cannabisnews.com: Pipe Dreams





Pipe Dreams
Posted by CN Staff on December 13, 2002 at 16:58:49 PT
By Frank Matys, The Advance 
Source: Barrie Advance
A proposed mellowing of Canadian marijuana laws has sparked a heated debate between friends and foes of the illicit weed. "It's encouraging that they are talking about it, but I still say we need full legalization," said long-time cannabis advocate Ron McInnes. The recommendation that possession of small amounts of pot no longer result in criminal charges was among several released Thursday by a Special Parliamentary Committee tasked with studying illegal drugs. 
It comes just days after federal Justice Minister Martin Cauchon hinted that his government may introduce legislation to decriminalize pot early in the new year. For its part, the parliamentary committee recommends that possession of less than 30 grams no longer be considered a criminal offence. Instead, police would hand out tickets with offenders simply paying a fine. McInnes served four months in jail after being convicted of possession and other charges following an elaborate raid on his home-based business several years ago. A local purveyor of pipes, rolling papers and bongs, he reopened his infamous Pot Shop in Orillia the day after his probationary period ended. While viewing Thursday's announcement as a step in the right direction, McInnes said it falls short of the mark. "I don't think decriminalization is the proper thing to do, it should be legal," he said, adding that the resulting fines could prove to be "a cash cow." If Ottawa is looking for support from the law enforcement community, it won't find it in the front-line officers whose job it is to ferret out fields of "grass" each summer, said OPP Det. Supt. Jim Hutchinson, director of drug enforcement for the OPP. "I don't see any benefit for the community or for policing either," Hutchinson told The Advance. "Some studies suggest marijuana is harmless, but we do not believe that is so. "As far as policing goes, it becomes another drug out there that people have the ability to be impaired by, and so that affects students studying in our schools, it affects people who are operating expensive machinery in our factories, and it affects people who are driving cars." Hutchinson does support efforts to stem the use of drugs like marijuana, but staunchly opposes any move that would lead to a softening of penalties for possession, saying it impairs motivation, judgment and perception. "We are for prevention, education and the rehabilitation of drug users," he said. "To simply allow a person to pay a ticket and a fine is almost like licensing. It does not go towards a decrease in the use of drugs. In fact, it will probably make drugs more available." He also said that any move to dilute pot laws could undo the years of progress police have made in reducing incidents of impaired driving through enforcement efforts and public education campaigns. Without the means to test drivers suspected of being high, officers' hands are tied, he said. "We don't have the equipment or legislation in place to deal with people who are impaired by marijuana." According to Hutchinson, the recent liberalization of marijuana laws to accommodate those with chronic illnesses has already landed some officers in a legal quagmire as they are confronted with situations in which the ill are using their special status to supply others with pot. "It is an enforcement problem in dealing with quantities, with people who are growing it legally and giving it to those who are not allowed to have it," he said. Neither does Hutchinson believe decriminalization of marijuana would free-up resources to deal with so-called "harder" drugs, as has been suggested by some. "We are only talking about simple possession, so certainly our past position would be if laws like that would change, they would also have to put more money into education, rehabilitation, and also increase enforcement on grow houses, commercial trafficking and the production of illicit drugs and give us a stronger position to deal with those issues," he said. At Queen's Park, the call for decriminalization was given a less-than-enthusiastic reception, with Simcoe North MPP Garfield Dunlop reporting that his government isn't about to support relaxed drug laws. At least not at a time when the province is fighting to bring about changes to what it claims is an overly lenient Young Offenders Act, an ineffective gun registry and cushy federal prisons. "It's all about justice and law and order, and they think we shouldn't be weakening a law on marijuana when there are all these other issues outstanding," he said. Though opposed to outright legalization, Dunlop's personal belief is that decriminalization does have merit. "Personally, I wouldn't have a problem with it, because I grew up in an era when a lot of people smoked pot and it hasn't ruined their lives." Among the reports other recommendations is a call for prevention and education programs, the creation of a drug commissioner and $3 million in federal funding annually for the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. Trafficking in the drug would remain a crime. In the past, Justice Minister Cauchon has expressed doubts about the effectiveness of current drug laws, noting a conviction for drug possession results in a criminal record and can lead to a person being barred from professional certification, or from traveling to the U.S.Note: Easing of marijuana laws heats up debate over drugs. Source: Barrie Advance (CN ON)Author: Frank Matys, The Advance Published: December 13, 2002Copyright: 2002 Metroland PrintingContact: editor barrieadvance.comWebsite: http://www.simcoe.com/sc/barrie/Related Articles & Web Sites:Committee Report: Cannabishttp://freedomtoexhale.com/cr.htmCannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmPot Penalties Out of Whack, MPs Say http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14963.shtmlDecriminalize Small Amounts of Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14958.shtmlCommittee To Recommend 30-Gram Pot Limit http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14951.shtml 
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Comment #22 posted by John Tyler on December 14, 2002 at 06:59:28 PT
Thoughts
We have seen this all before, the possibility of decrim. or relegalization is proposed as an alternative to sending people to jail and the prohibitionists go bonkers. The prohibs. usually know little to nothing about cannabis and are proud of it. They just think it is bad because they heard that it was, and if somebody uses it they should be jailed. Most people that have studied the issue with an open mind realize that cannabis has many beneficial qualities and that its use should not be a criminal matter. The prohibs. have to be voted out of office or otherwise dismissed from their decision making positions before things will change. 
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Comment #21 posted by The GCW on December 14, 2002 at 05:14:12 PT
True Crimes - War on Marijuana
http://www.karisable.com/crproartwom.htm
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on December 13, 2002 at 23:33:49 PT
BGreen
That's a nice web site. Glad you're feeling better. We don't get flu shots. I've never gotten one and the last one my husband got made him so sick that we thought it would be better to fight the flu. He just got a Hep A vaccination because he has Hep B we just found out and C and they said at the VA he can't risk getting A. I've had B and probably have C too but I'm healthy. So far so good. Time to get some rest. Talk to you again soon. It will be really nice when we get our chat room that observer and Matt are working on. I don't go to chat rooms but if we get one here I will to say hello and chat a little. There again it is hard to see because the fonts are small in a chat room for me but I will give it a try.
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Comment #19 posted by BGreen on December 13, 2002 at 23:15:46 PT
Here's The Website for The Big Book of Buds
Glad you're feeling better, FoM. I've had the flu this week, even though I had the flu shot. It wasn't very severe, just a fever of 100 degrees, sweats, and chills for three days, and a cough that just lingers, but it was manageable with ibuprofen, and not nearly as bad as I used to feel before I started getting flu shots.
http://www.bigbookofbuds.com
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on December 13, 2002 at 22:57:27 PT
Thanks BGreen
I will remember the name of the book. I dont do much reading except online because I can make the fonts big and I can see ok then. I think my hearing isn't what it was. Today my husband asked me for a tissue and I went and came out with tissues and he said no I said a T shirt. So I learned over and said " Can you hear me now " and we both laughed. I'll soon be blind and deaf and just not mute or I'd be like the three monkeys. See, speak and hear no evil! LOL!PS: I didn't get anywhere to check out the medicine you mentioned but I don't feel bad today. Maybe I got it in check. I hope so. 
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on December 13, 2002 at 22:35:14 PT
Thanks afterburner
Have a nice time at work. I don't have a scanner or a printer. I have a printer but I never took it out of the box. I sure depend on the Internet for everything. I know it isn't hard to post a pic on cann.com's boards. 
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Comment #16 posted by afterburner on December 13, 2002 at 22:30:09 PT:
FoM- scanned photos
I'll try your suggestion on Saturday after I get back from work. Bye for now. Need sleep.
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on December 13, 2002 at 22:21:52 PT
afterburner
I'd like to see the pictures but I'm not sure how because I don't have an email except for receiving different newsgroups. Can you post the scanned pictures on one of the boards on cann.com and then paste the link here? That way others could see them too. If you don't want to that's ok.
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on December 13, 2002 at 22:12:58 PT
Jerr-man 
Thank you. I just went to the site and I had no idea how big it seems. Until I got my satellite I couldn't get around and check out web sites but I will check out the site this weekend when the news is slow and I have some free time. What I just saw was very impressive. 
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Comment #13 posted by BGreen on December 13, 2002 at 22:11:53 PT
According to Ed Rosenthals' *Big Book Of Buds*
Chronic® is a strain developed in 1994 by, and still produced by Serious Seeds in Amsterdam (the strain was re-bred in the late 1990's which "improved both the strength and the resin content.)" "This variety won 3rd place in the 1994 High Times Cannabis Cup in the hyrdro division," according to Rosenthal.The name became a generic word for high quality cannabis because of the hip-hop crowd, much the way Kleenex® and Xerox® are used generically for facial tissues and photocopying. However, this is a case of the brand name being derived from the generic, because, for example, Dr. Dre's 1992 debut album, "The Chronic" show that the generic term was in use at least two years before the brand name product was developed.Hope this was interesting to somebody.All quotes came from Ed Rosenthals' book, "The Big Book of Buds," which, by the way, I purchased at my local Barnes and Noble bookstore.
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Comment #12 posted by afterburner on December 13, 2002 at 22:09:47 PT:
FoM: SUN photos
I wish I could show you the front page of The Toronto Sun, Friday, 13.December.2002. Headline: Yanks cry foul over our plans to decriminalize pot possession, vow increased border security: MERRY CANNABIS!Subheading: T.O. residents cheer fed's moveColour Picture: William Palmer, an HIV sufferer who smokes marijuana legally, holds up a 30-gram bag of pot--the amount the feds say we can carry without going to jail.Nice picture on page 4 too:MP Paddy Torsney holds a copy of her committee's report on the non-medical use of drugs, released in Ottawa yesterday.And, of course, the inevitable story on page 5: Pot-busting operation nets $30M in plants"But with those proposals suggesting possession of 30 grams or less should result in only a ticket from cops, the 30,000 mature marijuana [sic] plants seized in the raids would be attracting police attention, whether the new rules fly or not."The New Rules: has a nice ring to it, nes pa?ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question.BTW: I could scan the photos if I have someplace to send them.
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Comment #11 posted by Jerr-man on December 13, 2002 at 22:04:40 PT
 Chronic clarity
Chronic is a particular type as is noted in this description taken from www.emeryseeds.com  Chronic : Indoor $200 10 seeds (Serious Seeds) 
Mostly Indica. Our most commercial variety. Chronic is the strain to grow when yield and quality are top concerns. Chronic can produce up to 600 gr./sq. meter. A high resin content gives a strong high with a sweet taste and smell. Winner of 3rd Place at the '94 Cannabis Cup, this is the best choice for top producing, top quality bud. Flowering time 8 to 9 weeks. (5-10 veg) Yield 400-600 gr./sq. meter. 
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on December 13, 2002 at 21:33:18 PT
afterburner
He sure did say that and I hope he understands soon that the war on the cannabis plant is the cause for the harm to people on both sides of the border. The Drug War harms society!
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on December 13, 2002 at 21:30:24 PT
druid
Thank you. So Chronic is a term of quality not a particular type right? I've never heard of that term except on line. I've heard of exotic as good versus commercial for a grade type. 
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Comment #8 posted by afterburner on December 13, 2002 at 20:48:56 PT:
One Small Step for John Walters,
 One Giant Leap for Drug Law Reform.NEWS FLASH!!!John Walters accidentally tells the truth."We do not need on either side of the border more of our citizens harmed," Walters told a news conference in Buffalo, N.Y.Darn right, John. Stop caging humans for using a God-given plant. Stop depriving medical cannabis patients of their medicine. Stop denying student loans to people convicted of pot possession. Stop seizing property just because the owner might be a cannabis user. Stop giving young adults a criminal record for a youthful indiscretion. All these things harm our citizens. I'm sure you don't want that, do you, John?Full story:Canada: MPs Push For Looser Laws On Pot Possession http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n2255/a09.html?397
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Comment #7 posted by druid on December 13, 2002 at 20:39:57 PT:
chronic
chronic = big beautiful stinky sticky buds aka kind buds probably like they were producing at WAMM. Sensimilla. Real Cannabis.chronic:http://www.overgrow.com/edge/gallery.php?userid=100&lastpage=1&perpage=9&action=view&sortby=date&in=5NiceYielderSweetCindy99.jpg The opposite of what the government grows in Mississippi. 
schwag:
http://area51.upsu.plym.ac.uk/infoserv/drugs/graphical/cannabis.jpg (notice all the seeds and it looks really dry.)
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on December 13, 2002 at 20:08:08 PT
About 48 Hours
I'm very upset at what I saw. I saw greed. I still don't know exactly what Chronic is. How could any young person be even around over $60,000! They said there was Cocaine involved. Cocaine and a bad additude towards life could have contributed to the murder. I'm afraid of people like all of them that were involved.
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Comment #5 posted by The GCW on December 13, 2002 at 19:50:31 PT
NO research shows need to cage cannabis users.
*Special Parliamentary Committee assessment says stop caging humans for usisng cannabis*The Senate unanimously declares, stop caging humans for using the superplant.*The De Laine commission or what ever says stop caging.·	The 3 Ontario supreme court Justices in that August, said Canada must allow access to sick citizens, or there will be no law against cannabis.·	Keeps on going and ...There are NO studies at all that I am aware of that indicates, SOCIETY MUST CAGE HUMANS FOR USING THE CANNABIS.So why?
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Comment #4 posted by Nasarius on December 13, 2002 at 19:36:33 PT
More logical fallacies c/o the DEA
"Some studies suggest marijuana is harmless, but we do not believe that is so."This is called a 'strawman', kids! First, distort your opponent's argument to make it easier to attack. Then just knock it down!No one in their right mind is going to argue that marijuana is harmless, just as alcohol or tobacco are far from harmless. But what kind of logic allows us to make the jump from "it might hurt you" to "it should be illegal"?"We don't have the equipment or legislation in place to deal with people who are impaired by marijuana."So you need to pass a law (which almost no one would oppose) to extend DWI to all drugs. Where's the problem? Shouldn't these laws be in place anyway, regardless of what's legal and illegal?Is this the best stuff they can come up with?
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on December 13, 2002 at 19:33:53 PT
Thanks p4me
We quick turned it on. It is about money not Cannabis. Prohibition breeds greed!
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Comment #2 posted by p4me on December 13, 2002 at 19:27:11 PT
48 Hours on CBS at 10PM about cannabis/murder
There is a good show on 48 hours about a kid in Virginia that made big money selling chronic and ended up having a dealer killed.1
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Comment #1 posted by aocp on December 13, 2002 at 18:59:28 PT
ban booze
"We are for prevention, education and the rehabilitation of drug users," he said.And once again, i am forced to ask ... why are you not working to ban booze?! Freaking duplicity...
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