cannabisnews.com: Ottawa To Preach Perils of Pot





Ottawa To Preach Perils of Pot
Posted by CN Staff on May 26, 2003 at 23:35:16 PT
By Kim Lunman and Brian Laghi
Source: Globe and Mail 
Ottawa — The federal government plans to spend up to $240-million to convince Canadians of the evils of pot smoking even as it unveils legislation today to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.The government is to introduce its controversial bill amid growing opposition from Liberal backbenchers who are urging a delay. As many as 20 Liberal MPs oppose the legislation.
"I don't believe this is right," Brenda Chamberlain said in an interview yesterday. The Guelph, Ont., MP sent Prime Minister Jean Chrétien a letter urging him to reconsider. "I'm really frustrated. I think this is a wrong turn for our government and it's a wrong turn for our kids."Federal sources said the $240-million will pay for a new national drug strategy to be announced today that will include a communications and education campaign to spread the message that cannabis smoking is harmful and will still be illegal.The cash will be dispensed over five years, sources said, and will be spent in several areas, including research and surveillance. The government is concerned that the new legislation should not encourage marijuana use. Ottawa also wants to prevent the so-called normalization of pot smoking in the way that cigarette smoking once was socially acceptable. The government plans to set up a special secretariat responsible for the strategy, sources said.Opponents say the new drug strategy has been hastily put together since the government's plans to decriminalize marijuana drew growing criticism from police, Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada and government MPs."Marijuana is not the soft drug its proponents would like us to accept," Ontario Liberal member Joe Volpe said in an interview. "I believe it's a gateway drug. . . . It's going to be a pretty convincing argument to get me to vote for it."Under the proposed measure, people caught with 15 grams or less — the equivalent of about 15 joints — would be ticketed and fined as little as $100.The Liberal majority is expected to pass the bill despite the dissension within the ranks, although caucus members say the rift could widen."It's clear that there are some problems," Dan McTeague, MP for Pickering-Ajax-Uxbridge, said yesterday. He plans to hold a news conference in Ottawa today after Justice Minister Martin Cauchon, Solicitor-General Wayne Easter and Health Minister Anne McLellan outline the new legislation and unveil the drug strategy. "There's obviously going to be a showdown."Ms. McLellan bristled at suggestions that the national drug strategy is an afterthought to soft-sell decriminalization, saying it has been one of her priorities for the past 18 months."One would hope nobody would smoke, whether it's tobacco or marijuana," she said. "At the end of the day, we would like everybody to quit smoking."Canadian Alliance MP Randy White, a member of a parliamentary committee studying non-medical drugs, said the government is putting the cart before the horse."They didn't know whether they were coming or going on the strategy. For them to now say they've been working on it for 18 months is hogwash."The Canadian Police Association wants marijuana possession to remain a criminal offence, contending that cannabis leads to more serious drug use.But Mr. Cauchon said yesterday he has no plans to back down from the legislation, which he says is necessary to prevent hundreds of thousands of Canadians from clogging up the courts and obtaining criminal records for smoking small amounts of marijuana."We expect a good policy for Canadians," he said. "We'll send a message in terms of the question of law enforcement . . . and stress that use of marijuana is illegal and harmful to society."RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli said Sunday he was "looking forward" to the proposed package as part of a larger antidrug strategy."If we have a comprehensive package, it will not harm the work that we do . . . in my view," he said on CTV's Question PeriodOne of the most contentious issues surrounding the new legislation is how the federal government will handle cases in which motorists are found with small quantities of marijuana or discovered driving while under its influence.MADD Canada has been lobbying Ottawa to include law enforcement in the legislation to nab people driving under the influence. But the group has been told that such changes could not be made for a year because of a lack of training and police officers."This is playing politics and putting legacy over public safety," said Andrew Murrie, national executive director of MADD Canada.With a report from Canadian PressSource: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author:  Kim Lunman and Brian LaghiPublished: Tuesday, May 27, 2003 Copyright: 2003 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmTop Cop Agrees With Plan To Ease Pot Laws http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16389.shtmlDon't Bully Canada, U.S. Told http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16336.shtmlBad Buzz?: U.S. Keeping Close Eye on Canada http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16313.shtml 
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Comment #5 posted by Sam Adams on May 27, 2003 at 07:09:17 PT
A vivid picture of how modern government works
Once you've got a bunch of entrenched bureaucrats and their yearly budgets locked into the system, their influence overrides that of the people, the media, and the principles of logic and rationality.That's what happens in our system, where graft is so blatant it's become institutionalized. If you take something away from these bloodsuckers, you must give something back. You have to pay off the mafia. The whole treatment/enforcement community openly demanded another $245 in exchange for giving up power.It's simple to see where this all ends: the middle class is being eliminated, taxes on the rich are being cut, the government continues to grow exponentially. Just take a look at any civilization in human history.I don't see the WOD ending in the US (and Canada, c'mon they're like serfs on the US plantation) until virtually everything ends in a massived economic collapse that will make the Great Depression look like child's play. We'll still be paying the police to arrest 700,000 marijuana smokers as child go begging in the streets and families eat grass to survive. 
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Comment #4 posted by til on May 27, 2003 at 06:40:48 PT
C.P.A. stance
Sure they do because they rarely have to pull out their gun on a possession bust and now there there will be no great victory for writing a ticket.
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Comment #3 posted by Dark Star on May 27, 2003 at 06:19:16 PT
No Good Intention Goes Unpunished
This whole scenario proves that Canadian politicians are barely better than American ones.
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Comment #2 posted by The GCW on May 27, 2003 at 04:37:17 PT
Something to be said about preaching...
Preaching should always contain the full potential of truth available. Preaching the truth would not include many perils of cannabis, and would only need a budget of a few dollars.Lack of of truth will rob us of Our liberty and freedom, just like cannabis prohibition tends to do.Urantia indicates some things that must take place to insure freedom and they expose what is currant. Urantia - Paper 70. http://www.urantia.org/papers/paper70.html “If men would maintain their freedom, they must, after having chosen their charter of liberty, provide for its wise, intelligent, and fearless interpretation to the end that there may be prevented:1. Usurpation of unwarranted power by either the executive or legislative branches.2. Machinations of ignorant and superstitious agitators.3. Retardation of scientific progress.4. Stalemate of the dominance of mediocrity.5. Domination by vicious minorities.6. Control by ambitious and clever would-be dictators.7. Disastrous disruption of panics.8. Exploitation by the unscrupulous.9. Taxation enslavement of the citizenry by the state.10. Failure of social and economic fairness.11. Union of church and state.12. Loss of personal liberty.”
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Comment #1 posted by Jose Melendez on May 27, 2003 at 03:39:16 PT
When you grow up, vote to criminalize prohibition.
This morning on National Public Radio they announced that my home state of Florida has once again cut the anti-smoking campaign here. Apparently, the program is so successful at cutting teen smoking that it makes sense to lawmakers to slash the program. Message to kids: Our lawmakers are crooks, and our prosecutors refuse to press charges. Drug war is treason. 
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