cannabisnews.com: Reefer Madness Losing its Grip Reefer Madness Losing its Grip Posted by CN Staff on December 23, 2002 at 16:24:37 PT By Trevor Carolan Source: North Shore News News from Ottawa that a parliamentary committee has recommended the decriminalization of marijuana is, well, intoxicating. I mean, we've talked about it since Trudeau's Ledain Commission back in the stone age. The North Shore has always had a particular love affair with the cannabis family, especially its industrial hemp cousins. Until shortly after the Second World War, shipyards here had a special interest in hemp fibres because as Lord Nelson knew, they resist salt water well. If all that second-hand ganja smoke you accidently inhaled made you forget, we built dandy ships around here. Since we're on the cusp of the age of Aquarius, or at least cannabis, we won't debate the why of decriminalization. SFU's star criminologist Neil Boyd has explained the real picture - sans bogus U.S. "war on drugs" propaganda - to us for years. An Ottawa Senate committee recently released an 800-page report that took four years to compile. Their unanimous recommendation? Outright legalization. It's enough to make old potheads flash back. Somebody call Cheech and Chong! In the "my part in Hitler's downfall" department, I'm happy to report that District of North Vancouver council debated decriminalization in January, 1998. Whatever else you think of him, Coun. Ernie Crist had the guts to bring the topic forward for local, public discussion. Normally bashful, I may have even offered a few words on the subject myself. Our resolution called on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to examine the situation mindfully. Amazingly, the Feds sometimes listen. Now, at last, we've come to this. It's a shame Le Grand Pierre isn't around to see how things turned out. Last year at a Vancouver appearance, philosopher/Governor General's handyman John Ralston Saul said, "Reform tends to come when reformers join in the democratic process." That makes good sense. Let's teach it in every classroom. Why? History shows the wheels of justice move slowly, but that if you're willing to put your shoulder to it, things do change - often for the better. In 1995, 31,299 minor cannabis possession charges were brought before Canadian courts. That's an unholy strain on our legal system for a rap that, unlike tobacco, is non-addictive and that appears to pose less health risk than booze. Estimated costs for police and judicial work regarding cannabis-related charges were in the vicinity of $280 million. It's conjectured that when the $46,000 annual cost per jailbird is factored in, our Canadian government typically spends over $900 million a year on the cannabis suppression business. $900 million? Holy smoke! That's not a war on drugs: it's a bureaucratic industry. But that's another story - how smart cops in the pot-happy '60s understood that the big budget future wasn't in busting the nation's few junkies (who willingly stick needles into themselves anyway: it hurts); it was hassling young folks for "Maui-wowie." Disciplining legions of young and young-at-heart potheads took manpower, lots of it, and vehicles, radios, equipment, big budgets. It was an empire-builder's dream - and many a parent's nightmare. Drug war headlines always involved Mafia cocaine cartels, but for too long the real story was pinching your neighbour's kid for holding a few joints. That phony war has finally collapsed under its own hypocrisy. But not before it turned the cheesy weed we toked in the '60s at $15 an ounce into a scientifically high-octane commodity worth 20 times that now, and so potent it causes former Panama Red types to dematerialize. It's not for nothing that when you've got a product generating untaxed mega-millions, the government starts casting a gentler eye upon the situation. Roy Romanow's red-hot report on Canada's health-care crisis says we need $7 billion to sustain our besieged medicare system. Since we're decriminalizing pot, with the inevitable step to licensing and controlled selling of it Amsterdam-style, let's tell Ottawa to kick the immediate savings on legal, policing and prison costs, as well as whatever profits the next step raises, and use them to fund health-care improvements in this country for the folks who built it with their honourable sweat and labour. We can start with Lions Gate Hospital. That's this old former head's patriotic suggestion. Beam me up, Scotty! And a happy and holy Christmas to all. Source: North Shore News (CN BC)Author: Trevor Carolan Published: Monday, December 23, 2002 Copyright: 2002 North Shore NewsContact: editor nsnews.comWebsite: http://www.nsnews.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmDecriminalizing Marijuana is a Pragmatic Step http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15033.shtmlWe Make Our Own Laws in Canada http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15032.shtmlDecriminalize Marijuana Now http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14996.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by mayan on December 23, 2002 at 18:52:22 PT The RAVE Act The RAVE Act is dead...for now - http://www.nomoredrugwar.org/music/rave_act.htmThanks for the info FoM! Here's an article some here may find interesting. It's regarding a D.A.R.E. instructor who was arrested for possession and use of illegal drugs... http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1040383261185570.xmlThe way out is the way in - The 9/11 Conspiracy: http://members.aol.com/sneiracs/911.htmAftermath: Unanswered Questions from 9/11(QuickTime Video, parts 1-4) http://www.guerrillanews.com/after_math/The 9/11 Truth Movement - Selected Resources for Researchers and Activists: http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/LEV212A.html9/11 "Conspiracies" and the Defactualisation of Analysis: http://www.mediamonitors.net/mosaddeq37.html9/11 Skeptics Unite: http://www.osamaskidneys.com/links.htmlPaul Thompson's Complete 9/11 Timeline: http://cooperativeresearch.org/completetimeline/The People's Investigation of 9/11: http://www.911pi.com/More 9/11 Links: http://www.keystonereport.com/911.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on December 23, 2002 at 18:06:10 PT O'Reilly Factor about Marijuana Hi Everyone,I was going thru the TV channels and caught someone being interviewed by O'Reilly about Marijuana. I only heard the last two minutes or so. I have no idea who the person was that was interviewed but if you get O'Reilly later you might want to check it out. It is towards the end of the show if you don't want to watch the whole thing. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on December 23, 2002 at 17:56:20 PT News Brief from The Canadian Press Hamm Backs Pot Access Monday, December 23, 2002 Canadian PressNew Glasgow, N.S. — Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm says he'd like to see marijuana treated like other drugs used to treat people suffering acute pain.Canadians have to apply for a formal medical exemption before they are legally permitted to use pot.Mr. Hamm said in an interview Monday that marijuana should not be regulated any differently than medications such as morphine or dilaudid.Those drugs are available when a doctor prescribes them."If it has medical benefits and it is apparent now that it does, then it should be handled the way we handle any other medication that comes on the market," he said.He said some prescription drugs can be castastrophic on the street, but very useful when prescribed to medicate pain."They should remain available to those with those kinds of illnesses."The Premier also said he agrees with plans to decriminalize marijuana.He said pot shouldn't be legalized, but people who possess small amounts should not be classified as criminals. 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