cannabisnews.com: Canada's Marijuana Haven Canada's Marijuana Haven Posted by CN Staff on April 30, 2003 at 08:09:22 PT By Jason Botchford, Special to The Free Press Source: London Free Press Marijuana crusader Marc Emery, a former Londoner now widely recognized as B.C.'s "prince of pot," has long predicted his favourite weed would be decriminalized. "There's been a breakthrough in medical use. I haven't been arrested in three years and the mayor of Vancouver, who used to crusade against me, is now saying legalization is inevitable," he told The Free Press two years ago. For 17 years, Emery was known as the gregarious, outrageously opinionated founder and owner of City Lights Book Shop on Richmond Street in downtown London. Now 45 and living in Vancouver, he's one of the world's biggest dealers in marijuana seeds, publisher of Cannabis Culture magazine, founder of Pot-TV on the Internet and president of the B.C. Marijuana Party, which ran candidates in all 79 ridings in the last provincial election. After doing battle with the police and courts for nearly a decade, Emery can point to signs his decriminalization dream may come true sooner than later. The commanding officer of the Vancouver police vice and drug section, the man who is on the front line of the country's fiercest battle against marijuana growers, believes the drug should be legalized. Not an easy position for one of Canada's top cops. But Insp. Kash Heed has rarely done anything the easy way. He is one of a select few on the prosecution side of the drug war willing to think outside the box, conventional wisdom be damned. "I think I give more of a contemporary solution," said Heed, an unflinching cop who has been thrust into the headlines and turned into a quasi-celebrity because of his policing methods. "Sometimes it's not appreciated by others, people in policing. Sometimes I even have problems convincing people in my own organization. "But the prohibition of marijuana use has been a failure." Heed now concentrates his policing efforts on "grow operations" and has just about given up on possession. When it comes to marijuana growth in B.C. during the past decade, the statistics the police arm themselves with are utterly overwhelming. In 1991, the Vancouver police drug unit busted 23 grow operations estimated to be worth $2.6 million. In 2001, led by Heed, they took out 635 with a value of $160 million -- unquestionably a lot but a staggeringly minute percentage of what the police claim is being grown each year. How much pot is being grown in B.C.? No one really knows. The province's Organized Crime Agency has studied the issue and estimates the pot industry wholesale at $6 billion. That would place it among the largest industries in the province, comparable in size to logging and forest products ($5.6 billion), mining ($3.7 billion) and manufacturing ($3.4 billion). The OCA estimates there are 25,000 provincial grow operations employing up to 150,000 people, making marijuana one of the province's biggest employers. The OPP estimates the scale of Ontario's operations is three years behind British Columbia. Police in Ontario have been calling Heed, "especially in the past year," trying to understand the problems they are now facing. "It was British Columbia's problem for years. But once the problem went east of the Rockies, it became Canada's problem," Heed said. "Now they will begin to see what we have been dealing with." Heed has sided with pro-marijuana lobby groups in a belief the only way to stop the crime associated with marijuana, the only way to take out the organized crime, is to legalize it. Pot smokers call B.C.'s biggest city Vansterdam, a sly reference to Europe's marijuana utopia in Holland. It lives up to the name. In Vancouver, on a spring-like winter day, tourists are baffled when they walk along the shopping district on Robson Street, following long trails of pot smoke as police stand idly by. On a weekend evening, Colin wants to score some pot on his way home from watching a high school basketball game. He stops in the city's bar district on Granville Street. The area is buzzing, there are long lineups at several night clubs. Colin isn't interested. He barely has to get out of the cab before he catches a man's attention. Five minutes later, Colin is back in the cab, on his way home with $40 of high-grade marijuana. A cop is near but he's not paying attention. Along West Hastings Street, a string of "pot cafes" no different than any in Amsterdam -- where pot rather than caffeine is the drug of choice -- are probably Canada's most visible sign of defiance against the prohibition of marijuana. Last year, Vancouver was voted the world's best tourist destination for marijuana smokers, according to High Times magazine, selected over perennial winner Amsterdam. The city's "pot cafes," the seeming tolerance for bud and the availability of locally grown pot were all factors. "You could walk down the street (smoking pot) and no one bothers you," editor Dan Skye says. Tourists agree. "This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen," said Seattle's Ryan Gan, 22, in one of the cafes on a recent visit. "Here I am, allowed to smoke all the marijuana I want without worrying about cops." Small-scale possession is virtually unenforced by the police department. The Vancouver cops call it de facto decriminalization. Police in Ontario call it giving up. "I think in B.C. they've surrendered," said Chief Julian Fantino of Toronto. "We're going to do what we can to fight the problems that come with marijuana." Those are words that make Heed cringe. "I get accused of a lot of things, as any officer does who takes a more liberal view of enforcement," he said. "Sometimes it bothers me but most other times it just makes me stronger and makes me work harder to get policing to come into the 21st century." There is a powerful majority behind Heed. A recent Sun-Leger poll on Canadians' pot-smoking habits shows 91 per cent of British Columbians think marijuana laws should be less stringent while 53 per cent said they had smoked marijuana. Busted:Number of police-reported, marijuana-related incidents in Canada:-Source: Statistics Canada Note: Pot smokers call B.C.'s biggest city Vansterdam, a sly reference to Europe's marijuana utopia in Holland. It lives up to the name.Source: London Free Press (CN ON)Author: Jason Botchford, Special To The Free PressPublished: Wednesday, April 30, 2003 Copyright: 2003 The London Free Press Contact: letters lfpress.comWebsite: http://www.fyilondon.com/londonfreepress/Related Articles & Web Sites:Cannabis Culture Magazinehttp://www.cannabisculture.com/Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmOttawa Must Decide What To Do About Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16100.shtmlMadness Prevails in Governments Approach http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16091.shtmlDutch Treat - Winnipeg Sun http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16086.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by freedom fighter on May 01, 2003 at 20:03:55 PT druid From what I have read in past, DEA are suppose to worry about 1000 plants or more, 100 pounds. But, we all know how stupid this agency really is.. After all, they did raided a lady down somewhere in Calif. for six plants. They have'nt charge her yet. Heck, druid, I wonder when will they understand that every year, there are 30,000 tons of weed consumed by the consumers all over the world, and every year they screamed loudly of huge catches, the numer of weed consumed by the consumers all over the world is exactly the same, 30,000 tons!DEAth agency started out 30 years ago and boy, they have been a wonderful advertisment for all that weed being burned. I supposed that if the agency keeps what they are doing, 30 years later, 60,000 tons of cannabis and half of our population with criminal records. I have never met an DEAth agent and I hope I never will have to. I really do'nt know how I would react to someone tellin me that he is a death agent. grrr!pazff [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by afterburner on April 30, 2003 at 09:04:48 PT: FoM: Another Toronto Star Story With Picture. Chrétien ready to ease pot possession law [Apr. 30, 2003. 08:49 AM] http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1051643346136&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154Insp. Kash Heed gets it. From "across the Great Divide" the truth is spreading east to Ottawa (Chrétien and Cauchon) eventhough Chief Julian Fantino of Toronto is still opposed, despite Ontario court cases. THE LAST RESORT by The Eagles: She came from Providence, the one in Rhode Island - where the old world shadows hang heavy in the air. - She packed her hopes and dreams like a refugee, - just as her father came across the sea.She heard about a place people were smilin', - they spoke about the red man's way, how they loved the land. - And they came from everywhere to the Great Divide - seeking a place to stand or a place to hide. Down in the crowded bars out for a good time, - can't wait to tell you all what it's like up there. - And they called it paradise, I don't know why. - Somebody laid the mountains low while the town got high.Then the chilly winds blew down across the desert, - through the canyons of the coast to the Malibu - where the pretty people play hungry for power - to light their neon way and give them things to do.Some rich man came and raped the land, nobody caught 'em, - put up a bunch of ugly boxes and, Jesus, people bought 'em. - And they called it paradise, the place to be, - they watched the hazy sun sinking in the sea.You can leave it all behind and sail to Lahaina - just like the missionaries did so many years ago. - They even brought a neon sign 'Jesus is Coming', - brought the white man's burden down, brought the white man's reign.Who will provide the grand design, what is yours and what is mine? - 'Cause there is no more new frontier, we have got to make it here. - We satisfy our endless needs and justify our bloody deeds - in the name of destiny and in the name of God.And you can see them there on Sunday morning - stand up and sing about what it's like up there. - They called it paradise, I don't know why. - You call some place paradise - kiss it goodbye. ego transcendence follows ego destruction, and suddenly there is no question. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by druid on April 30, 2003 at 08:26:24 PT Question about DEA When asked if Mr. Kubby would be subject to arrest by the DEA, Mr. Sattenberg revealed that in Washington State, the DEA has told him that they will not go after cases involving less than 500 plants or 50 pounds. Mrs. Kubby followed up this surprising admission by asking Mr. Sattenberg why the DEA was raiding and chopping down as few as 17 plants in Oregon, but ignoring under 500 plants in Washington. Mr. Sattenberg replied that those two states have different administrators who have the discretion to enforce the law as they deem best. The part I am concerned about is the statement about the DEA not going after less than 500 plants or 50 pounds. Does anyone have any more information concerning this? I haven't heard anything except for the statement above and I would like to know if it is true or not.Thanks [ Post Comment ] Post Comment