cannabisnews.com: Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll? Blame Canada





Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll? Blame Canada
Posted by CN Staff on August 12, 2003 at 19:36:04 PT
By Les Leyne
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer 
In the 20th century, good old boring, gray Canada was ... well, who knows what it was? Not many Americans ever noticed or cared. But the 21st century Canada is a fast-breaking new story, going recently in a direction that has startled Canadians as much as it has everyone else.In May, Canadians still shaking off the effects of winter awoke one day to find the federal government had introduced a bill that will decriminalize possession of small quantities of marijuana, making it a trivial violation on par with getting a $150 traffic ticket.
Then in June, an Ontario court ruling that will go unchallenged across most of Canada declared that same-sex marriages are legal. Gay couples started flocking into Toronto City Hall and other municipal offices to get marriage licenses. More than 300 of them have obtained legal licenses at Toronto City Hall alone at last count, including 49 from the United States, even though their ceremonies are not recognized back home.Running concurrently was the news that the government retained the services of the Rolling Stones for a massive outdoor concert late last month to banish the lingering economic effect of SARS in Toronto. That's another first; who would have thought a government would ever enlist Keith Richards in a public health campaign?In short order, Canada touched all three bases on the fabled road to ruin: sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.The gay marriage and marijuana stories continue to develop. The British Columbia court recently reversed itself and followed Ontario's lead. Within an hour, a gay couple on the courthouse steps got legally married for the first time in British Columbia (after changing bride and groom on the bureaucratic form to spouse). They sealed it with a passionate kiss carried on provincewide television.Then the federal government announced the marijuana it has been growing in a remote northern mine shaft for a pilot medical-use project will be couriered to doctors and made available to people with medical certificates for $5 (Canadian) a gram.Gays getting legally married, pot decriminalized, Ottawa dealing dope -- what's the deal?If you compare catchphrases -- the United States' "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" from the Declaration of Independence versus Canada's "peace, order and good government" from the Constitution Act of 1867 -- you wouldn't think Canada would be breaking new ground on social-policy fronts. This is the country that brought the world televised curling.But it is now looking positively European in some aspects. The old, faintly perceived image of being cold, cordial and cloistered is fading. Canada has gone from cold to cool. From cordial to beyond friendly (look for magazine cover teasers such as "When Mounties Marry -- Each Other"). And from cloistered to wide, wide open.Mild-mannered Canadians, innately polite and orderly, seem to be taking it in stride so far. Religious leaders from various denominations have expressed serious reservations about legalized same-sex marriages. National organizations representing Catholics, Muslims and Orthodox Jews want the historic Biblical definition of a union of a man and a woman retained. More liberal faiths are going along, and some denominations are split right down the middle.But religion holds far less sway in Canada than in the United States. A recent (Toronto) Globe and Mail headline about Canada's churchgoing rate (a laggard 20 percent, half the U.S. rate) read: "God is Dead: Whatever."It's ironic, says the minister who performed British Columbia's first legal same-sex marriage. Tim Stevenson is the first openly gay ordained Canadian minister, the first openly gay Cabinet minister in Canada (in a previous government) and is now a Vancouver city councilman. Partnered for 21 years and co-father of three children, he laughs at the new image Americans may have of Canada: "The pot-smoking queers have taken power!"Oddly enough, for an ordained minister, Stevenson said the lessened religious influence is a positive in Canada. Despite the U.S. history of welcoming people fleeing oppression, some of it religion-based, he says the irony is the United States now sometimes resembles a theocratic, religious republic.But Canada is prepared to ignore its religious leaders, put aside Biblical injunctions and redefine marriage for the 21st century. The federal government will soon rewrite the law to recognize the court decision, and Canada will be only the third country in the world to legalize same-sex marriages, after Belgium and the Netherlands. "There are very significant U.S.-Canadian differences, and these moves will accentuate those," Stevenson said. "I don't think it's any accident that the liberal European countries are much more aligned with us than the United States."Some Canadians are worried about the clout the United States can bring to bear if it is moved to make its views about Canada felt. U.S. drug policy director John Walters already has warned Canada against the new pot laws, which could make for delays at already clogged border crossings.And in the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning sodomy laws, Justice Antonin Scalia issued a dark, dissenting warning that the country is "heading down the road for judicially imposed homosexual marriages, as has recently occurred in Canada."But not everyone is making much of this recent liberal lurch, or any emerging U.S.-Canada social gulf.Keith Martin, an Opposition Member of Parliament from Vancouver Island, said: "There's a huge mythology that Canada is a more liberal, socialistic place. There is an erroneous perception that the U.S. is a monolithic, hard-right, intolerant Republican place."But large parts of the United States would fit comfortably into the Canadian approach. The picture is a lot more nuanced than that."A dozen U.S. states have relaxed pot-possession laws, and large segments of the population don't support the administration's continued "war" on drugs, he said. By one estimate, 30 percent of the U.S. population lives under pot laws as or more lenient than the one introduced in Canada.Marijuana activist Philippe Lucas, who openly sells marijuana to people in Victoria with doctor's certificates saying they need it, agrees."The U.S. is actually far ahead of Canada in allowing the medical use of marijuana at the state level," he said. Eight states, including Washington, already recognize that special use.Lucas dismisses the new pot law as not going nearly far enough. "The original intent of the law was probably good, but it's a step backward. We had a chance to do something progressive, and we took a step backward."The decriminalization of small amounts (under a half-ounce) simply reflects the reality; street cops using discretion opted out of arresting people for that offense years ago. There are two cafes in Vancouver where people smoke it openly -- no sales are allowed -- with minimal police interest. Ticketing is actually being touted as a way to increase enforcement; cops will issue fines, rather than lay charges."No one has 'gone Dutch' yet,' " said Lucas, meaning buying and selling openly, as well. "It's not something we'll see on the West Coast for a while yet."Even if the bill passes, which is very questionable, it still puts us far behind Europe in terms of progressive reform. They are miles ahead of us."The Liberal government's pot law could die in Parliament. Its passage depends on whether outgoing Prime Minister Jean Chretien is serious about establishing that as a legacy, or just introduced it to make mischief for his likely successor, former Finance Minister Paul Martin, with whom he had a bitter falling-out last year.It's widely presumed that Martin will win the current leadership race and be prime minister by early next year, when Chretien retires. In a recent interview in Victoria, Martin said even if the pot law doesn't make it through Parliament, he would continue with decriminalization, coupled with a crackdown on the biker gangs who deal in it."Society evolves," he said. "It's the responsibility of government to reflect that evolution. There's a book ("Fire and Ice: The U.S., Canada and the Myth of Converging Values" by Michael Adams) talking about the different perspectives that occur between Canadians and Americans over the past decade."The argument was, contrary to what people might normally think, the greater integration of the two economies has not led to an integration of perspectives or insights. In fact, Canadians are clearly going the other way. I think that's right."Whether this is because there's always been a greater collective sense of responsibility in Canada than in the U.S. -- there's a different history in the two countries -- I don't really know. But there's no doubt that that is a fact."One theme common to the decriminalization and the same-sex marriage issues is that both were spurred by court rulings over the years flowing from the 21-year-old Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The country relied for its charter on British law up until 1982, so the constitution is still in its infancy. And gays and marijuana activists made determined and ingenious use of it and other legal arguments over the years in pushing their respective causes.Americans looking northward will notice other recent developments. Canada opted to sit out the U.S.-led war in Iraq, and the government enjoyed considerable support in making that decision. The government is also pursuing a stringent national gun-control regime, even though it has been established to be scandalously inefficient and monstrously over budget.Inside Canada, it's startling to note both the recent swerves originated in Ontario, although the flaky Left Coast (the California of Canada) is supposed to be in the vanguard of social change. Wherever it's coming from, central Canada, the charter of rights or newly discovered fundamental social differences with the United States, it's been a remarkable few months on the social-policy front.If some of these attitudes start creeping over the 49th parallel, Americans are advised to start singing the Oscar-nominated song from the "South Park" movie of a few years ago: "Blame Canada."Les Leyne is a writer for the Victoria Times Colonist's Legislature Bureau.Newshawk: afterburnerSource: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA)Author: Les LeynePublished: Sunday, August 10, 2003Copyright: 2003 Seattle Post-IntelligencerContact: editpage seattle-pi.comWebsite: http://www.seattle-pi.com/CannabisNews Articles -- Canadahttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=canada
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #5 posted by Sam Adams on August 13, 2003 at 06:23:34 PT
another report from the land of make-believe
Another propagandist article, enshrining the view of the political class. Only in the American political class (which consists of government and media) are Canada's actions extreme. I would say about once a week I run into a person I barely know that starts saying "we really need to legalize drugs, gambling and prostitution, the government is way out of line and doing a horrible job". Most recently it was a friend's 65-year old father, an ex-Naval commander and conservative to the bone.But that's OK, keep your ears covered and read only corporate media. Those Canadians are CRAZY!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by FoM on August 12, 2003 at 22:43:50 PT
Just a Note
I hope everyone is getting by without getting the new worm. So far I'm ok. I hope you all are too. New Internet 'Worm' The Nastiest Yet: http://www.statesman.com/nationworld/content/news/081203/0812worm.htmlhttp://news.google.com/news/en/us/technology.html
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by afterburner on August 12, 2003 at 22:21:02 PT:
It Seems Marc Really Did Want to Get Arrested...
not his first choice, surely. He would rather the police just acknowledged the lack of a cannabis prohibition law. But barring that in the hard-nose jurisdictions, he is willing to deliberately get charged with possession just to get the courts to acknowledge the absence of cannabis prohibition. The courts deliberate slowly, so they won't necessarily make a decision tomorrow. Your welcome, Vigil, about J.P., and congratulations on your upcoming senior citizenship.Turmel sees cannabis as being taken out of schedule two, thereby repealing the law against not only cannabis possession, but also against cannabis "trafficking" and against cannabis "cultivation." Marc and his lawyer agree with this interpretation. Marc goes on to say that paraphernalia laws can no longer prohibit pipes and such used to smoke a legal plant.Last Saturday I was passing out flyers for the upcoming Canabian Day in Toronto. This is one of two events in August in addition to the Summer of Legalization Tour. The first is Hempfest 2003 / Weedstock.Hempfest 2003: August 22, 23, 24Northern Ont., near Sault Ste Marie"Camping, bands, speakers, vendors, lazer lights and plenty to go around."http://www.planetarypride.com The second is Canabian Day."Come celebrate cannabis freedom in Toronto.Cannabis in Canada presents Canabian Day. August 30, 2003, in Toronto's Trinity Bellwoods Park. Celebrate cannabis freedom from 1-5pm, with live bands, guest speakers and an irie vibe." http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/3040.htmlMarc Emery is planning to be there. It looks like I'll be there selling Summer of Legalization Tour t-shirts and issues of Cannabis Culture. $1 of each sale goes to the Marc Emery Legal Defence Fund. I just received an email from Marc saying that he likes the t-shirts. Anyone not able to make either event, contact afterburner boxfrog.com for details about the t-shirts.ego transcendence follows ego destruction, cannabis freedom keeps growing stronger.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by Virgil on August 12, 2003 at 20:46:24 PT
correct comment1
It was Superior court Judge Rogin that upheld Judge Phillips January 2nd ruling saying there were no laws against possession. Lederman is the one who on January 9th said the MMAR was unconstitutional and the government has 6 months to fix it.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by Virgil on August 12, 2003 at 20:35:55 PT
Big deal
Letting people legalize partnerships and restoring freedom to what was always free before unconstitutional growth of federal power for a police state and a Rolling Stones concert. You have got to be kidding me, with some goofy crap with they are over the line with sex, drugs, rock and roll. There has always been sex everywhere and cannabis was here before us. And do you not think the Rolling Stones have played more in the US than in Canada as if that has anything to do with anything.This writer must be a washed-up has been or never-was or work cheap. It is not only goofy, it is lacking in the real story of herb since the May 16th ruling of Judge Lederman in Superior Court affirming the January 2nd ruling of Judge Steven Phillips that said that possession was not a crime known to law in Canada. Why can he not hit the nail on the head? Granted he may not be allowed to, but just being goofy is embarrassing.Thanks Afterburner for saying J.P. was the 17 year-old minor in the January 2nd case heard by Judge Phillips. Judge Pitt made some ruling in the Terry Parker case and possibly the July 31, 2001 ruling saying the government's program for MMJ was unconstitutional and granted them a year stay to fix it.Now Judge Rogin did not say that the manufacture and sale of cannabis was illegal. Someone should say it and the Crown's attorney mentioned the abolishment of prohibition in the 5 cases heard July 28 and 29. Cannabis is no longer referenced in Section 4 and is just like tomatoes in Ontario. No one wants to say it and that is why Marc Emery is doing his tour. He is not trying to change the law. He is saying there is no law and in Ontario he is not going to be challenged with 100 plants or a 1000. For myself, I believe he is right in saying there are no laws resreicting herb in all of Canada. It is a big secret and they arrest him so that the issue is not clear. I think he has a court date tomorrow that will make it clear that he is right. Oh my!
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment