cannabisnews.com: U.S. Doesn't Set Our Drug Policies





U.S. Doesn't Set Our Drug Policies
Posted by CN Staff on December 14, 2002 at 09:23:28 PT
Editorial
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist 
The czar of anti-drug enforcement in the U.S. told us Thursday that we in Canada shouldn't lower the penalties for possession of pot because marijuana is bad for us, especially if we're thinking of crossing the border.Just to make sure we heard him, John Walters came all the way from Washington to Buffalo to deliver his message, just as a committee of MPs was recommending that people who possess or cultivate less than 30 grams of pot should not face criminal prosecution, but a fine.
Walters, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, should have saved himself the trip. How we deal with drugs or any other domestic issue is up to us, not the White House. The laws we pass apply to our citizens, and how they are perceived in the U.S. or anywhere else has nothing to do with it.Canadian officials have gone out of their way to be nice to their American counterparts, especially in dealing with cross-border traffic and crime prevention. Only this week, just as Walters was shuffling up to Buffalo, Canadian and American law enforcement agencies were putting the finishing touches on an agreement to allow police in both countries instant access to one another's criminal data bases.Since that Sept. 11, we've co-operated closely with our neighbours' anti-terrorism efforts. We've said we understand the need for better vigilance on our common border. We've agreed to combine military forces when the next terrorist attack comes, either here or there.Walters was way out of line to lecture us about the evils of marijuana -- "it's bad for people in Canada and the consumption and dependence problems it creates" -- because we know it's a problem, if not of the scale as seen from the White House.Walters also said decriminalization in Canada "makes security at the border tougher because this is a dangerous threat to our young people." He's wrong there, too.The changes we're making don't apply to large grow operations, 95 per cent of them, say the RCMP, producing for the U.S. market. They apply only to marijuana grown for personal consumption, and if anyone is silly enough to cross the border with a few joints of it, they deserve what they get.That doesn't mean we should continue to be so lackadaisical in arresting and punishing the growers and traffickers that Walters has reason to be concerned about. National figures for 1999-2000 provided by the Statistics Canada show that only one quarter of those caught trafficking in, growing or importing marijuana were charged. One fifth of those caught with marijuana in their possession were charged.The average sentence for drug trafficking was less than three months; the sentence for simple possession was no more than 15 days. Only one per cent of those charged with trafficking in 2000 ended up in federal penitentiary.Walters would like us to deal more harshly with the traffickers and big-time growers, and we should. But we're dealing with our recreational pot-smokers the way we think is appropriate, and Walters should butt out.Note: If Canada chooses to relax its pot laws, that's no business of the American drug czar.Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)Published: Saturday, December 14, 2002Copyright: 2002 Times ColonistContact: letters times-colonist.comWebsite: http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmU.S. Warns Pot Plan To Clog Border http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14972.shtmlU.S. Drug Czar Slams Proposed Pot Rule Changes http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14970.shtmlLoosen Pot Laws and Face Tighter Border http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14969.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by JSM on December 14, 2002 at 15:59:03 PT
Decrim...
Decrimnalization is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Politicans will use it as an excuse to be much more aggressive towards growers and be able to say "well we have backed off". It is nothing more than an another feel good policy that in reality will change nothing, but will give the impression that laws have been liberalized. So typical and so like politicans.
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Comment #2 posted by Patrick on December 14, 2002 at 14:15:00 PT
The czar of anti-drug enforcement
From Dictionary.com:The word czar can also be spelled tsar. Czar is the most common form in American usage and the one nearly always employed in the extended senses “any tyrant” or informally, “one in authority.” John Walters isn't just "any tyrant!" He is the "tyrant du jour!"
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Comment #1 posted by Duzt on December 14, 2002 at 13:36:31 PT
decrim and what's up walters a**
California already has these same laws they are trying to pass. 28 grams or less is a $100 fine. Ohio is even more liberal, much more actually. So why is Walters so concerned with Canada when we have already done the same thing in many states? More tax money to waste I guess.
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