cannabisnews.com: Cellucci Warns Canada On Marijuana Cellucci Warns Canada On Marijuana Posted by CN Staff on June 02, 2003 at 07:48:20 PT By The Associated Press Source: Boston Globe Worcester -- US Ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci says he has told Canadian leaders that their proposal to decriminalize marijuana for personal use would result in much tighter security along its 5,500-mile border with the United States. More vehicles would be stopped and searched at crossing checkpoints that already have high security, the former Massachusetts governor told The Telegram and Gazette of Worcester. ''If the perception is that it's easier to get marijuana in, then some border officials' antennas will be up,'' Cellucci said. ''We don't think it's a good thing, and there will probably be more inspections.''The amount of Canadian-grown marijuana being found in drug busts is on the rise in Massachusetts and other states, Cellucci said.Canadian lawmakers last week proposed a new marijuana law that would eliminate a criminal record for possession of marijuana in small amounts while spending millions on a campaign against use of the drug.Under the measure introduced in Parliament, getting caught with 15 grams -- about half an ounce -- or less of marijuana would bring a citation akin to a traffic ticket, not a criminal record. Possession of marijuana would remain illegal, and the maximum sentence for illegal growers would be increased by double to 14 years in prison.Cellucci's expression of US positions toward its largest trading partner have been more vocal than many previous ambassadors. This year he publicly accused Prime Minister Jean Chretien's government of deserting the United States by not supporting the war on Iraq.Traditionally, many ambassadors to Canada have seen their roles as largely ceremonial.''He is markedly different. His predecessors have really been a shadow of American foreign policy, whereas Mr. Cellucci has really been an evangelist of sorts, and much stronger,'' said Rob M. McGowan, editor of Politics Canada, the country's biggest independent political website.''It's definitely tempered by diplomacy,'' McGowan said. ''You might not agree with what he says, but at least he says it directly.''This story ran on page B2 of the Boston Globe on 6/2/2003.Note: Says law change would force US to hike security.Source: Boston Globe (MA)Published: June 02, 2003Copyright: 2003 Globe Newspaper CompanyContact: letter globe.comWebsite: http://www.boston.com/globe/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmPot Plan Has Critics Fuming http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16489.shtmlWhy Canada's Dope Has The US Fuminghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16478.shtmlLegalize Pot, Says Mayor Campbellhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16423.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #5 posted by mayan on June 02, 2003 at 17:28:15 PT Never Mind the Terrorists Never mind the terrorists. Must stop the cannabis plant! It's nice to know Cellucci has his priorities straight! [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on June 02, 2003 at 10:02:45 PT Thanks Dr. Russo! I fixed it! [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Ethan Russo MD on June 02, 2003 at 09:36:32 PT: Misspelling The byline says: "Worchester -"That's Worcester, and the indigenous denizens pronounce it, "Wuss-tah!" My salute to all my Massachusetts family and friends, and my 3 years there in medical school. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by kaptinemo on June 02, 2003 at 09:11:02 PT: Try it, Mr. Celluci, just try it And we'll see how long it takes before your corporate sponsors of the Republican Party get on the horn and scream to their Tweedle-Dee legislative buddies that their businesses are swirling around the toilet bowl and the Feds had better loosen up at the border before they drown in it.I am laughing right now because the one thing that was suposed to benefit oh-so-handsomely the Powers-That-Be (and they definitely have from it) is NAFTA. NAFTA has allowed many businesses which once needed to maintain large wharehouses full of goods to maintain very short inventories, due to the massive amount of cheap production afforded by the other, more industrialized partners like Mexico and Canada. That cheap production flows through the borders every day, keeping those businesses supplied. You don't need a wharehouse because the production is so steady and reliable, you don't have to worry about meeting your sales obligations.But what happens when businesses cannot ship their orders because their short inventory is depleted by already meeting previous orders...and not being able to restock that short inventory because of border restrictions slowing down that flow?The US economy is *still* staggering from 9/11. Foreign investors are staying away in droves. Bankruptcies and other unpleasentness are on the rise. To engage in that kind of damn'foolishness would be the equivalent of asking a 'turrist' to kindly lend you his weapon so you can shoot yourself with it. Children, can you say 'imbecilic idea'? Suuure you can. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by goneposthole on June 02, 2003 at 08:22:49 PT he 'told' them apparently he thinks they have it coming.Mr. Cellucci is caught between being moronic and idiotic.Canadian leaders appreciate being 'told' about how they conduct their affairs.Maybe American leaders need to be told how condescending and patronizing they have become and are.Clueless in Washington; someday they may learn how stupid they have been all of these years. Congress should introduce legislation to prohibit stupidity. They are not smart enough to do so. They're burnt out on stupidity. A plethora of stupidity plagues them and their house.They need to be disciplined. Wise up, leaders. It's not too late. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment