cannabisnews.com: Panelists Debate Pot Use





Panelists Debate Pot Use
Posted by CN Staff on March 18, 2003 at 10:13:21 PT
By Rob O’Flanagan, The Sudbury Star 
Source: Sudbury Star 
Local News - The confusion surrounding the issue of decriminalizing marijuana was apparent Monday during a roundtable discussion at the Elizabeth Fry Society. The conflicting opinions and research presented during the day-long session demonstrated just how divisive the issue is. Barry Burkholder, an advocate for the legalization of pot for medicinal use, and Const. Robert Brunette, a Greater Sudbury Police crime prevention officer, delivered diametrically opposed addresses. 
During the discussion, Burkholder, who does not support the recreational use of pot, said there is ample evidence to show that pot is excellent for pain management. Using pot has allowed him to return to work, he said, and helps him manage the chronic pain and nausea related to Hepatitis C, meningitis and a spinal injury. Research, Burkholder added, has shown that THC (dronabinol) — the active chemical agent in marijuana — inhibits cancer tumour growth. That research, he said, has been suppressed by government officials in Canada and the United States. Burkholder’s most controversial statements revolved around what he called the duplicitous relationship between the federal government and pharmaceutical companies. If pot was legalized, he said, the companies would lose billions in prescription drug profits. The government is stalling legalization to give those companies time to develop a “pill or puffer that they can sell for huge profits,” he said. More research needed? Health Canada, he added, argues that more research must be done on marijuana to determine its medicinal benefits. But a considerable amount of pot research must have been done to develop Marinol — a synthetic THC used to treat the symptoms of cancer and HIV/AIDS. Tens of thousands of Canadians die each year from alcohol, tobacco and prescription drug use, Burkholder said, but pot is relatively harmless. “No one has ever died of pot,” he said. Brunette countered Burkholder’s arguments, using mostly Health Canada sources. Pot, he said, is as addictive as alcohol and tobacco, and legalizing it would multiply the social and health problems linked to legal drugs. THC, Brunette said, increases the growth of cancer cells, and pot use has been linked to fatal motor vehicle collisions. Marinol, he added, is a viable alternative to the medicinal use of marijuana, an argument rejected by Burkholder, who said Marinol users suffer severe side-effects, particularly a heightened sense of paranoia. “Why legalize something that is even worse than alcohol and tobacco,” Brunette said. “We already have two bad problems, let’s not add another one.” Young people are getting highly confused messages about pot-smoking, Brunette said. The perception that the drug is harmless has led to more widespread use, he said. Quoting Health Canada sources, Brunette said that young people who smoke pot are 85 times more susceptible to using other, harder drugs than those who never smoke pot do. Pot is, in fact, a “gateway drug,” Brunette said, an argument flatly denied by legalization advocates. After a three-year battle in the courts, Burkholder was granted a one-year medical exemption for marijuana use in August, 2001, which allowed him to grow, possess and use the substance. The exemption has since expired, and Burkholder says that Health Canada has made the process of renewing it a nightmare. Issue ‘too political’ “When I first applied for an exemption, the form was one page long,” Burkholder said. “Now it’s 52 pages, and it’s almost impossible to find doctors and specialists who have the time and the willingness to fill it out. “The issue is too political for them to touch and they are scared they could lose their (medical) licences or face higher insurance rates.” Burkholder incurred $30,000 in legal fees and lost his home during the first court battle, but said he will return to the courts for a second battle, preferring the justice system to applying for an exemption, which he claimed has become an increasingly frustrating exercise. “More people have won exemptions in court than by going through this ridiculous process,” he said. “A lot of people die waiting for an exemption.” It is a myth that police resources would be freed up if pot were legalized, Brunette said. Possession charges for pot are usually the result of broader investigations related to more serious crimes, he said. Young people who are convicted of pot possession, he said, are not branded criminals for life, as some argue. They can apply for a pardon. Note: Police officer says it’s ‘a gateway drug.’ Advocate says ‘no one has ever died of pot’ Source: Sudbury Star (CN ON)Author: Rob O’Flanagan, The Sudbury Star Published: Tuesday, March 18, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Sudbury StarContact: letters thesudburystar.comWebsite: http://www.thesudburystar.comRelated Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmThe Catch-22 of Compassion http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15592.shtml Pot Laws Unworkable http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15360.shtmlDecriminalization of Cannabis Makes Sensehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14992.shtml
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Comment #26 posted by freedom fighter on March 19, 2003 at 09:53:26 PT
Pardon me!
"Young people who are convicted of pot possession, he said, are not branded criminals for life, as some argue. They can apply for a pardon."That's crazy! It is okay to arrest and throw a person in a cage, branded for life because this lap dog says they can apply for a pardon?????Why arrest that person first place? Pardon me!!The debate should be about this "POLICEMAN"'s vested interests of being a lap dog for the "Drug" companies that are "LEGAL".Pardon me, but I sure do not recall any MARINOL drug dealers applying for pardon. ff
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Comment #25 posted by Truth on March 19, 2003 at 08:32:28 PT
War
There are two immoral wars in the haps, the war on cannabis users and the war on Iraq. Both are being waged by the same man. Both have the petro-chemical industry as their biggest supporters. Both of these wars are about oil. Oil that fuels our lives. We will never win the war against cannabis users if we kiss the butts of the petro-chemical empire. End both wars.
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Comment #24 posted by The GCW on March 19, 2003 at 04:53:46 PT
Superior citizens are ending cannabis prohibition.
There IS some confusion... BUT it's NOT surrounding the issue of decriminalizing marijuana !!!THE ISSUE IS THE CAGE.Should society indulge in the practice of caging humans that choose to use cannabis?Superior citizens do not support caging humans for using a plant.If We let a government oppress people that choose to use cannabis, what will that government do in its extremity to the rest of society?
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on March 18, 2003 at 21:21:27 PT
Thanks afterburner & observer
Here's our copy and the page with all the articles and pictures I have so far on Ed Rosenthal's Trial. I haven't updated it for a few days but I will when I get a few more articles.U.S. Drug Net Snares State-Backed Grower: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread15684.shtmlEd Rosenthal's Trial Pictures & Articles: http://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htm
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Comment #22 posted by afterburner on March 18, 2003 at 21:09:32 PT:
Both Sides of Ed Rosenthal's Story.
United States: Conviction may have created a medical marijuana martyr http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/article/grandforks5205.htmego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question.
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Comment #21 posted by observer on March 18, 2003 at 20:45:49 PT
content analysis ... drugwar_propaganda = 100%
 asserted: $propaganda_theme2 at 100% ("cancer" "problems" "addictive" "paranoia" "perception"), 6 hits asserted: $propaganda_theme4 at 100% ("gateway drug" "gateway" "pot use"), 5 hits asserted: $propaganda_theme5 at 60% ("Young people"), 2 hits asserted: $propaganda_theme7 at 70% ("legalizing" "legalize" "legalization" $legalization), 3 hits[themes: http://drugwarpropaganda.gotdns.org/ ]
breaking pot news http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pot
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Comment #20 posted by Nuevo Mexican on March 18, 2003 at 20:29:15 PT
Sam Adams:How long will we have to live with this?
Here's the link for the "The Idiot Prince will Have His War" 
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/031703_rolling_start.html
Where's my duct tape? 
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on March 18, 2003 at 18:49:00 PT
A Very Big Favor
You know I appreciate all of you and I need to ask a favor. Could we please not go off on anti war talk because this is about Cannabis. I know we might not have many comments then but that's ok. We will again. I really am not an anti war protester but I am following the war closely. I'd rather not be talking about it here. The chat room can be used by anyone that wants to talk about the war. Here is the link and I sure hope you understand. If the war gets really bad CannabisNews could just stop for a while even though I don't think that will happen. Here is the link and talk away if you want in the chat.http://www.cannabisnews.com/chat/
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Comment #18 posted by mayan on March 18, 2003 at 18:13:55 PT
Stand or Fall
This war will be the end of the two-party system. When all is said and done, the republicrats will have lost the last of their credibility. This decade will make the sixties look like the fifties. This time we will do it right!
Now is not the time to be silent. Now, more than ever, we must make ourselves heard! If we cave in to fear, we will lose everything worth fighting for. It's stand up now, or lay down later. Which will it be?Here comes revolution...absolution!!!Anti-war activists plan wide variety of protests:
http://www.insidevc.com/vcs/national/article/0,1375,VCS_123_1820059,00.htmlAnti-war axis hits back at US:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2860629.stmBlair should fear eloquent Cook:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2859183.stmResignations and Leaks in U.S. State Department Signal Growing Internal Dissent Against Iraq War:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0303/S00139.htmA Letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush on the Eve of War:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.phpJohn Kaminski: Open Letter To The American People
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0303/S00140.htmKaminski's Best 9/11 Sites — 4th Edition:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0302/S00024.htmImpeach the Shrub! 
http://www.votetoimpeach.org/
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Comment #17 posted by Sam Adams on March 18, 2003 at 17:18:42 PT
Nuevo Mexican
Where is the rest of the "empire in decline" piece?  I clicked the links and looked around but could not find that article.  
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Comment #16 posted by ekim on March 18, 2003 at 16:51:33 PT
http://www.thomhartmann.com
Most Americans remember his office for the security of the homeland,
known as the Reichssicherheitshauptamt and its SchutzStaffel, simply
by its most famous agency's initials: the SS.We also remember that the Germans developed a new form of highly
violent warfare they named "lightning war" or blitzkrieg, which,
while generating devastating civilian losses, also produced a highly
desirable "shock and awe" among the nation's leadership according
to the authors of the 1996 book "Shock And Awe" published by the
National Defense University Press.Reflecting on that time, The American Heritage Dictionary (Houghton
Mifflin Company, 1983) left us this definition of the form of
government the German democracy had become through Hitler's close
alliance with the largest German corporations and his policy of
using war as a tool to keep power: fas-cism (fbsh'iz'em) n. A system
of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right,
typically through the merging of state and business leadership,
together with belligerent nationalism."Today, as we face financial and political crises, it's useful to
remember that the ravages of the Great Depression hit Germany and
the United States alike. Through the 1930s, however, Hitler and
Roosevelt chose very different courses to bring their nations back
to power and prosperity.Germany's response was to use government to empower corporations
and reward the society's richest individuals, privatize much of the
commons, stifle dissent, strip people of constitutional rights, and
create an illusion of prosperity through continual and ever-expanding
war. America passed minimum wage laws to raise the middle class,
enforced anti-trust laws to diminish the power of corporations,
increased taxes on corporations and the wealthiest individuals,
created Social Security, and became the employer of last resort
through programs to build national infrastructure, promote the arts,
and replant forests.To the extent that our Constitution is still intact, the choice is
again ours.===Thom Hartmann lived and worked in Germany during the 1980s, and is
the author of over a dozen books, including "Unequal Protection"
and "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight."  This article is copyright
by Thom Hartmann, but permission is granted for reprint in print,
email, blog, or web media so long as this credit is attached.http://www.thomhartmann.com
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Comment #15 posted by afterburner on March 18, 2003 at 16:39:53 PT:
Another State Victory.
More fuel to the fires of freedom. More reason for a national Cannabis Party."Minor parties focusing on single issues often have succeeded in their goal, even when they do not win elections. Abolition of slavery, homesteading, income taxes and Prohibition were all issues raised by minor parties."-Minor Parties in the United States http://www.boogieonline.com/revolution/politics/thirdp.htmlHigher Ground with Dj B.O.B.
bob's birthday [February 6, 1945] http://www.pot-tv.net/ram/pottvshowse537.ram Kick back with DJ BOB as he celebrates Bob Marleys 56th Birthday. Live Marley video footage mixed up with DJ BOB'S usual thoughts and comments. Give thanks and Praises"You waste my coin, Sam, all you can ^^^ 
to jail my fellow man. ^^^ 
For smokin' of the noble weed ^^^ 
you need much more than hemp. ^^^ 
You've been telling lies so long ^^^ 
some believe they're true ^^^ 
so they close their eyes to things ^^^ 
you have no right to do." - "Don't step on the Grass, Sam", John Kay, (recorded by Steppenwolf) - Missive for a More Peaceful Time http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread15738.shtml#11
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Comment #14 posted by Nuevo Mexican on March 18, 2003 at 16:36:55 PT
Fantastic news FOM, GO Maryland!
Check this insiders view out:tHE IDIOT PRINCE WILL HAVE HIS WAR""The Bush regime seems to have a clear understanding of what desperate straits they were in well before 9-11. The empire is in decline, and this means Americans will have to reconcile themselves to a new world in which their profligate lifestyle becomes a thing of the past. Americans do not understand that this is an irremediable situation. That is why we are witnessing the beginning of what is possibly the most dangerous period in human history." http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=245319&group=webcastInstant protests threatened when attacks start http://www.guardian.co.uk/antiwar/story/0,12809,916477,00.html
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on March 18, 2003 at 16:03:54 PT
Good News! 
House Passes Medical Marijuana BillMarch 18, 2003ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Medical marijuana has the approval of the House of Delegates. The House voted Tuesday afternoon to approve a bill that would dramatically reduce penalties for Marylanders who use marijuana for medical reasons. The bill had bipartisan support and passed 73 to 62. It would allow people charged with possession of small amounts of marijuana to present evidence that they have a medical condition that can be helped by smoking pot. 
The maximum penalty for possession of marijuana for medical purposes would be a $100 fine. There would be no jail term. The bill now heads to the Senate. Last year, similar legislation also passed the House but was killed in a Senate committee. Copyright: 2003 The Associated Press
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on March 18, 2003 at 15:51:26 PT
Nuevo Mexican 
I know there won't be any progress with Cannabis reform during the war. I doubt that there will be many articles to post so it will be a big wait and see. I think it is going to be very bad for everyone. I didn't believe I would live to see the day when anything like this would happen but here it is. I know the draft won't be far behind when many boys get killed. I pray for all the young men that might lose their life and not just Americans. 
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Comment #11 posted by Nuevo Mexican on March 18, 2003 at 15:21:26 PT
Cannabis war ends when war ends, no sooner!
As long as we tolerate the huge crimes of humanity, bush dropping bombs on innocent women and children and the like, smaller crimes like incarcerating sick and dying Cannabis patients will continue. It is time to focus our efforts on stopping bush, and the cannabis issue will resolve itself. Prioritize, organize, and overthrow. Then when we indulge, we will actually get 'high' and not just be medicating.from a previous post: This so called W-ar, it keeps getting postponed, and will continue to do so. You don't start anything on a full moon, except a revolution! Don't buy into the war 'matrix' as it is a 'pre-programmed response', and is designed to force resignation upon those opposed to war. This will be the first war we stop! If you haven't noticed, it was supposed to start yesterday, the 17th, then a week before that, so forth and so on. We're stopping the war every day that we stand on the corner with 10 or so folks as 20,000 cars pass by at 5 mph, reading our signs that say, Don't kill for oil, viva la France, exile bush and saddam, 
indymedia.org etc. Education is all it takes, and the kind of dedication you have to this website is the same amount of dedication millions have to stopping bush. So don't buy into the 'war' as it isn't a war when you drop 3000 1 million dollar bombs, the equivalent of Hiroshima, without the nukes, in 48 hours, on innocent civilians, over 50 percent that are children. This is a massacre, a blood-bath, mass-murder, with OUR tax dollars, and complicity, if we don't do everything within our power to stop this rush to madness. The UN just released a report that says 10 million Iraqis will starve in the aftermath of the illegal, unconstitutional, un-American bomb-fest!
Go to: votetoimpeach.org your local indymedia.org unitedforpeace.org internationalanswer.org notinourname.netWEDNESDAY, MARCH 19: No Business as Usual! No War on Iraq! WALKOUTS AND PROTESTSPEACE!
 
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Comment #10 posted by Industrial Strength on March 18, 2003 at 14:09:14 PT
what?
"THC, Brunette said, increases the growth of cancer cells ... Marinol, he added, is a viable alternative to the medicinal use of marijuana..."Argh! You don't even need to say anything about that except Argh!.
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Comment #9 posted by 312 on March 18, 2003 at 14:05:02 PT
No free press
ART SPIEGELMAN, CARTOONIST FOR THE NEW YORKER, RESIGNS IN PROTEST AT CENSORSHIP
Source: Corriere Della Sera (Milan)
Pub date: March 13, 2003Art Spiegelman decided to leave The New Yorker in protest at what he calls "the widespread conformism of the mass media in the Bush era." "The decision to leave was mine alone," the author of Maus, (the saga of Jewish mice exterminated by Nazi cats that won him the Pulitzer Prize -- the first ever awarded for a comic book), explained in an interview with Corriere della Sera. "The editor of the The New Yorker, David Remnick, was shocked when I announced my resignation. He attempted to dissuade me. But I told him that the kind of work that I'm now interested in doing is not suited to the present tone of The New Yorker. And seeing that we are living in extremely dangerous times, I don't feel like stooping to compromise." (Q) Do you consider yourself a victim of September 11? "Exactly so. From the time that the Twin Towers fell, it seems as if I've been living in internal exile, or like a political dissident confined to an island. I no longer feel in harmony with American culture, especially now that the entire media has become conservative and tremendously timid. Unfortunately, even The New Yorker has not escaped this trend: Remnick is unable to accept the challenge, while, on the contrary, I am more and more inclined to provocation." (Q) What kind of provocation? "I am working on the sixth installment of my new strip, 'In the shadow of no tower,' inspired both by memories of September 11 -- on that day, I had just left my apartment, a few steps from the tragedy -- and a present in which one feels equally threatened by both Bush and bin Laden. The series was commissioned by the German newspaper Die Zeit, but here in the USA, only the Jewish magazine The Forward has agreed to publish it." (Q) Did you feel snubbed by the refusal of The New Yorker to publish it? "Not at all. I knew from the beginning that the tone and content of the strip -- which, at this point in time, is of most importance to me -- were not in harmony with The New Yorker. A wonderful magazine, mind you, with delightful and refined covers, but also incredibly deferential to the present administration. If I were content to draw harmless strips about skateboarding and shopping in Manhattan, there would have been no problem; but, now, my inner life is inflamed with much different issues." (Q) For what do you reproach The New Yorker? For marching to the same beat as the New York Times and all the other great American media that don't criticize the government for fear that the administration will take revenge by blocking their access to sources and information. Mass media today is in the hands of a limited group of extremely wealthy owners whose interests don't coincide at all with those of the average soul living in a country where the gap between rich and poor is now unbridgeable. In this context, all criticism of the administration is automatically branded unpatriotic and un-American. Our media choose to ignore news that in the rest of the world receives wide prominence; if it were not for the Internet, even my view of the world would be extremely limited." (Q) Then the Bush revolution has triumphed? "Yes. In Reagan's time, 'liberal' was a dirty word and to be accused of such an offense was an insult. In the Bush Jr. era, the radical right so overwhelmingly dominates the debate that the Democrats have all had to move to the right just to be able to continue the conversation." (Q) Will The New Yorker be the same without Spiegelman? "The New Yorker existed long before I came on board. The great majority of the readers who adore the warm and relaxing bath of their accustomed New Yorker were very upset by the 'shock treatment' of my covers. Those readers will feel more at ease with the calm and submissive New Yorker of the tradition which, since the 1920s, mixed intelligence, sophistication, snobbery, and complaisance with the status quo. Every time that I put pencil to paper, I was flooded with letters of protest." (Q) Which of your works caused the most controversy? "The cover with the atomic bomb issued on the 4th of July. The one from last Thanksgiving where turkies fell from military aircraft. The only one universally well-received was the Sept. 24 cover with the Twin Towers in two-toned black. The censorship of my work began as soon as I first set foot in the magazine, long before the 11th of September." (Q) What kind of censorship? "Large and small. For the Thanksgiving cover with turkies dropped in the place of bombs, I chose the title 'Operation Enduring Turkey' to mimic 'Operation Enduring Freedom' then begun by America in Afghanistan. But David Remnick forced me to change the title." (Q) Is it possible that the media is more reactionary than their readers? "I don't think so at all, not after reading in the polls that George W. Bush is the most admired man in America. The world I see is very different from what they see. Those who think like me are condemned to the margins because the critical alternative press of the Vietnam War era no longer exists. The NYT chose to remain silent about the enormous protest marches that took place during the summer; and the readers of The Nation, the only major publication with any guts, are at most 50 thousand: that's nothing in a country as large as ours." (Q) What does your wife Francoise Moulay, the artistic director of The New Yorker, think of all this? She thinks that I've left her at The New Yorker as a hostage, but I don't think she wants to follow my example. Sometimes, I think I would like to emigrate to Europe; and seeing that in America they won't even let me smoke, the temptation is very great." Q) Your plans after The New Yorker? "In May, at the Nuage Gallery in Milano, there will be an exhibition that covers my ten years at The New Yorker. Ten is a better number than eleven and, who knows, perhaps I left the magazine simply because it better suited the book and catalog that accompany the exhibition. (Unoffical translation from the Italian; a slightly different version appeared on the weblog bunnymechanics.com) 
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Comment #8 posted by afterburner on March 18, 2003 at 13:56:26 PT:
Thanks, TecHnoCult.
But I'm just passing it along from Virgil. Glad you liked it.Keep the faith, and keep on truckin'.ego destruction and ego transcendence, that is the question (man, woman, or nation).
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Comment #7 posted by TecHnoCult on March 18, 2003 at 13:52:49 PT
The Arrogant Empire
afterbuner,Excellent article! I sent that to a few people. Thank you for posting the link!THC
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Comment #6 posted by lombar on March 18, 2003 at 13:50:51 PT
Maybe one day the police will be credible
"Brunette countered Burkholder’s arguments, using mostly Health Canada sources. Pot, he said, is as addictive as alcohol and tobacco, and legalizing it would multiply the social and health problems linked to legal drugs. "The 'adding to the mix ' argument holds about as much water as a collander. The statistics show that use is relatively widespread already (2 million Canadians, 70 million americans...) so it's 'in the mix' already. What about the social costs of having POLICE exagerate (or outright lie) to maintain their power? (and incarcerate thousands per year?) Or when public policies are based upon fear and racism? Let's not even mention that the statement about addiction is false.“Why legalize something that is even worse than alcohol and tobacco,” Brunette said. “We already have two bad problems, let’s not add another one.” And the research to back up this claim is...NON-EXISTANT. This is precisely the kind of BS the totally undermines any public confidence in the police. "Young people are getting highly confused messages about pot-smoking, Brunette said. The perception that the drug is harmless has led to more widespread use, he said. "At least they might be getting the message that the Canadian Government has identified the injustices caused by prohibiting a herb. The message of the cop is clear, "The police know better than the pesky Senate and YOU"."It is a myth that police resources would be freed up if pot were legalized, Brunette said. Possession charges for pot are usually the result of broader investigations related to more serious crimes, he said. "Nice try copper, here he is trying to say that users of cannabis are usually gulity of more serious crimes and that marijuana is just an added charge. A back door attempt at implying that cannabis consumers are criminals(beyond the use of cannabis). I'm afraid that this officer is the one spreading myths. If they do not spend millions busting grow ops, and court time for cannabis related charges, how does that NOT free up police resources???"Public policy based on guiding principles However much we might wish good health and happiness for everyone, we all know how fragile they are. Above all, we realize that health and happiness cannot be forced on a person, especially not by criminal law based on a specific concept of what is morally ‘right’. No matter how attractive calls for a drug-free society might be, and even if some people might want others to stop smoking, drinking alcohol, or smoking joints, we all realize that these activities are part of our social reality and the history of humankind. 
"
http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/Committee_SenRep.asp?Language=E&Parl=37&Ses=1&comm_id=85
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Comment #5 posted by afterburner on March 18, 2003 at 13:48:20 PT:
Our Own People.
Donald Rumsfeld often quotes a line from Al Capone: "You will get more with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone." But should the guiding philosophy of the world's leading democracy really be the tough talk of a Chicago mobster? In terms of effectiveness, this strategy has been a disaster. It has alienated friends and delighted enemies. -"The Arrogant Empire"- http://www.msnbc.com/news/885222.asp?0cv=KA01Steven and Michelle Kubby, WAMM, Brian Epis, Ed Rosenthal, Jeff Jones, paraphernalia entrepreneurs, how many more American citizens?ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question.
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Comment #4 posted by Virgil on March 18, 2003 at 13:31:52 PT
P.S. to comment2
Of course War on Drugs is a nonsensical term because it all but ignores T&A and addressing those two substances and ignoring everything else makes much more sense than what we are doing now.This article says DU (depleted uraanium) is a nonsensical term because it is actually enriched uranium- http://www.counterpunch.org/boje03182003.htmlThis is not just war, it is Nuclear war. the fantasy being spread in the media is that this is some kind of surgical, bloodless war. In point of fact, the USA manufacturers and sells "Enriched" (not depleted) Uranium. 320 tons of Enriched Uranium were put into USA munitions, and another 800 tons just dropped onto the civilian population and battlefield, and get this, onto our own GI's.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on March 18, 2003 at 12:12:31 PT
Here's Where I've Been Finding Non Cannabis News
I'm checking Google Top Stories anymore as much as I look for news to post. My husband and I are quietly getting ready for whatever might happen without going overboard. I do worry about Internet activity being interrupted. I hope that doesn't happen. Stay safe everyone.http://news.google.com/news/gnmainleftnav.html
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Comment #2 posted by Virgil on March 18, 2003 at 12:00:35 PT
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms
For the government to take away a person's freedom to use/grow cannabis the government needs a reason. Now somewhere there should be a formalized reason after 80 years of prohibition to explain it to the people why there freedom is limited.At least in the United States, they take an almost harmless plant, especially if it is not smoked, and definitely valuable and beneficial when eaten as food and demonize it under the arguement its use is drug abuse. Now this completely turns things upside down because cannabis is part of the solution to drug abuse and not addition to it.The argument that T&A is legal so why legalize cannabis is just stupid in asking. First there is the freedom issue that says it is irrelevant. Then their is the issue of why the United States government pushes tobacco like in Vietnam by threatening trade sanctions if tobacco is limited. There is the issue of why the government allows alcohol advertising at all much less without a serious warning label or countertime for prevention paid by the alcohol pushers that use almost every sporting event on television when it is the most harmful drug to society and the stir that got the prohibition bandwagon rolling in the first place.There is the issue of why this journalist cannot say what I said and put the nonsense/noise to rest and lets get on to really being honest about the harms of drugs and limiting their abuse.Of course if their were real journalism, we would be focusing on other problems instead of the cannabis debate that occassionally breaks the silence. Now take the issue of how we care about the Iraqi's so much that we are going to liberate them by killing their citizens with depleted uranium after not allowing them the funds to clean up the environmentsal disaster of the first Gulf War that resulted when our diplomats signaled we would not intervene if they once again reunited Kuwait into Iraq's territory like it was after WW1 until 1922. http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/20180/story.htmNow in this article they say a radioactive substance is not dangerous and a heavy metal that is inert and cannot be flush by the body like lead and mercury is not dangerous. Marijuana is dangerous but vaporized uranium is not dangerous. A person has to be a fool someone must be to believe the government lines. And then they talk about educating every child and bringing retards up to grade level under a fancy term like "No child left behind" when half of all adults cannot read on an eight grade level. It joins other nonsensical terms like "compassionate conservatism", "partial-birth abortion", "Tort reform for medical malpractice suits", "enacted campaing finance reform legislation", "responsive government", "a free press".The real problem is we are drowning in bullshit and no one with authority is talking any sense. You could include lying like the Great Dickhead did last night- http://www.weeklylowdown.com/031703spec.shtmlAnd if you are in a reading mood I would recommend this article titled,"The Arrogant Empire"- http://www.msnbc.com/news/885222.asp?0cv=KA01
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Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on March 18, 2003 at 10:50:13 PT
Canadians
Let's hope Canadians can see the big picture here: a very sick man, barely able to function, has to argue with a cop to get medicine. The question is not how addictive MJ is, or whether it's a gateway. The issue is do want police controlling your medicine? Do you trust them? Are they qualified? 
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