oolagen, calling it Hooligan House, because of the rough street kids it was trying to help. In the early days the drug treatment used a kind of talking cure to help street kids through bad trips and to provide a safe environment for recovery. The original drugs of abuse were psychedelics. Later when the new generation of street kids turned to hard drugs, like meth or heroin, the kids became more difficult to treat. The “speed freaks” on methamphetamine were more aggressive, paranoid, and tended toward stealing, or “ripping-off” as they called it. These tendencies made them harder to reach. The heroin street kids were even worse: they had a stunned-out look in their eyes, and words did not seem to reach them. Even referring these hard cases to more intensive treatment was difficult since the drugs they were using were illegal, and the official approach to drug problems was incarceration, not treatment. I have walked the floors of Oolagen and seen these things with my own eyes. I have met Jim himself. I had a friend who worked at Oolagen: let’s call her “Sally.” The last I heard of Jim, he was dying of HIV-AIDS north of Toronto, trying to keep his medical marijuana plants, which ease his suffering, from police seizures. I have since learned that Jim journeyed to B.C. to find a safe place to grow his medicine and to aid other sick and dying people. Apparently, he has now returned to Toronto to Die With Dignity. This advocate of sensible drug laws, for treatment instead of punishment, has touched the lives of many lost and suffering street kids, and now many sick and dying adults. We know now that street kids are often running away from abusive family relationships. We know that in their pain and street confusion, they sometimes turn to drugs for solace. Even the United Way now offers help to such needy souls, but without the pioneering work of Jim Wakeford, it would have taken society longer to develop humane approaches. The laws which prohibit mild drugs, like marijuana, or cannabis as we prefer to call it, inadvertantly put the street kids in the hands of the criminal element. The Street is the real Gateway. The street dealers, or black market, gain more by selling addictive drugs, like heroin, cocaine or crack, and meth (yes, it’s back.)--white powders, refined, powerful, and easy to smuggle. Cannabis is big and bulky, complicated to grow in northern climates, and seemingly targeted by police more than hard drugs. These factors all lead to high prices, sky high prices. The white powders and pills are more affordable, eventhough more deadly, so many youths on and off the street are seduced into addictive habits. Of course, none of it is safe; here are no quality controls or purity standards because it is all illegal and in the hands of gangsters. Legalize and be wise.Jim Wakeford
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1607.htmlJim Wakeford - Canada's Best Hope for Medical Marijuana?
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1393.htmlJim Wakeford Chat: medicinal marijuana
http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSNewsmakers/000808_wakeford.htmlJim Wakeford: medicinal marijuana
http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSNewsmakers/000806_wakeford.htmlOolagen Health Services
http://www.oolagen.org/MarijuanaNews.Com, Freedom has nothing to fear from the truth 
http://www.marijuananews.com/is_the_wakeford_case_a_way_for_c.htmRebel with a compelling cause: Jim Wakeford fights to make ... http://www.masscann.org/News/articles/2001/08_06_2001_b.htmCN BC: Medicinal Pot Crop Stolen
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n994/a08.html?1215CN BC: Column: Health Canada Needed Our Pot Pros
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n941/a10.html?1220CN ON: B.C. Case Provides Hope To Local Marijuana Grower
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n2108/a09.html?1223CN BC: Return Pot To Owner, Judge Orders Police
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n2043/a09.html?1226CN BC: Column: Proof that Medicinal-Pot Protests Are Just
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n2040/a07.html?1228CN ON: Legal Pot Smokers To Benefit From Concert
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1495/a04.html?1239CN ON: Law Professor A Tireless Crusader
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1201/a04.html?1240Jim Wakeford Case
http://www.dyingwithdignity.ca/17-2-5.html
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Comment #21 posted by DdC on October 08, 2002 at 10:08:02 PT
Yea BG, Missouri the home of Monsanto and Ashcroft
61.9 million marijuana plants were eradicated 11,967 cultivated marijuana plants destroyed, 1851 of which were sinsemillaleaving 61,888,033 remaining plants as wild ditchweedThat's 99.98% if my math is correct...The reports say most of the ditchweed is in the Midwest and Appalachian areas. I'd suspect Cali and Florida have a greater percentage of kyndbud eradicated. But the point is the abuse of power and waste of money removing wild hemp. In the name of saving the kids. D.E.A.th goon hypocrite liars, frauds and idiots...Peace, Love and Liberty or wasted D.E.A.th!
DdC
No Medical Value $$$ 
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on October 07, 2002 at 22:40:13 PT
BGreen
I think I understand why his title is a Czar!czar  Pronunciation Key (zär, tsär)
n. also tsar or tzar (zär, tsär) A male monarch or emperor, especially one of the emperors who ruled Russia until the revolution of 1917. A person having great power; an autocrat: “the square-jawed, ruddy complacency of Jack Farrell, the czar of the Fifteenth Street police station” (Ernest Hemingway). 
Informal. An appointed official having special powers to regulate or supervise an activity: a racetrack czar; an energy czar. 
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Comment #19 posted by BGreen on October 07, 2002 at 22:32:06 PT
Yes, FoM, This Explains A Great Deal
We now know why Walters won't debate Dr. Ethan Russo.Walters et al. are cowards and liars.
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on October 07, 2002 at 22:14:22 PT
BGreen
He wouldn't debate Marc Emery. That is funny to me. He's afraid he'd lose to Emery. Walters knows he can't win so why even try. That isn't how we win by not responding to a question or not taking part in a legitimate debate. It only shows narrow mindedness and that isn't the way a democracy should be run. Not at all.
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Comment #17 posted by BGreen on October 07, 2002 at 22:06:49 PT
Pot-TV has the video of this show
GLOBAL TV: ALAN YOUNG vs. US DRUG CZARUrging Canadians not to allow their country to become a 51st state, Law Professor Alan Young forces US Drug Czar John Walters to back peddle on threats to punish any effort to soften Canadian pot laws. Global TV deserves praise for running "Reefer Madness" footage while the Walters lied about cannabis. Marc Emery was originally scheduled to debate Walters, but the Drug Czar refused.
GLOBAL TV: ALAN YOUNG vs. US DRUG CZAR
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Comment #16 posted by BGreen on October 07, 2002 at 21:40:28 PT
DdC, Look At The Numbers From Missouri
MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROLNews ReleaseContact: Captain C.T. Ricks (573) 526-6115Date: January 11, 2002Re: 2001 Marijuana Eradication TotalsOver 61.9 million marijuana plants were eradicated during the 2001 Operation Cash Crop program, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Missouri Sheriff's Association records. Law enforcement officers destroyed over 11,967 cultivated marijuana plants from both indoor and outdoor operations, 1,851 of which were sinsemilla, a higher-grade marijuana plant. The remaining plants were wild. Officers also seized 226.94 pounds of processed marijuana during the operation. Officers made a total of 529 arrests and seized 86 weapons related to the growing and trafficking of marijuana.Operation Cash Crop is a cooperative effort and includes the following agencies: the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri National Guard, Missouri State Water Patrol, Missouri sheriff's offices, city and county police departments, Missouri Conservation Commission, the U.S. Forestry Service, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency."The cooperative effort of these agencies continues to remove this drug from our state," said Colonel Roger D. Stottlemyre, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. "Marijuana is illegal and harmful, and the Patrol will continue its efforts to destroy it. I also commend those citizens who used our hotline 1-800-223-9333 to notify us of marijuana in their area."
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Comment #15 posted by afterburner on October 07, 2002 at 20:35:11 PT:
"Once you decriminalize there's less profit" 
Allan Young, you are full of beans, only decriminalizing providing (supply side) pot (cannabis) could accomplish what you propose. Only decriminalizing possessing (demand side) cannabis has been proposed; this can in no way, shape or form reduce the profit to the still illegal providers."Well, ultimately I'd like to see it legalized but as a baby step decriminalization is a good thing because it will show Canadians that the country won't go to pot so to speak. We need to move slowly because there are some people who are hesitant, but ultimately it should be legalized distribution and taxed like any other product. There'll be a lot of money to spread around for government coffers."Babies fall down a lot, and babies are cute. The prohibitionists do not find decriminalization cute, and they will not abide any falling down on what they see as crime.Relegalize and be wise.
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Comment #14 posted by DdC on October 07, 2002 at 19:18:53 PT
We hold these truths to be self-evident...
that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,
laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained, and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. King George is back with his minions of D.E.A.th!
Liberty or D.E.A.th Deceptions
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Comment #13 posted by DdC on October 07, 2002 at 19:06:51 PT
Ok then Try This One...Remember its only a...
Coincidence...
http://www.usacitylink.com/usa/declaration.html
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Comment #12 posted by DdC on October 07, 2002 at 19:02:21 PT
Wow is this scary...
http://www.2words.com/resources/usdeclaration.asp
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Comment #11 posted by canaman on October 07, 2002 at 18:31:43 PT
Has the Czar totally "lost it"?????
He's sounds like a blathering idiot even with the host walking him through this interview. Too bad he won't do a real debate...the "War on Americans" might be over tomorrow!End the War! Give Peace a Chance!
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Comment #10 posted by DdC on October 07, 2002 at 17:33:59 PT
Wally's Brain D.E.A.th!
Wally Wingnut has just surpassed Dan Quayle as Political idiot of the Internet!Today in the United States the single biggest drug of abuse is marijuana...John P. WaltersWhat a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is...Dan QuayleOver 99 percent of the marijuana eradicated by the Drug Enforcement Administration's federally funded "Cannabis Suppression Program" is non-psychoactive hemp, reveals a 1998 Vermont State Auditor's report. "The national total of ditchweed eradicated compared to the total number of plants seized is 99.28 percent resulting in less than one percent cultivated indoor and outdoor plant eradication percentage at the national level," the report concludes. It further notes that each cultivated plant seized by the DEA costs taxpayers an average of $3.02. FEDERAL MARIJUANA ERADICATION PROGRAM SEIZES NOTHING BUT DITCHWEED, STATE AUDITOR'S REPORT SAYS
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/041.html#ditchweedAnnual Ditchweed Eradication Boondoggle Underway Again
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/194.html#ditchweedDitchweed Update: DEA Numbers 
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/195.html#ditchweednumbersDrug Czar Accused of Supporting Terror
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread12099.shtmlWally the Terrorist 
http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/politics/media/39/39850.jpgPeople that are really very weird can get into sensitive postitions and have a tremendous impact on history...Dan Quayle 
D.E.A.th Deceptions
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Comment #9 posted by ErikGhint on October 07, 2002 at 16:46:21 PT:
Walters is a moron
I don't understand this man at all. It really is uncomprehensible what he does. He persecutes the sick, and lies through his teeth, all the while being backed by the government, who is supposed to be the voice of the people. It is quite disturbing actually. How dare he say marijuana is not a medicine, when it is clearly the best option for many people when they are ill. All his points are ridiculous and irrelevant. I wish someone would shoot that man!
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on October 07, 2002 at 15:08:14 PT
Oh Dear
I've only had time to really read this transcript now and I don't understand one point Walters was trying to make and I always do my best to try to understand what a person is trying to say. He said that medical marijuana is a con. That is so mean spirited and totally untrue.
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Comment #7 posted by karkulus on October 07, 2002 at 12:53:43 PT
And you'll notice Walter's ..
 wouldn't actually debate Allen Young one-on-one and to my knowledge has never debated a knowledgable person on this matter(tho the interviewer seems well-informed).I would have liked to see references to Pres. Fox of Mexico , for instance,who spoke for legalization of drugs, and the U.S. pressure on Jamaica not to legalize. Other than that ,At least they got "in his face "about it..
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Comment #6 posted by Windminstrel on October 07, 2002 at 12:10:23 PT
wow
I think we need to start a movement to send Mr. Walters a gift. I think every politically-aware person should send our drug czar a box of ex-lax, as he's so obviously full of crap.
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Comment #5 posted by p4me on October 07, 2002 at 12:05:25 PT
I agree with comment1- and a test of color
Mr. Walters is almost incomprehensible.The Free Cannabis Forces are being held back by LB&O, half-truths, propaganda, the fascist media, the blissfully ignorant and now incomprehensible words from one of the highest paid public servants in the world. I would say gobbledeegook from a turkeykook if I could get the spelling right.DAD-D,1,2
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Comment #4 posted by Ethan Russo MD on October 07, 2002 at 12:03:46 PT:
A Knockout in the First Round
Who won, Alan Young, or John Walters? One used truth and logic, the other lies and propaganda. Thank God for Canada right now!
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Comment #3 posted by mrherbalwarrior on October 07, 2002 at 11:28:30 PT:
why are people so dumb?
why is walters so convinced that if canada makes it legal the drug trade will go up?
i mean, if canada really does legalize, im ditching out the us as soon as i can, and ya know what.
i won't be bringing any back to the us, i won't be buying off some dealer, or selling to some punk kid
ima grow weed, for me and my friends to smoke by ourselves, and im pretty sure most people will be doing the same, its just more economical and easier all around, why buy a quarter of kb for 100 bucks, when you can plant a few seeds and have pounds of kb ready to smoke whenever you want, and those plants will make more seeds.
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Comment #2 posted by malleus on October 07, 2002 at 11:25:41 PT
"Bad choices made by Americans"
Oh, man, I could write a book!I used to shudder when foreign friends would watch American TV and they'd ask me about it. Every nonsensical program on the tube made me wonder just what they were actually thinking about the US. You could only surmise from the looks on their faces that (judging from our TV and especially from watching public officials get on and say incredibly stupid things) they thought Americans in general were, to use a Canadian expression, 'barking mad'. They couldn't seem to get over that such things were openly displayed, shamelessly. Like public nosepicking by a clueless bumpkin.Well, now we are importing our madness, in the form of public officials like John "Pee" Walters mouthing off to Canadians why they should be as nutso as Yanks about cannabis.Canucks, I hope just watching this buffoon on your TV has been enough of an incentive to proceed with at least decrim.
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Comment #1 posted by schmeff on October 07, 2002 at 11:10:06 PT
Compare the comments
...of Young vs. Walters.Mr. Walters is almost incomprehensible.Walters: ...That's the broader history here and I just hope that in the debate...and Canada is a sovereign country. It will make up its own mind. They are responsible people. They are people who we respect. The comments I've made are simply to say don't not learn from the pain and suffering that we've had to endure too much because of bad choices by Americans.Huh?
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