cannabisnews.com: Canadian Pot Legislation Could Snarl Border 





Canadian Pot Legislation Could Snarl Border 
Posted by CN Staff on May 19, 2003 at 06:36:13 PT
By Steve Wilhelm, Puget Sound Business Journal 
Source: MSNBC
Proposed Canadian legislation to relax marijuana laws could lead U.S. authorities to increase border scrutiny this summer, raising concerns over increasing congestion at a time when holiday traffic may be rebounding from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and subsequent security threats.      The jury seems mixed on the potential impact from the proposed looser Canadian regulations, given the intense security-related scrutiny already placed on all entry points to the United States since Sept. 11, 2001. 
A bill dropping criminal penalties for marijuana use was to be introduced into the Canadian parliament this week.Greg Boos, an immigration attorney expert in cross-border issues with offices in Bellingham and Toronto, said he believes the new laws could stretch the capabilities of border inspectors.    "If Canada changes marijuana laws and decriminalizes marijuana, there will be a lot more congestion at the border, even if we have more staff," he said, adding that he expects more profiling and random checks of cars.    But Mike Milne, spokesman for Customs and Border Protection in Seattle, said he believes "The impact would be nil."    Milne estimated that funding for border inspectors has increased nearly 30 percent since Sept. 11, 2001, although not all those jobs are filled. The agency also has more equipment to work with, he said.    Anti-terrorism security is already far more exacting than drug-related security, he said, though the increased security-related inspections have inadvertently yielded more drug seizures.    In fiscal 2002 the agency discovered 8,787 pounds of marijuana coming across the U.S.-Canadian border into Western Washington, compared to 3,837 pounds in fiscal 2001.    Another government official, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Will Glaspy, predicted more attempted border crossings by organized drug smugglers and individual drug buyers if Canadian laws are relaxed.    "You combine those attempts with the security we're already providing, and you're going to have more encounters," he said, adding that his agency opposes the proposed Canadian law change.    Already, British Columbia is considered a leading Canadian marijuana-producing area by the drug-enforcement community. The potent product of B.C. hydroponic drug farmers is widely known as "B.C. Bud" by drug users in the Western United States, Glaspy said.    One mitigating factor balancing the stiffer inspections since Sept. 11 has been the steady drop in vehicle traffic across the border, especially through the "Peace Arch" crossing at Blaine. This decrease has taken some pressure off the customs system even as individual inspections have increased.    Southbound auto traffic has dropped 58 percent in the last decade to last year's 3.6 million total crossings, according to data compiled by the International Mobility & Trade Corridor Project, an alliance of governments and business interests on both sides of the border.    Southbound truck volumes have increased about 70 percent during that period, although the overall volumes are far smaller than automobile crossings, at 614,404 last year. Current truck volumes are down somewhat from the 1998 peak of 670,427. Northbound volumes are roughly equivalent for cars and trucks.    An option for people worried about getting across the border quickly is to apply for a Nexus pass, said Bruce Agnew, director of the Cascadia Project, which advocates better integration in the transportation system between British Columbia and the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The Cascadia project is organized through the Seattle-based Discovery Institute.    So far only about 40,000 people have applied for the Nexus passes, compared to the 70,000 "Pace" passes that had been issued before the older program was dropped after Sept. 11. The newer program is more stringent because each pass is granted to an individual person, not a vehicle as was the case with the Pace passes.    Nexus holders are allowed to whisk across the border using a special high-speed lane, with inspections significantly reduced or eliminated.    Some people applying for Nexus passes have been rejected due to their prior records, which has discouraged some from applying. People also are reluctant to travel to the border just to apply for the passes, which are currently only granted there, Agnew said.    "We're real disappointed we don't have as many people in Nexus as we did in Pace," Agnew said, adding that several groups are lobbying U.S. and Canadian authorities to develop Nexus application centers in downtown Vancouver and Seattle. He hopes more people will apply when it becomes easier to do so. Copyright: 2003 American City Business Journals Inc. -- http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/Note: Some fear a plan to drop criminal penalties for marijuana could prompt more security checks.Complete Title: Canadian Pot Legislation Could Snarl Border Traffic Source: MSNBC (US Web)Author: Steve Wilhelm, Puget Sound Business JournalPublished: May 19, 2003Copyright: 2003 MSNBCContact: letters msnbc.comWebsite: http://msnbc.com/news/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmWashington Turns Up Heat Over Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16315.shtmlWhy Washington's Worried About Ushttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16314.shtmlBad Buzz?: U.S. Keeping Close Eye on Canada http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16313.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by ErikGhint on May 19, 2003 at 14:29:34 PT
plants
The quality of cannabis is basically determined by the grower. If people are cultivating for the purpose of traffiking, often they will not choose the best genetics for the plant but they will choose a seed which harvest's fast and produces a lot of weight regardless of what the quality is. Additionally once they cut the flowers off the plant they often quick dry the plant in order to speed up the process, although in order for a bud to acheive maximum potency, taste and smell it must be cured slowly, and this could take up to 3 months to reach 100%. So I guess my point is you can not really say their is good bud here and bad bud there, because the quality of cannabis is only based on the specific grower of it. There are many growers in each city, some are good, some are bad. So more or less it is based on your connections as to what you get.Malleus there are differences in much of the strains, a lot of it can be the taste, smell, potency, type (sativa, indica, hybrid), and quality of the genetics. But I guess you are right that all these things don't make the biggest differences to the average smoker. 
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on May 19, 2003 at 14:08:24 PT
malleus2
What you are saying seems right. I don't know anything about this topic so I've always avoided talking about it. I assumed BC Bud was because it was from BC. Isn't it basically all the same except the different types (sativa and indica) and different aromas? It just never made sense to me. I'm too darn logical I think. I could be misunderstanding what you are saying. If I am I'm sorry. As I said this topic isn't one I've ever got involved in and just don't know. 
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Comment #8 posted by malleus2 on May 19, 2003 at 13:46:08 PT
The thing that really bites is this
If you have ever read some of those seed catalogs, they seem as guilty of hyperbole as any anti-drug porker would. They go an at length about this or that notable effect, but the only differences I could discern were between sativas and indicas...with the latter dominating the selection of the 'samples'.Don't get me wrong, here; there may be some of that killer couchlock weed floating around up there somewhere. But you'd have to have the constitution of a butterfly to be knocked on your keister by what I 'tasted'. And I deliberately smoked small amounts in succession, noting effects, slowly increasing the dosage, as I took my 'judging' duties seriously. I wound up using entire packets...and was rewarded with something that could best be described as ...anemic. I had better (medical grade) quality weed here in the US and in Holland and Germany years back. The trip was nice, Vancouver is fantastic (both the people and the city) but...when they have something worthy of the hype, then they can call me. Until then, it's 'grain of salt' time... 
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Comment #7 posted by escapegoat on May 19, 2003 at 10:22:33 PT:
USCBP's Mike Milne: "The impact would be nil."
Just had to see this again. :)
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Comment #6 posted by ErikGhint on May 19, 2003 at 10:20:05 PT
The Myth behind BC
You are right malleus their is nothing special about so called "BC Bud" All it really is; is that in British Columbia they are very leinient with the cannabis issue and thus their are a lot of grow operations. Now it's not like all the growers in BC use a specific strain called "BC Bud" which is more potenet (the crack of "marijuana"), they will get a seed of whatever strain and grow it (most likely hydroponically). This means cannabis grown in BC (indoor) is not nessecarily any better then cannabis grown anywhere else in the world indoor. 
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Comment #5 posted by malleus2 on May 19, 2003 at 09:55:14 PT
Oh, man, I gotta laugh
I mean, I just HAD to. "BC Bud", indeed (harrumph!)(Customary declaration: This is not idle boasting, I mean every word I say.)Look, I've just been there. I've sampled the best of the supposed top quality weed that the region has to offer...and guess what? I've gotten seedy, twiggy weed from a person who hails from Negril that had more octane than some of the 'samples' I tried.Granted, I am a long time smoker. Granted, I may have a degree of tolerance. But I had an opportunity to smoke the putative 'best'...and am none the worst for wear. In fact, much of my time spent as a 'judge' I was decidedly quite (annoyingly!) sober...and certainly not for lack of trying! The seemingly mythic one-hit super-powerful BC Bud that is supposed to instantly destroy ambition and cause terminal couchlock...doesn't exist.I am beginning to wonder at the origin of this whole "BC Bud" hype, as it seems to be benefitting some growers and cops simultaneously...but suckers lots of regular folks 'sold' on a generic name brand.
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Comment #4 posted by Lehder on May 19, 2003 at 09:36:36 PT
hashish
Why don't we hear more about hash? If the borders are so secure, wouldn't the terrorists be concentrating marijuana into hash? Well, tighten the border. The hash of tomorrow will be the same as the hash of yesteryear, but it will still be at least five times more potent than the marijuana your grandparents smoked!
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Comment #3 posted by WolfgangWylde on May 19, 2003 at 09:13:46 PT
Its all a bluff..
...Bush can't risk the further damage to the economy this would cause, otherwise he doesn't get a second term.
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on May 19, 2003 at 08:59:35 PT
This guy is like "duh"!!
I love this:"But Mike Milne, spokesman for Customs and Border Protection in Seattle, said he believes "The impact would be nil."Loosely translated "Don't worry folks, it doesn't take any time to search for BC Bud - we just wave those 18-wheelers through after they pay us off. No problem!"
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Comment #1 posted by til on May 19, 2003 at 08:14:46 PT
Demonizing of B.C bud
Let's get it straight,the big issue here is the so called potent B.C bud that's going south. Ok so along with the new budget,the dollar and U.S popularity, 4% of your consumption of pot is going north. Oh oh that means money going north, of course 54% goes to Mexico. I guess you have'nt convinced the gang bangers they can invest in the stock market of course neither do the Columbian drug growers. We have a solution GROW BETTER POT and decrease demand for northern bud. Result: Money stays in the U.S. ,better control of domestic product quality, distribution and determent practices. Spinoff: Job creation for police,judges,lawyers including support services and of course the prison industry like the one in Batavia. Then the U.S, can detain more Canadians for 21 year old pot possession records when they attempt to visit their U.S. fiances or family. And finally Revenue created by the hopeless effort of Canadians attempting to obtain a Waiver to visit their U.S family. 
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