cannabisnews.com: Canada's Pot Proposal Worries US










  Canada's Pot Proposal Worries US

Posted by CN Staff on October 15, 2002 at 07:43:07 PT
By Tom Cohen, Associated Press Writer 
Source: Associated Press 

American officials caution they may be forced to drastically slow trade across the northern U.S. border if the Canadian government relaxes its marijuana laws. The changes being considered by Prime Minister Jean Chretien's government would make the penalty for getting caught with a joint similar to a traffic ticket. By contrast, the zero tolerance policy of the United States makes possession of even small amounts illegal.
U.S. drug policy experts say decriminalizing marijuana in Canada will increase drug use in America and trafficking by organized crime elements on both sides of the border. Washington would respond with tighter border checks that could hinder trade crucial to the Canadian economy. "We intend to protect our citizens. We would have no choice," said John P. Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The issue joins a growing list of differences between the North American neighbors that share the world's largest trade partnership, worth more than $1 billion a day. Despite their military ties and common democratic values, Canada has traditionally adopted more liberal social policies, in part to distinguish itself from its powerful neighbor. Examples include diplomatic ties with Cuba, a ban on capital punishment and more lenient immigration policies. Canada already has a legal industry for hemp, cannabis cultivated with very low amounts of the chemical that produces the high sought by marijuana smokers. The U.S. government prohibits hemp production. Last year, Canada implemented a medical marijuana program that allows some patients to possess and grow pot. The Canadian Supreme Court will hear a constitutional challenge to marijuana laws this fall, and a senate committee has called for the complete legalization of pot -- a much more radical step than decriminalization. Despite such signals, lawyer and medical marijuana advocate Alan Young said Canadians should wait before lighting that celebratory joint. "It's actually going to be a longer battle than you think," he told a Sept. 30 demonstration in Toronto by dozens of people seeking legal access to marijuana. "There's a lot of backward steps being taken." Young cautioned the crowd that police had not let up against marijuana users. He cited police crackdowns in pot-rich British Columbia and other provinces, including a recent raid that shut down a Toronto club where doctor-certified patients could get marijuana. He also said Canada has backed off from a plan to provide government-grown pot, though it allows approved patients to grow their own or designate someone to do so. He blamed the decision on American pressure. Eight U.S. states have taken some kind of step toward permitting the medicinal use of marijuana: California, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada and Colorado. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, has ruled there is no exception in federal law for people to use marijuana, so even those with tolerant state laws could face arrest if they do. Canada already is a major source of marijuana used in the United States, with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of dope with exotic names like B.C. Bud and Quebec Gold smuggled in everything from sod trucks to hockey equipment bags. Decriminalization north of the border will create new headaches for the United States, said Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., chairman of the Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources. "We're still finding it hard to believe this could actually happen," he said in a telephone interview, but added that if it does, tougher border security would follow. "Probably it would be some sort of change in, at the very least, spot-checking, more aggressive checking, possibly background checking" of trucks and other vehicles crossing the border, he said. "Hopefully we could do it with not too much disruption, but there would be changes." With pot valued on the street at about $3,000 a pound or more, increased smuggling is almost a certainty, Souder said. "You're basically becoming the supplier," he said. "You're kind of the wholesaler and our guys are more like the retailers." On the Net: U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration at: http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/ Canadian site advocating marijuana culture: http://www.cannabisculture.com/ Source: Associated Press Author: Tom Cohen, Associated Press WriterPublished: October 15, 2002Copyright: 2002 Associated Press Related Articles:U.S. Warns Against Liberalizing Laws on Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14331.shtmlCanadian Pot Debate Worries U.S. Officialshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14302.shtml 

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Comment #9 posted by i420 on October 16, 2002 at 14:12:23 PT
Re elect SOUDER !!!
 Decriminalization north of the border will create new headaches for the United States, said Rep. Mark Souder,
   R-Ind., chairman of the Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human
   Resources. 
What the ..... is Mark Souder whinning about??? Did they have problems on the INDIANA - OHIO border when OHIO decriminalized??? I hope the voters do send MARK SOUDER back to Washington D.C. with his big head the sniper surely can't miss.
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on October 15, 2002 at 22:19:13 PT
Thanks puff_tuff
I couldn't get your link to work but I got this one and this is working. I think the url was too long to put in the link section. Thank You! I sure appreciate it! http://media.cbc.ca:8080/ramgen/radio/news-audio/worldat6/October2002/bro_w6021015.rm
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Comment #7 posted by puff_tuff on October 15, 2002 at 21:58:34 PT
Smoke and Dollars 
Tuesday, October 15, 2002Smoke and Dollars CBC Radio / The World at Six And, we begin our series "Smoke and Dollars": a look at how marijuana has become part of the economy in British Columbia. We'll be reporting on the economic impact of the marijuana trade, and on police efforts to control it. Tonight, Chris Brown reports on the growers themselves. 
Smoke and Dollars (Part 1)
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Comment #6 posted by karkulus on October 15, 2002 at 20:03:11 PT
I can just see johnny walters hunched over..
the kitchen table in a white a-shirt ,with a bottle of scotch next to him,wringing his hands and muttering(he just looks like the muttering type)"oh dear,oh my ,we must protect our..."while the wife whacks him on the back of the head,"Why don't you get a REAL job and stop bothering poor schmoo's for smoking pot,Ya fat greasy lout! "
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Comment #5 posted by The GCW on October 15, 2002 at 16:32:42 PT
Not even a bluff...
When Canada, makes its moves, it is going to soften the stubborn wall the prohibitionists are watching crumble. When it goes even a little bit in Canada, it is going to have reverberating effects in all NORTH AMERICA. People are going to want what is credible, that their neighbors have.Parents are going to have kids, that will not be in deep deep doodoo, for simply using a benign plant. That will be a relief to American mothers, just as it will be a relief to Canadian mothers.Walters et al. can suck all the urine He wants, but when Canada makes its move, He will not be able to stop what will follow. With that in mind, get ready for the biggest lies the spirit of error can muster up. Their going to get out their big guns.
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Comment #4 posted by p4me on October 15, 2002 at 10:26:11 PT
Shut up Wee Wee, a robot would be cheaper
"We intend to protect our citizens. We would have no choice," said John P. Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.We will lock up our citizen to protect them. We will take away their houses to protect our citizensthem. We will operate above the Constitution and corrupt all our institutions to protect our citizens. We will take the children away from potsmokers to protect our citizens. What makes you think we won't screw with you to protect our citizens. We will make it so hard to get pot that those potheads not locked up in jail will have to come to Canada to find their devilweed. Wait, I think I might have said something that is correct...I mean wrong. Let me start over. Marijuana is the devil's drug...I saw where Google was testing software that selected news from over 4000 sites. It is supposed to bring diversity of opinion to issues as well as not require salaries for humans. Why can't we taxpayers get the Google people to do a Drug Czar robot for their next project and then we wouldn't have to endure all the political appointments ever regime change. A robot is the way to go, it would not have to know how to read or listen. All it really needs is lips that move so that we know it is functioning properly.You know if I were Sadam I would say that America needs a regime change. He would have Americans agree with him on that.I am busy writing people that write on the Internet asking them to write on this new thing I guess might be called, "Biggest minority rule." It sure escaped my attention and I should have known the media would not bring it to anyone's attention. Hell, they would probably say there is nothing new about that. Somehow I thought that the idea of "majority rule" was so universal with even third-world countries using it, that it never crossed my mind that the Fascist had improved Fascist Democracy with their new and improved(for the entrenched rich)"Largest Minority Rule." Boy that media, you would think they are in bed with the guviment.1
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Comment #3 posted by malleus on October 15, 2002 at 09:52:01 PT
And that ain't all...
Think about this: You are a manufacturer in the States. You are wholly dependent upon imported Canadian parts. The parts you need are no longer made in America, thanks to NAFTA. You might get them from Mexico, but the delay is considerably longer.Now, think about this: Since 9/11 business has been severely off. The orders are down, and you are staring bankruptcy in the face. You've already had to let some people, decent, hardworking, reliable employees all, go to join the unemployment line...which is creating a strain on you with unemployment claims.You are hanging on by the skin of your teeth. One more good hard shock and your business goes under.And now, NOW...Uncle wants to choke off the border because of *pot*? When so many business people are in the same boat? When this idiocy starts, we'll see just how committed the business community is to maintaining their 'drug free workplace' when they don't even have a workplace to be 'drug free' in. It's on the auction block to pay bills run up when orders were lost and inventory was depleted.If Ashcroft, who seems to have all the business acumen of a lemonade stand operator, goes through with this nonsense, it won't be like what happened in 1969 and 1985 with the closing of the Mex border. The heavy dependence upon imported parts in this country will ensure that businesses will start to close their doors within days of this action. And the ripple effect from this will be felt in days, if not actually in *hours*. All over a weed.But the worst part is? Ashcroft and his cronies really don't care how many American businesses go under. When you're 'on a mission from God', you don't care about temporal authority unless you are wielding it. He and his nutcase goons would rather the US sink into a 1929 type depression and break apart before they would admit their failure on their Drug war.
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Comment #2 posted by afterburner on October 15, 2002 at 09:12:19 PT:
The United States Is Not United on This Issue.
The Canadian debate and possible changes to the legal code is in response to the Canadian government's acknowledgement of medical marijuana. Health Canada has issued 817 exemptions to medical marijuana users to possess and cultivate their medicine. Eight or more states in the U.S. and several cities have also acknowledged the medical effectiveness of marijuana for HIV/AIDS wasting and appetite stimulation for cancer chemotherapy, among other uses. Research is now underway in Canada and California to study scientifically the anecdotal claims. Meanwhile the U.S. federal government continues to pursue a zero-tolerance policy by destroying state-sanctioned medical marijuana crops. Canada has shown ambivalence about this issue, as well, apparently afraid of losing voter support and influenced by the DEA propaganda machine. The Toronto Compassion Club was raided even before WAMM in California. Who is united with whom? Is it the states brow-beaten by irrational federal laws or the compassionate people of both countries trying to ease human suffering by changing the laws? Trade is not the issue. Canada and the U.S. are both members of NAFTA, and any unreasonable interference with trade is subject to NAFTA tribunals.
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Comment #1 posted by Dark Star on October 15, 2002 at 07:59:05 PT
Challenge to Sovereignty
These Amerikan threats are nothing but bullying tactics. Canada should repudiate this challenge to her sovereignty and call the bluff. 
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