cannabisnews.com: Stirring the Pot 





Stirring the Pot 
Posted by CN Staff on May 13, 2003 at 09:06:33 PT
By Stephen Handelman
Source: Time Magazine 
Corky and Pumpkin are not your typical drug mules. Actually, they’re bears. U.S. customs agents grabbed the ursine duo on Jan. 27 at the Blaine, Washington, international border crossing with 70 kg of marijuana stashed behind the false wall of their trailer cage. They were promptly hustled off to a nearby wildlife center for a nice meal. A different fate awaited the bears’ chauffeur. Duane Christopher Bradley, 23, an Abbotsford, B.C., animal trainer who was driving Corky and Pumpkin to a film shoot in Los Angeles, pled guilty to a drug-trafficking charge and now faces up to 10 years in jail. 
Give him, at least, points for ingenuity: the illicit marijuana trade between Canada and the U.S. is apparently stoking the entrepreneurial spirit. Border drug smugglers, says Mike Milne, a U.S. Customs spokesman in Seattle, are now employing “everything from old ladies in wheelchairs to airplane drops.” You ain’t seen nothing yet. U.S. authorities say they’re bracing for an upsurge in cross-border drug traffic if Ottawa passes legislation that would make the possession of small amounts of marijuana equivalent to a traffic infraction. The so-called “decriminalization” bill could be tabled as early as this week, and the prospect is making the White House think Mexico when it looks north. “We’re already facing an explosion of illegal drugs and precursor materials coming out of Canada,” says John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). “Anybody applying common sense can see this bill will make things change for the worse.”Maybe. But fierce U.S. lobbying has also added, well, a certain odor to the already shaky bilateral relationship. Canada, it seems, has emerged from the tiff with Washington over the war in Iraq only to be accused of waffling in the war against drugs. U.S. officials have warned that trade will suffer if they are forced to ramp up their already tight border-inspection regime to cope with an increase in drug smuggling.The new legislation, along with a new national drug strategy, will be the government’s response to a decade of data suggesting that antipot laws currently on the books have been counterproductive. About 20,000 Canadians—most of them under 25—are prosecuted every year on possession charges, even though a large number of cases are dismissed. “Young people, as a result, have a disregard for the system,” Justice Minister Martin Cauchon tells Time. “That’s not the message I want to send our kids.” Under the bill, pot would remain illegal, and penalties for trafficking may even increase.Hardly a drugs-for-everyone proposal. Twelve U.S. states have marijuana laws that are at least as liberal as the proposed Canadian one. So why are the Americans blowing smoke? Answer: Washington believes that Canada’s drug policy will subvert its own strategy and poison American youth. “We have 6 million people under drug treatment, and 60% are marijuana dependent,” fumes the ONDCP’s Walters. “Canadians are treating this like kiddy dope.”That raises an interesting question. Would any reform of Canadian drug laws—however mild—offend Washington? After all, the new Canadian policy is itself a compromise. Last September, a Canadian Senate committee called on the government to regulate the production and sale of cannabis; in other words, to legalize it. “The continued prohibition of cannabis jeopardizes the health and well-being of Canadians much more than does the substance itself,” said the report, which went on to argue that the government should treat marijuana use as a health problem, not a criminal one. The feds rejected this recommendation, mostly on the grounds that it would flout international antidrug treaties. The result, however, is a half measure that satisfies few.Whatever Canada does, its domestic drug policies will have an impact south of the border. Washington’s official position on any change in Canadian law could hardly be clearer. For the Canadian government, the question is whether American objections should be decisive. If Ottawa believes—and polls suggest most Canadians do—that its marijuana laws need a radical overhaul, the government should reconsider its rejection of the Senate committee’s proposal for full legalization. The drug war in North America has all but failed, and genuine cross-border competition in public policies might produce some new solutions. In the innovative spirit, you could say, of Corky and Pumpkin.Note: Canada mellows on marijuana, irking the U.S. Is that such a bad thing? Source: Time Magazine (Canada)Author:  Stephen HandelmanPublished: May 12, 2003 Copyright: 2003 Time Inc.Contact: letters time.comWebsite: http://www.time.com/time/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmOttawa's Marijuana Plan Irks US http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16241.shtml For Sensible Marijuana Policy, Go Northhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16225.shtmlSenate Report on Cannabis: Get Whole Story http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14319.shtml 
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Comment #2 posted by The GCW on May 13, 2003 at 15:30:04 PT
Wolves in wolves clothing?
Washington believes, (that is Walters...) that cannabis is poison.Our Father does not refer to cannabis as poison.Christ God Our Father does refer to cannabis as plant; kaneh bosm; sweet smelling incense; medicine; food; meat etc.Only 1 of them is right.
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Comment #1 posted by lombar on May 13, 2003 at 10:26:48 PT
Ridiculous
The implication that border security needs to be ramped up to save the U.S. from a little cannabis (but its already proof against terrorists?) is appalling. Mr. Walters, the reason you have so many people in 'drug-treatment' because it was either that or prison. How much is voluntary? Even if cannabis is so bad (which it is not) how can people step up for treatment(should they need it) if it means facing possible criminal charges and stigmatisation? Gulags for drugs is not acceptable to sane rational human beings. You've taken so much to fight the evil drug war and all you have to show for it is a burgeoning prison population and plenty of drugs everywhere. We are SURE you do not have any answers!How can the cross-border amount increase? They keep complaining that 90% of the cannabis produced here goes South, do you think we'll have more drug exporters (ie smugglers) than the lucrative market is already creating? Further, they continue to insist that criminal gangs export the cannabis from Canada to the US, so do they think drug liberalisation will create more criminal gangs? The opposite is proven daily in US streets.I'll say this for the article...Time has stated "The drug war in North America has all but failed,..." the editor missed dropping the words 'all but' before printing. That's maginally better than the 'we're on target' rant. At least that might open debate but at the same time it is more of the same 'we destroy thousands of lives per year by failed drug policies' but Time wants you to snicker at the end of the story thus casting doubt on the seriousness of the subject and avoiding a critical treatment of the issues involved."So why are the Americans blowing smoke? Answer: Washington believes that Canada’s drug policy will subvert its own strategy and poison American youth. "...Poison their minds with the truth about drugs which would prove that the US government has been LYING about cannabis since 1972. If they lie about that...
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