cannabisnews.com: Lenient Canadian Pot Laws Have Neighbors Worried Lenient Canadian Pot Laws Have Neighbors Worried Posted by CN Staff on June 12, 2003 at 22:25:07 PT By Krista Larson, The Associated Press Source: Times Argus Swanton — Some of Nicole Cook’s classmates attending school less than 10 miles from the Canadian border already head north to party on weekends because it’s legal for 18-year-olds to drink in Quebec. And as the Canadian government debates whether to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana, Cook worries such a move would encourage more teens to head north. “I think it’s a massive danger because I’ve heard of so many people and I know of so many people that have gone to Canada and done that and come back and gotten in car accidents and stuff. I think it’s really stupid, you know,” said Cook, 17, who is involved in drug prevention efforts at Missisquoi Valley Union High School. While marijuana possession would remain illegal under the proposed Canadian legislation, those found with 15 grams (about a half ounce) or less would receive a citation akin to a traffic ticket. Maximum fines for that amount would range from roughly $182 for those under 18 to approximately $292 for adults. The possession of similar amounts of marijuana in Vermont is a misdemeanor punishable on a first offense by up to six months in jail, a $500 fine or both. The Canadian bill proposes spending millions of dollars on an anti-marijuana campaign, but some in northern Vermont say the situation could prove too tempting for American teens. “We’re trying to discourage drug use and trying to make people more aware that it’s not OK, and then Canada is just kind of like, it’s a slap on the hand and you move on,” said Cook. “You get something like a speeding ticket for it.” Crossing into Canada is common for those in the northern part of the state, sometimes with tragic consequences. In 1998, four Vermont teenagers were killed in a car accident after partying in Quebec. Marijuana use in Vermont is higher than the national average, according to Marcia LaPlante of the state Health Department. “I think regardless of what happens in Canada, we know marijuana is an issue here,” she said. Some teens believe a lesser penalty north of the border could have a ripple effect among teens here who might become less worried about the punishment of getting caught. “The people who didn’t use it before are going to be like, ‘OK, I’m not going to get in so much trouble if I do it now,’” said Brittanny Barrows, 16, also a student at Missisquoi. Dealing with the differences between Canadian and American laws is nothing new in northern Vermont, said Beth Crane, co-coordinator of Franklin County Caring Communities, a St. Albans-based drug prevention coalition. “It poses some challenges and yet maybe some opportunities for education as well,” she said. One of those challenges would be reminding young adults about the dangers of impaired driving, said Susan Lloyd, a student assistance counselor at Missisquoi. “Just because you’re not going to get a criminal record, doesn’t mean that you can drive any better for getting home,” she said. “So that’s a danger with marijuana just like it is with drinking.” Students involved in drug prevention efforts say they would continue to stress those dangers. While the punishment in Canada may change, Nathan Chates, 18, says the negative health effects of marijuana remain. “I mean, if cigarettes for some reason suddenly dropped down to $1 a pack, it doesn’t mean they’re any less harmful for you; it just means they’re cheaper,” Chates said. Questions remain about how stoned drivers could be detected when returning to Vermont. “If they go to Canada and drink heavily, they can still get in trouble when they come across the border if they don’t blow zero,” said Lloyd. “But if you go across the border and you get high, they don’t have a way of testing that, and so you can be more impaired and come in under the radar.” Under the Canadian legislation, driving while impaired by drugs remains a criminal offense; a working group there is currently looking at the issue of detecting drivers suspected of drug use. Options under consideration include asking suspects to perform physical tests or to give urine samples. Rama Schneider, a member of the Vermont Grassroots Party that favors marijuana legalization, questions whether those American concerns should even play a role in the Canadian policy debate. “Canada is a sovereign nation, whether our federal government appreciates that fact or not, and they’re entitled to make that decision,” he said. Dillon Walton, 18, worries his classmates could smoke up in Canada and then try to drive home. But ultimately, he believes teens must make personal choices about whether to use marijuana. “You can pound it and pound it and pound it, but eventually it’s just going to be the individual’s decision,” he said. Helping teens to make those kinds of choices will involve focusing on a variety of issues that are important regardless of whether Canada changes its law, Crane said. “It’s really key not only to focus on the consequences of using, but the value of not using and seeking other ways to challenge boredom, to challenge stress, to challenge all of those things that teens struggle with in a rural community,” she said. Source: Times Argus (VT)Author: Krista Larson, The Associated Press Published: June 13, 2003Copyright: 2003 Times ArgusContact: letters timesargus.com Website: http://timesargus.nybor.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmVermont Grassroots Partyhttp://ramabahama.mystarband.net/web/vgp/A Border War Over Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16572.shtmlAmerican Laws, Foreign Landshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16590.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #15 posted by freedom fighter on June 13, 2003 at 22:40:34 PT Heavens Forbid this! “If they go to Canada and drink heavily, they can still get in trouble when they come across the border if they don’t blow zero,” said Lloyd. “But if you go across the border and you get high, they don’t have a way of testing that, and so you can be more impaired and come in under the radar.” Under the radar, I came across the border with an illegal smile.pazff [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by Prime on June 13, 2003 at 12:37:00 PT Dan B... "Think of the carnage that must be taking place every weekend when kids drive across the Maine border to score some weed, then head back to Vermont stoned out of their gourds, driving fifteen miles per hour."Simply priceless... almost had diet coke coming out my nose. Thanks for the chuckle. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by FoM on June 13, 2003 at 09:04:25 PT Thanks JR I updated the email address! [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on June 13, 2003 at 09:00:40 PT Email The LTE bounced from the above email address. The website lists letters timesargus.com as the LTE-mail... [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Richard Paul Zuckerm on June 13, 2003 at 07:53:24 PT: THE REASONS WHY CANNABIS LAWS SHOULD BE REPEALED The Marijuana laws should be repealed:I.THE HYPOCRISYThe United States Central Intelligence Agency launders over $200 billion per year of TAX FREE drug money thru Wall Street, www.fromthewilderness.com; www.expertwitnessradio.org, www.sumeria.net/politics/shadv3.html, while otherwise law abiding Americans are villified for responsible Marijuana use. The DEA will never stop the drug war because the CIA, Vice President Dick Cheney, Richard Armitage, are [allegedly] involved in this massive drug money laundering. People may not believe it because the public school curriculum is rigged, www.johntaylorgatto.com, major media is manipulated, and people are generally conditioned to be good sheep, to love their masters, the federal government.A report released today, June 13, 2003, in www.fromthewilderness.com, reveals the speech declaring an emergency lack of global gas. As we all should know from the Web article entitled Shadow of the Swastika, www.sumeria.net/politics/shadv3.html, and from www.HempCar.org, Henry Ford's scientists discovered that Hemp is an excellent alternative source of fuel for our automobiles, burns 80% cleaner than fossil fuel, grows from the ground, and it would only take 5% of America's land!!! But Congress has not even begun to develop alternative source of fuel, and the big fossil fuel companies have taken over the Energy Commissions and have been successful in preventing us from developing alternative sources of fuel. Oh, yeah, remember President Bush's State Of The Union address around 4 months ago during which he announced Hydrogen Fuel as an alternative source of fuel? Guess what they plan to use exclusively to obtain the Hydrogen? Fossil fuel. WHEN, not if, the fossil fuel reserves are depleted, we will have no alternative source of fuel/energy.II.THE FAILURES OF THE COURTSThe courts of law should step in and strike down the marijuana laws. Unfortunately, the great majority of the courts have upheld the constitutionality of the Marijuana laws. There were a few freedom-loving opinions from a few State courts, though. In State v. Mallan, 950 P.2d 178, 208-209, 218-219 (Hawii 1998)(Dissenting opinion by Justice Levinson), Justice Levinson opined that the Marihuana laws are against the freedoms the American people were guaranteed and in violation of the Hawaii State Constitution Right to privacy. In State v. Holland, N.J.Super. (App. Div. 2001?), the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey reversed the conviction because the police did not have the authority to force their way into the apartment without a search warrant after the smell of marijuana smoke emanated from same apartment. In Ravin v. State, P.2d (Alaska 197 ), the Supreme Court of Alaska declared the Marijuana laws unconstitutional as a violation of the Alaska State Constitutional guarantee Right to privacy. We need to litigate for the State courts to enforce the State Constitutions to give greater protection for the individual citizen than the federal constitution, including through the use of expert witnessness such as Dr. Lester Grinspoon, M.D., to inform the jury of the relative safety of Cannabis, for jury nullification purposes.III.LEGISLATIVE MALPRACTICEWe need to get on our elected officials, to let them know we do want decriminalization of Marijuana. Otherwise, they will act in the best interest of the corporations, assuming the votes are not manipulated, www.votescam.com. I must have communicated too much to New York State Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan because, today, Wednesday, June 11, 2003, at around 9:45, she told me she received my letters & e-mails, "I will not be harassed", and lied to me that her e-mail address, nolanc assembly.state.ny.us, is on the New York State Assembly Web site!! Prior to our telephone conversation, though, I e-mailed her the upcoming Cannabis Pain Management Lecture from the upcoming events section from www.cannabisculture.com, to show her that Cannabis does have medical uses. I do not plan on contacting Assemblywoman Nolan for a while now, based on her comment, lie, and rushing me off of the phone. There are too many people who are slothful, have the attitude that there is nothing an individual can do. I would rather try, even if it is only me. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Trekkie on June 13, 2003 at 07:49:43 PT RAVE act Maybe they'll use the RAVE act to stop ANYONE from going to Canada - ever - again. Under the BS wording that is the RAVE act "law" (and I use that word as loosely as possible), they could concievably apply it to all of Canada like they did at the Eagle's Lodge here in Billings, MT.Some days I feel like I'm in in a Kafka story... [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Sam Adams on June 13, 2003 at 06:42:36 PT Why is marijuana still illegal? This is why. Pure propaganda and fear-mongering by the mainstream media. Almost 100% pure lies. That's the way we do it in America. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Jose Melendez on June 13, 2003 at 05:56:46 PT turnabout is fair play "while it's illegal, this forbidden fruit syndrome is really powerful I think. Better we ban muesli bars." " AU: "Fifty per cent of young people have smoked or certainly tried pot," [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by goneposthole on June 13, 2003 at 05:44:30 PT the solution place a few Vermont teenagers on the rack. others in an iron maiden. Build torture chambers in every high school in Vermont.impale a few at and near border crossings.Ban fun, for cryin' out loud. Also, a little Chinese water torture will help.Can't be too careful when children need to be saved from eternal damnation.A heavy price must be paid by anyone endangering themselves by visiting the depraved country of Canada.There's a cage at camp x-ray waiting for them.anything to keep them from experiencing the evils of the devil weed. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by The GCW on June 13, 2003 at 05:32:03 PT Truth has spiritual motion. And if the laws were the same, and getting better, it would be less of an issue. When the herb is unoppressed on both sides of the border, We will be able to calm down and be peaceful.MonSOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE THE WHITE STONE.6:13:3(trying to read and talk to two people at the same time from different directions... pretty much unedited... got to go.)Take the truth and add spiritual motion. Truth has spiritual motion.Mat, allow Me to support My claim, which is the lesser to what is the Main Point I’m directing You to. I am going to add to what You know, by persecuting You toward the spirit of Truth of Christ God. Instead of: working toward God,,,, but You need to go to Christ, and then to attain the spirit... (which is true; important; and good...) INSTEAD it is: I will take You to the Spirit of Truth, and while You are there I will point You toward Christ and You will know. It will become the new way toward Him. Reaching through the Truth for Christ God. (It’s that way) For Fri, look into why it says the green seed herbs are good according to HIS kind, and it is in it?The beginning is where the root of the problem is born. !Someone did not believe the Bible said all the green seed bearing plants are good, on the very 1st page of the Bible. He used / uses the King James Version. (I was explaining about the communication system that Christ died for Us to have, which is My primary directive) What a blessing, because I have read Genesis a few times, in every position imaginable. I’ve read it in prayer. Now today I gotta say, Cannapeople, LOOK AT THIS! (as I was, shall We say, persuaded, toward opening the KJV so that is where We are) Genesis 1:11-12, And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after HIS kind, whose seed is in ITSELF, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after HIS kind, and the tree yielding fruit, WHOSE SEED WAS IN ITSELF, after HIS kind: and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:29-31, And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of ALL the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you IT SHALL BE FOR MEAT. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I HAVE GIVEN EVERY GREEN HERB FOR MEAT: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?passage=GEN+1&language=english&version=KJV ???’s, How good was ALL, the herb? Who was the herb given to? The words “whose” and “his” in 11-12 denotes personality. “Whose seed was in itself”, denotes a potential higher form of life with in the plant. That higher form of life, it plants is real, and this is one place where the Bible seems to indicate such.We have many examples to resort back to this beginning to indicate cannabis is good and should not be prohibited, including Gen 9:3, where Moses sets it straight.Mat,It was said that all the green seed bearing plants were all good and in fact it is told on the very 1st page of the Bible in Gen 1:11-12 & 29-31, although 31 is the 2nd page.It was said that We notice some bad stuff going on, right in government. I said let Us look for the root of the problem, and let Us do it Biblically. I said that would mean going to the Bible, to the very 1st page and starting over, and there is where the separation on a large blanket scale begins. I’m indicating that cannabis prohibition being inflicted by Government insures separation of masses of people, from the gift Christ sent. Failed clergy perpetuates this separation, and are the reason for the prohibition of cannabis in conjunction with government. Know about the sin of the priest, in the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi 1? I said if the devil was going to try to separate Us, He would not wait till the middle of the Bible, HE WOULD START ON THE VERY 1ST PAGE. Is man prohibiting the tree of life?Notice how it says it is meat? now notice How the word meat is used in 1 Timothy 4:1-5, and notice how the word food is used in both instances in the N.A.S.B.You mentioned You pay closer attention to the Old Testament. Kaneh bosm was mistranslated in the Old Testament, sometime before the King James Bible.Kaneh bosm is mistranslated 5 times. Kaneh bosm is the presimitic Hebrew use of the word cannabis. Kaneh bosm as the Biblical Hebrew origins of the word cannabis has been confirmed by Hebrew University in 1980. Those locations are: Exodus 30:23; Song of Solomon 4:14; Isaiah 43:24; Jeremiah 6:20; Ezekiel 27:19. Hebrew is the mother language. Hebrew is Edenic, as in Eden, as in the Garden of Eden. The Hebrew language may have derived from the plants in the garden, and not even by Man.But what was I really trying to say?That We are told when We obey, and that Christ simply said that means to love Your brother... You will have access to something He died for Us to have, right now, in fact yesterday. I’m saying with this gift Christ died for You to have, that communication system, will add to what You know, and guide You and what You know toward where what You know comes from. You can take what I say to Him in prayer, and ask for Him to show You the Truth as He wishes for You to know it. And He will put it on Your mind what the Truth is. He will take all the intelligence You have and add to it. He will add to what You know with out limit. You can take that truth and step in it, and reach toward where it came from. Truth has spiritual motion.Like a target rifle using the 2 coordinants (the sights) to see the bulls-eye.When we stand in that path, We become a coordinants and that coordinant is and becomes with in Us, seedlike.We reach for Truth on eternal levels, while We are being reached for, by the Eternal Truth, and then the power of Truth joins together right within Us.Mat, You like to be right, And by dickens You don’t like to be wrong... I am told to test the spirits. I am going to attempt to persecute You toward Christ God Our Father.Brothers [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Jose Melendez on June 13, 2003 at 05:31:19 PT worried? tough. "Tough Love" Teen Boot Camp Sued http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Mar/03012003/utah/34117.aspNPR is now reporting a story about what happens when crooks take advantage of your kids. I'll look for the link, words like behavior modification, abuse, Costa Rican raid, child abuse. Yet popularity of these types of facilities aree at an all time high. So parents are brainwashed and sold on outsourcing abuse. Go figure. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on June 13, 2003 at 03:44:45 PT LTE Sirs, Much of this article makes the assumption that people who drive under the influence of marijuana must be as bad or worse than drunk drivers. The Canadian Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs came to a very different conclusion when it delivered its report in September, 2002. The Senators found that "cannabis alone, particularly in low doses, has little effect on the skills involved in automobile driving." If marijuana does not impair a driver like alcohol does, then why is alcohol the legal one?Canadian Senate Committee report: http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/ille-e/rep-e/summary-e.pdf [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Kegan on June 13, 2003 at 03:06:35 PT American Students The only reason students in VERMONT know how to FIND Canada on a map, is because it is right next door!!! Most US highschool students can't find the US on a world Map, and half of them spell it wrong!These idiots you have raised on sugar and MTV, are trying to take charge.Congratulations America! You are now WAY funnier than Canada. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Dan B on June 13, 2003 at 01:00:41 PT: Are Vermont Kids Stupid? Some teens believe a lesser penalty north of the border could have a ripple effect among teens here who might become less worried about the punishment of getting caught. “The people who didn’t use it before are going to be like, ‘OK, I’m not going to get in so much trouble if I do it now,’” said Brittanny Barrows, 16, also a student at Missisquoi. It's true! Most kids in Vermont are stupid. Yep, almost everyone there believes that if a law passes in Canada, it applies in the United States! Maybe this is true because Vermont schools spend so much time indoctrinating their kids into the prohibitionist mindset that they have no time to teach basic political realities. It's the only explanation I can find.Once again, sarcastically,Dan B [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Dan B on June 13, 2003 at 00:38:07 PT: What, Me Worry? Wow. Four fully-indoctrinated teenagers believe that some of their classmates might drive to Canada to take advantage of its slightly more lenient cannabis laws, and then they might, like, drive home and get in an accident or something.I mean, it sounds plausible, doesn't it? You've heard about all the teenagers who drive across the border to Maine to take advantage of its more lenient cannabis laws, right? Maine's laws are (get this) even more lenient than Canada's proposed new laws will be. Think of the carnage that must be taking place every weekend when kids drive across the Maine border to score some weed, then head back to Vermont stoned out of their gourds, driving fifteen miles per hour. The bloodshed must be in every Vermont newspaper each and every Monday. Maybe someday I'll drive up over the Vermont/Maine border and check out all the wrecked automobiles that line the highway, then write a front page story about those horrible people to the north of Vermont who treat children with such contempt. There's only one sane course of action: close the border between Vermont and Maine. That way, Vermont kids will always be able to stay out of harm's way.Sarcastically,Dan B [ Post Comment ] Post Comment