cannabisnews.com: Pot Crusader Challenges Drug Possession Charge Pot Crusader Challenges Drug Possession Charge Posted by CN Staff on August 13, 2003 at 07:27:37 PT By Kevin O'Connor Source: StarPhoenix Regina -- Cannabis crusader Marc Emery of B.C. was back in Regina Tuesday, launching a constitutional challenge to his pot possession charge. Emery, 45, who runs the B.C. Marijuana Party and has been a vociferous critic of Canada's marijuana laws, entered a not guilty plea on a charge of possessing under 30 grams of the drug.The charge stems from July 12 when Emery lit up a marijuana pipe on the steps of the Regina police station with several officers looking on. He was arrested and spent seven hours in police cells. Emery told provincial court Judge Diane Morris he will argue the charge is a violation of his constitutional rights in light of recent court decisions that have called into question whether the drug is still illegal."It's my clear understanding from the Ontario Court of Appeal decision that cannabis has been struck from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act," he said.On June 10, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled it would not overturn an Ontario Superior Court decision that cleared a teenager of marijuana possession charges. The Superior Court judge ruled there is no current ban on simple possession of marijuana in Ontario because the federal government failed to comply with a earlier court order to make medical marijuana available. Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.canada.com/saskatoon/news/story.asp?id=442BB30A-3493-4069-8060-DFCE4F4A63DCSource: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)Author: Kevin O'ConnorPublished: Wednesday, August 13, 2003Copyright: 2003 The StarPhoenixContact: spnews thesp.comWebsite: http://www.canada.com/saskatoon/starphoenix/Related Articles & Web Site:BC Marijuana Partyhttp://www.bcmarijuanaparty.ca/Pot Politics in Quebec http://cannabisculture.com/articles/2994.htmlEmery's Legalization Tour Hits Alberta http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17048.shtmlCannabisNews Articles -- Marc Emeryhttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=emery Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #11 posted by kaptinemo on August 14, 2003 at 13:12:31 PT: Herr Wylde is sadly quite correct If all the illicit drug money floating through banks were forcibly removed from circulation immediately, the result would be massive deflation of currencies all around the planet, not just the dollar.That deflation would then spread to other sectors of the global economy and would cause disruptions in nearly every investment imaginable, from a simple house mortgage to major investment firms. Within weeks, many prices for just about everything would fall. Most commodities are extremely overpriced: the townhouse where I grew up in was worth 12,000 USD in the 1950's when my parents bought it, and now it's going for well over 200,000 because of inflation. But it's simply, physically *not worth* that much. The pricing is pure speculation. Have a massive deflation, and the house might return to it's original 'value'. Which means smeone taking out a mortgage on it would be forced to continue paying a huge sum for a hovel.Now, imagine that taking place all around the world. Inflation is bad, but deflation could be worse, in the short term. It would also cause an economic jolt which would bankrupt both governments and private banks. This is one of the reasons why, despite the obvious failure of drug policy as a social engineering mechanism, it is still maintained; it's ALWAYS been about the money.The same with illicit drugs; they'd be *dirt cheap* were it not for the 'price supports' of prohibition.Legalization has to come, if only because it's tearing this country and others apart. But it will be a hard fought battle behind the scenes, as the top bankers on this planet are as aware of this as people reading this now are...and they have more clout than any elected official. They aren't about to go 'cold turkey' from laundering drug profts, just yet. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by CorvallisEric on August 13, 2003 at 15:58:27 PT Australia (Virgil's link in comment #2) Seems to me some of the looniest reporting on cannabis has come from Australia; this one is really strange.Long considered a "soft" drug, marijuana is now being blamed for everything from depression to schizophrenia. The reason is most of it is grown hydroponically and is super-charged with chemicals, making it more and more dangerous. --- The fact that it's hydroponic is supposed to cause mental illness? Is there the slightest shred of evidence to lead credibility to this?She [youth counsellor Jill Pearman] says the number of people presenting to mental hospitals in New South Wales for cannabis-induced psychosis has gone from 15 to 26 percent over a two-year period and experts now estimate the figure is closer to 40 or 50 percent. --- Up to 50% of WHAT? Is she saying that up to a quarter (or even a half) of all mental hospital admissions are due to "cannabis-induced psychosis"?Father Chris Reilly has helped tens of thousands of troubled teenagers try and overcome their addiction. He says one of the problems is many people are unaware of how significantly the drug has changed. "People who are advocating it from the '60s haven't factored in to it that this [cannabis] is now 70 to 90 percent stronger than what they were using back in the old days," he says. --- 70 to 90 percent stronger over a few decades is actually a reasonable, if unverifiable, guess. Is this minor change supposed to actually cause any significant difference?This article goes beyond the usual propaganda blather to be ludicrous from any point of view.There is a poll question on the page which is just as stupid as the article "Do you regard cannabis as dangerous?" Current results 735 YES - 835 NO - Why not ask "Do you regard highways as dangerous?" [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Trekkie on August 13, 2003 at 15:53:40 PT 312 Yuck! Who in their right mind would put tobacco in with their bud - on purpose? That's just nasty... :p [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by global_warming on August 13, 2003 at 15:33:02 PT Mr. Marc Emery -"You have nice big cahunas" We are all with you and behind you and may God lighten your path, so that you may not suffer the harm from the gorillas that seek to hurt you.gw [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by 312 on August 13, 2003 at 14:23:10 PT Trekkie The weed doesn't come with tobacco in it; they mix it in themselves. Kiwis (people from NZ) don't tend to do this, but Aussies have a reputation for putting 'spin' (tobacco) in their joints. The UK is similar, but that's probably because the crap soapbar hash won't burn on it's own. Mixing tobacco with your weed and putting it in a bong results in an intense nicotine rush (if you can smoke it in one lungful), much stronger than can be achieved from a cigarette. That rush is very addictive and if you start smoking 'mixes', you will wake up in the morning gagging for your next fix of nicotine. The weed is not addictive, but the delivery method is quite unlike cigarette smoking and nothing else might cut it.The article complains about hyroponic marijuana, but it should complain about police wasting time removing outdoor grows, which produce natural mild sun-kissed weed, and reduce the need to waste electricity growing plants inside (which can be grown much stronger). The police make the 'problem'.From the article:The tiny town of Nimbin in northern New South Wales is considered to be the cannabis capital of Australia. According to Nimbin's unofficial mayor, Michael Balderstone, the fact most dope smokers in Australia only have access to hydroponic marijuana, which is usually mixed with tobacco, is part of the problem."I reckon, across Australia every morning, tens of thousands of young kids wake up and one of their first thoughts is a craving for a bong — it's the nicotine craving," he says. "So, you've got tobacco cravings all the time, making people smoke a lot more, making them wake up the next morning thinking, 'I want a bong', they don't realise it's a nicotine craving —it's a huge thing I think."It may be an illegal drug but sometimes you wouldn't know it. In Nimbin, naturally-grown cannabis is for sale in cafés and every bag comes with health warning. The café experiment has resulted in a dramatic fall in street dealing and a steady flow of quality-controlled, chemical-free marijuana. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by WolfgangWylde on August 13, 2003 at 11:42:01 PT To E_Johnson... ...I think it goes a lot further than the American economy. There are some very reputable folks out there saying that the world economy (U.S. included) is utterly dependent on the illegal cash flow that results from the drug trade. Did you know that the head of one of New York's largest brokerage firms paid a sales visit to the FARC leaders in Colombia? Now just what kind of money would they have to invest? Isn't it an amazing coincidence that Afghanistan is back as the #1 heroin producer AFTER the U.S. takeover? In fact, if you look at almost every case of U.S. military involvement in the last 40 years (Vietnam, Haiti, Panama, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq...), the result has been increased trade in illegal drugs. By some accounts, illegal drugs account for 8% of all world trade. And those profits are, of course, artificially inflated by Prohibition. Without it, many financial institutions, and the countries relying on them, would go under. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Trekkie on August 13, 2003 at 11:38:50 PT Australian "study' The most startling "fact" in the link Virgil posted, was about cannabis dependancy. The article then explains that in OZ, hydro is usually mixed with tobacco, thus the dependancy.This is the most inherant danger in street weed, you do not know what may be in with it. When the mouthpieces for the DEA/ONDCP/Republican party/etc claim victories for all the users in rehab, they should test the rehabilitant's baggie, to see what else is in there.Also, very good point E_Johnson... [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Virgil on August 13, 2003 at 11:10:33 PT Justice delayed, justice denied(for everyone) I have no doubt that the future Ontario Supreme Court rulings and whatever is in the pipeline at the Canadian Supreme Court have an effect on this. The circumstances are undeniable and he does not even challenge having MJ. A delayed ruling surely is not in the public interest and you mean they cannot decide a possession charge when he admits possession.I forgot to mention that Turmel was somehow wound up in those August 28 &29 appeals for claiming he was using MJ medicinally for its preventive properties. They did not want to hear that argument and dismissed it without discussion.It is a hot potato. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by afterburner on August 13, 2003 at 10:15:01 PT: Virgil, in my Experience... These continuances seem to be standard court procedure in Canada. No doubt a make-work project for lawyers and judges. It does give counsel time to build a case for prosecution or defence. Or in this case they may be stalling, awaiting the Supreme Court rulings in September, or some retroactive recriminalization-with-fines malarkey from Parliament.ego transcendence follows ego destruction, the wheels of judiciary rulings turn slowly, but in the main they have been sympathetic to our cause. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Virgil on August 13, 2003 at 08:23:03 PT Hot potato- two month delay in trial The article will go on to say that his trial will be October 16th. The judge knew the issue and Emery was there for trial. He is being harassed and the issue is being dodged. The ruling should have come today and the issue should be settled.There is a article out of Australia talking about the harms of cannabis. It raises the issue of chemicals in hydroponic growing- http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/stories/1468.asp [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on August 13, 2003 at 07:56:21 PT Why they're afraid to end the war Police and prison inmate make up two large blue collar job markets that can't be shipped overseas.Prison inmate isn't really a job, but it does take people out of the job market, so prison inmate functions like a job with respect to the unemployement figures.I wonder whether the American economy has become dependent on the Drug War in some way. Historians are now arguing that Lenin and Stalin designed the GULag as part of the Soviet economy. They envisioned mass imprisonment as an economic necessity along the road from socialism to communism. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment