cannabisnews.com: Feds Follow Canada Marijuana Proposal Feds Follow Canada Marijuana Proposal Posted by CN Staff on June 20, 2003 at 12:21:49 PT By Matthew Daly, Associated Press Source: Associated Press Washington -- U.S. officials, already concerned about illegal drugs coming across the Canadian border, are warning that a Canadian plan to decriminalize marijuana use could lead to more inspections and long border delays."We don't want the northern border to be a trafficking route for drugs," said Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security for the Department of Homeland Security. Hutchinson and other U.S. officials say the Canadian proposal is especially troublesome, considering how drug seizures along the vast northern border soared following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks - in part because of heightened security. The amount of marijuana seized from Canada quadrupled in the year after the attacks.Seizures have subsided slightly since, but remain well above historic levels.If Canada approves a plan to decriminalize marijuana for personal use, U.S. officials fear drug smuggling could spike, further burdening the justice system and hindering trade. More vehicles may be stopped and searched at checkpoints along the 4,000-mile border, slowing movement of the $1 billion worth of goods traded between the two countries each day."If the perception is that it's easier to get marijuana in, then some border officials' antennas will be up," said Paul Cellucci, U.S. ambassador to Canada.Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien's administration introduced legislation in late May that would essentially make the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana equivalent to a traffic ticket. The bill would boost penalties for growing and trafficking marijuana.The Canadian proposal "is amazing to us," said Dave McEachran, prosecuting attorney in Whatcom County, along the Washington state border. McEachran's office prosecutes hundreds of federal drug cases a year resulting from arrests at the Blaine, Wash., border - the busiest crossing west of Detroit.Canada has long had tolerant drug policing. British Columbia alone is home to a $4 billion industry in marijuana that is more potent than Mexican marijuana. Problems with smuggling over the U.S. border have existed for years.Canadian officials call U.S. concerns understandable, but say the two nations have a long history of cooperation.That cooperation is especially close on law enforcement, said Paul Kennedy, senior assistant deputy solicitor general for Canada. There's smuggling going both ways, Kennedy noted. While marijuana enters the U.S., cocaine and guns tend to travel north.While the decriminalization plan has set off alarms, the flow of marijuana from Canada pales in comparison to the amount grown in the United States or imported from other countries such as Mexico and Colombia. In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2002, some 20,213 pounds of marijuana was seized along the northern border, compared with more than 1.2 million pounds along the southwest border, Customs figures show."There's a lot of talk about B.C. bud, but we are just a small part" of the U.S. drug trade, Kennedy said.Bureau of Customs and Border Protection: http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/ Source: Associated PressAuthor: Matthew Daly, Associated PressPublished: Friday, June 20, 2003Copyright: 2003 Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmToronto Police Ignore Pot Party in Front of HQhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16653.shtmlNo Laws Ban Possession of Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16321.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #7 posted by Lehder on June 20, 2003 at 17:13:28 PT freedom smokes 1.2 million pounds. if that's 10% then 11 million pounds got through the border. if a pot smoker smokes 2 pounds / year, that 11 million pounds keeps 5.5 million extremely heavy smokers smoking, or 55 million weekly smokers smoking.if this 11 million pounds of mexican weed amounts to 1/4 of pot smoked in the US, then there must be either 220 million weekly smokers or else 22 million dedicated smokers or some ensemble of the two. that's a lot of smoking. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Trekkie on June 20, 2003 at 15:33:41 PT Import/Export "There's smuggling going both ways, Kennedy noted. While marijuana enters the U.S., cocaine and guns tend to travel north."Pop quiz: which export is more destructive, and who is closing the borders for whom? Just a little hypocritical tidbit to chew on... [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by global_warming on June 20, 2003 at 14:19:00 PT: Re: Detroit http://www.detnews.com/2003/metro/0306/20/a01-197505.htm 17 Detroit cops chargedFeds allege illegal searches, stealing money, drugsBy David Shepardson and David G. Grant / The Detroit News Brown Oliver Department under fireThe Detroit Police Department has been under scrutiny from several fronts: The department agreed last week to a sweeping overhaul that includes an independent monitor and federal court oversight for the next five years. The department will make major revisions to its policies on the use of force, arrest and detention of witnesses, training and officer discipline. One current and one former member of the Detroit Police Department have sued the city under the Whistleblower Protection Act. Former Deputy Chief Gary Brown and Officer Harold Nelthrope claim they were targeted by the Kilpatrick administration after they raised allegations of impropriety by city officials. The state Attorney General and Michigan State Police are investigating Brown's firing by Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Recent reports 17 Detroit cops face charges Kilpatrick's top guard reassigned Anti-Oliver radio ads due to run Feds order overhaul of Detroit police Mayor aide cut access to cop files Police union ad bashes Oliver Fired officer files whistleblower suit Council votes for stricter standards for Detroit police bodyguards Mayor's cop rose to top, despite past Mayor's top guards disciplined in past Ex-rival files recall petition against mayor Investigation may hurt Detroit on issues before Legislature Granholm, Cox clash on probe Laura Berman: Kilpatrick's wife was significant by her absence from news conference Cox to join Detroit inquiry Officer warned against talking Mayor's aide linked to report State Police to investigate Brown firing Mayor slams press, political adversaries Fired deputy chief has had mixed record Memo release called chilling Pete Waldmeir: Brown's inquiry touched nerves, and Kilpatrick simply overreacted Deputy chief fired for not backing off Sheriff won't review firing Who will lead investigation into firing? Ex-security force cop says he knew too much Mayors risk mixing police, city politics, experts say Mayor clashes with fired cop Brown: Bad manager or a man of integrity? Federal officials troubled by firing Sheriff agrees to investigate allegations Latest charges represent mayor's biggest challenge 20 officers are assigned to Kilpatrick Council questions police exec's firing Oliver fires head of Detroit Police internal affairs Monitor to oversee Detroit police Cops fail to find drug case evidence Detroit lacks system to track bad cops Detroit police tipped to clerk Feds probe ex-Wayne sheriffDETROIT -- Seventeen Detroit police officers were charged today by the federal government with extortion and robbery, the outcome of a widespread investigation into police corruption. Most are police officers assigned to the 4th (Fort) Precinct on the city's southwest side. The officers are accused of stealing money and drugs from drug dealers and prostitutes, searching houses without warrants and reselling drugs. The charges stem from a yearlong joint investigation by the Detroit office of the FBI and the Police Department's internal controls unit. Police Chief Jerry A. Oliver Sr. has made rooting out corruption a top priority since he took office in January 2002. The indictment unsealed today is the latest in a string of Detroit police corruption cases and comes a week after the department agreed to make sweeping reforms in order to settle a civil rights complaint by the federal government. On June 12, the city signed two consent decrees that call for oversight by an independent monitor and a federal judge until 2008. The indictment, which would charge one of the largest groups of officers in the department's history, won't be the last one to come out of the joint FBI-Detroit police probe, officials said. The task force is conducting at least three other investigations into allegations of police misconduct, they said. Paula Wendell, then acting chief of the Detroit FBI, said in October that there were "a number of ongoing criminal investigations into the Detroit Police Department." In May 2002, four months after he took office, Chief Oliver told The News: "I'm going to tell you right now we are going to run off a lot of people, because we've got some criminals that work for us here." Two months later, the FBI and Detroit police created the task force to jointly investigate allegations of public corruption by the Detroit Police Department. About eight Detroit officers are assigned to the task force. Former Deputy Chief Gary Brown, who headed the department's internal affairs unit until he was fired May 9 by Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, said he helped oversee the investigation that is expected to produce today's indictments. "I'm happy for the men and women in the corruption unit because this is a feather in their cap. Those officers did a lot of leg work," said Brown, who believes the indictments were delayed because of the controversy over his firing. A separate team of state investigators led by Thomas Furtaw, head of the criminal division of the state Attorney General's Office, is investigating Brown's firing and allegations of wrongdoing by members of Kilpatrick's security detail. Brown has filed suit against the city claiming he was wrongly fired. Cmdr. Donald Parshall, in charge of the internal controls division, and Deputy Chief Harold Cureton, director of the professional accountability bureau, declined to comment Wednesday about the indictments. FBI commonly at 4th Fourth Precinct Cmdr. Charles Barbieri said none of his supervisors told him that several of his officers were to be indicted. "There may be substance to these allegations," Barbieri said. "The sad part is these investigations take too damn long. I won't sleep too well thinking about it tonight." Alfred Gomez-Mesquita, who headed the 4th precinct until July 2002, said FBI investigations at the precinct weren't uncommon. "The FBI would be in almost monthly," said Gomez-Mesquita, who now heads the 12th (Palmer Park) Precinct. "We had all sorts of investigations in my 81/2 years there, but nothing significant ever came from them." U.S. Attorney Jeffrey G. Collins was expected to make an announcement today, along with the government's lead prosecutor, R. Michael Bullotta. Bullotta declined comment Wednesday, as did an aide to Collins. The investigation began about a year ago when a former prostitute complained that Detroit police officers had stolen money from her, officials close to the case said. Others made similar complaints against the same officers. Other police accusations In the past decade, Detroit police officers have repeatedly been accused of stealing money from drug dealers and others. The cases include: In October, nine people were named in a 17-count indictment, including a civilian employee, John Cole Sr., who was accused of stealing 222 pounds of cocaine from the police department's evidence room and replacing it with flour. Also indicted was a Michigan State Police lieutenant and a Detroit police officer. The case is awaiting trial. The indictment came 18 months after the FBI learned of the missing cocaine and five years after the police department received anonymous tips that Cole was selling drugs. In 2000, two 8th (Grand River) Precinct officers were convicted of drug charges. The pair approached another officer and told him they had stolen 2.2 pounds of cocaine while on duty and sold it to a drug dealer. In July 1999, two officers assigned to the department's narcotics section were caught by FBI cameras stealing cash from a drug raid in an FBI sting. In 1998, seven officers who worked at the 6th (Plymouth) Precinct were found guilty of corruption. The government said they kept money, guns and drugs seized from crack houses, planted phony evidence and falsified police reports between April 1995 through March 1997. In 1998, three 5th (Jefferson) Precinct officers were convicted of charges that they plotted to rob a bookie in Southfield. They planned to simulate a police raid, the government said. All three were sentenced to at least five years in prison. Perhaps no Detroit police corruption case is more infamous than the conviction of former Police Chief Wiiliam Hart. In 1992, Hart was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $2.3 million for looting the police secret service fund, designed to pay informants and make drug buys. You can reach David Shepardson at (313) 222-2028 or dshepardson detnews.com.I hope this is not a re-hash for you rev.. But this story just illustrates how this war on people has become such a cancer in our country..and remember this cancer is everywhere where the prohibition exists, everywhere.. gw [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Truth on June 20, 2003 at 13:24:53 PT BC BUD is not the enemy. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by RevHappy on June 20, 2003 at 13:18:21 PT: Meanwhile In the BUD cave.... So in Detroit, they pulled over HALF of their feds off drugs and put them onto terrorism, AND 18 Detoit police officers are INDICTED for stealing from dealers and prostitutes.They dont have the resources to back up failed and unpopular policy anymore.Can anyone get a link out for that Detroit police indictment story? Busloads for Bonghits to Canada! [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by global_warming on June 20, 2003 at 13:17:46 PT: Read Between The Lines ...The amount of marijuana seized from Canada quadrupled in the year after the attacks...The americans are so focused on marijuana, to the exclusion of more serious problems..that is why americans are so frightened by these constant terrorist alerts,..yellow..orange..green.....The Canadian proposal "is amazing to us," said Dave McEachran, prosecuting attorney in Whatcom County, along the Washington state border. McEachran's office prosecutes hundreds of federal drug cases a year resulting from arrests at the Blaine, Wash., border - the busiest crossing west of Detroit...Dave, please shut up and pee in the cup.....If Canada approves a plan to decriminalize marijuana for personal use, U.S. officials fear drug smuggling could spike, further burdening the justice system and hindering trade. More vehicles may be stopped and searched at checkpoints along the 4,000-mile border, slowing movement of the $1 billion worth of goods traded between the two countries each day....More bullshit and drug warrior hysteria, why would canadians ever want to come across the border? To a place that is wrapped so tight, you might get busted for farting here in the US..Anyway, I was reading,..http://story.news.yahoo.com/fc?cid=34&tmpl=fc&in=US&cat=Health_Care...AP) - The Senate voted Friday to allow U.S. pharmacists to buy prescription drugs in Canada, where the same medicines sell for less, and resell them here, another attempt to drive down the rising cost of drugs...The US congress looks like its going to go ahead with allowing US pharmacies to buy "DRUGS" from Canada, then be re-sold in the US, they can get them cheaper in Canada..Hmmm, maybe this mail order thing might be ok..I concur with WolfgangWylde ...Bushlet isn't going to do anything to endanger his re-election, and screwing with the border will only hurt the American economy even more...You got that right..Bushlet-Bullshit, money talks and you know what is going to walk..gw [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by WolfgangWylde on June 20, 2003 at 12:31:10 PT Its all a bluff... ...Bushlet isn't going to do anything to endanger his re-election, and screwing with the border will only hurt the American economy even more. 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