cannabisnews.com: Up In Smoke





Up In Smoke
Posted by CN Staff on July 27, 2006 at 06:08:50 PT
By Philip Slayton, Literary Review of Canada 
Source: National Post
Canada -- 'When I was in England, I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn't like it. I didn't inhale and never tried it again." Bill Clinton's famous obfuscation was reported by Gwen Ifill in The New York Times on March 30, 1992.Clinton was in England from 1968 to 1970, studying at Oxford University. He and I overlapped as students at Oxford, although I never met him. Myself, I did not experiment with marijuana even "a time or two" when I was in England.
Things might have been different for Bill and me if we had been hanging out in downtown Toronto's Yorkville district. In Not This Time: Canadians, Public Policy and the Marijuana Question, 1961-1975 (printed, it proclaims without a hint of humour, on acid-free paper), Marcel Martel writes that Yorkville at that time "became the visible manifestation of the counterculture movement ..." Needless to say, in those days being a member of the counter-culture and clashing with the establishment meant smoking a lot of dope.If Bill and I had wandered through Yorkville then, we might have bumped into that counterculture figure, Pierre Berton. Shortly before he died in 2004, Berton told the Toronto Star that he had been a recreational marijuana user since the 1960s. At around the same time as he gave that interview, Berton was introduced on Rick Mercer's satirical CBC television program Monday Report as a "marijuana connoisseur" and gave step-by-step advice on how to roll a joint. He stressed the importance of a "good rolling surface," and advised that a joint should be rolled "firm, but not too firm." Thus did one of Canada's most popular and respected authors, 84 years old, holder of 12 honourary degrees and a companion of the Order of Canada, appear on the government-owned television network to give instructions on the proper use of an illegal drug. Hooray for Canada!Martel's book analyzes marijuana as a topic of social debate and conflict in the Canada of the 1960s. Baby boomers, he tells us, smoked marijuana to defy mainstream values. Meanwhile, opponents of marijuana use maintained that the drug undermined "the traditional understanding of the acceptable way to function in society. People on drugs ... constitute a threat to society but also to themselves by becoming emotionally unstable, by escaping daily reality, and by promoting unrealistic views about the meaning of life. Furthermore, drug users lack productivity." Lack of productivity was, no doubt, seen as the most dangerous threat of all to the Canadian way of life.Martel reports that the marijuana debate of those days was dominated by two loose coalitions. One supported existing drug legislation, and was composed principally of government representatives and agencies of various kinds, including most addiction research foundations, the federal Department of Justice and police forces. The second coalition, which wanted legal penalties reduced, was an even looser array of individuals and organizations, and included the Canadian Medical Association and the Department of National Health and Welfare.The debate culminated with the Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs (1969-1973), chaired by the mercurial Gerald Le Dain, then dean of Osgoode Hall Law School and later a judge of the Supreme Court of Canada. The Le Dain Commission was appointed for the usual dubious reasons. "With the creation of the Commission," writes Martel, "the federal government had gained some time, and hoped that this would help to overcome its own internal divisions on marijuana, since major decisions would, of course, have to wait until the Commission submitted its conclusions."The Le Dain Commission rejected the legalization of marijuana use, but suggested that penalties, particularly for simple possession, be substantially reduced. Snipped:Complete Article: http://tinyurl.com/r7ug5Source: National Post (Canada)Author: Philip Slayton, Literary Review of Canada Published: Thursday, July 27, 2006Copyright: 2006 National PostContact: letters nationalpost.comWebsite: http://www.nationalpost.com/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #11 posted by Wayne on July 27, 2006 at 14:31:12 PT
Re: FoM #1
"The government says misusing prescription medicine – especially painkillers – is the No. 2 drug problem in the country, with 6 million Americans using prescription drugs for non-medical purposes. Only marijuana is a more-used drug."Actually, I would bet money that Aspirin is more used than marijuana. ASPIRIN should be the #1 problem. Just because it is more used...DOESN'T MAKE IT A PROBLEM! People aren't OVERDOSING on marijuana!! Someone needs to hammer that through Mark Souder's THICK SKULL."[Souder] said the plan is 'full of platitudes that don’t seem to be truly backed up with any assigned responsibility or interim goals proper to the end of this administration' in 2008."And you're surprised? Hell that describes the administration to a T. They don't assign responsibility for ANYTHING!
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Comment #10 posted by mai_bong_city on July 27, 2006 at 11:54:53 PT
too funny JR
cheese smugglers, cheeseheads, etc. what is the world coming to? 
pssst.....anybody got da' hook-up for a wheel of the unpasteurized good chit? ;)thanks for that one, it's a keeper. sadly though, i know just how they all feel. it's alright to blow us all up with nukes but don't go putting that nasty cheese in your mouth because you might die. it's all nuts.
they're prolly illegal too.
:(
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Comment #9 posted by mai_bong_city on July 27, 2006 at 11:43:25 PT
good point Max
the whole thing is totally bogus - they're not even trying anymore.
suffice to say, keep away from the kool-aid, kids!
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Comment #8 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on July 27, 2006 at 10:45:45 PT
WoC: the War on Cheese
I had no idea there were prohibited varieties of cheese:
http://www.sanfranmag.com/home/view_story/1154/
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Comment #7 posted by afterburner on July 27, 2006 at 10:15:25 PT
Great Analogy, lombar #4
"We will not abolish slavery because it will offend the USA. There will be an underground railway of runaway slaves and criminals here will just sell them back the the USA." Back in the 1960s & 1970s, my wife and I wandered through Yorkville and frequented clubs like the Penny Farthing with their great live music. We were known to smoke a little hashish from time to time too. Unlike Bill Clinton, we did inhale and saw some wondrous and some terrifying visions.Gradually, the Yorkville strip was taken over by upscale tourist traps and the fun clubs, clothing stores and headshops were squeezed out. Ah, urban renewal: it's a b*tch!As for Harper, he was handed the Prime Minister-ship because of the Liberal Sponsorship Scandal. He started his quest for legitimacy by currying favor with the police and continues to agitate for more law 'n' order. He has successfully raised the level of fear in Canada in order to garner more votes in any future election. However, the medical cannabis movement has overwhelming public support (Mayerthorpe RCMP Massacre aside) and is a thorn in Harper's side that he must presently endure. The court challenges continue though, and the Harper minority government has grudgingly extended the Medical Marijuana Access Program.Canada's Conservative Government Extends Med Pot Program Contract 
by Mindelle Jacobs, The Edmonton Sun (02 Jul, 2006) http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/4782.html
"Two lawyers fight the one-grower-one-patient rule that many say is unconstitutional and does not meet medicinal marijuana exemptees' needs"
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Comment #6 posted by PainWithNoInsurance on July 27, 2006 at 09:57:06 PT
mayan
QUOTE:
Souder is simply posturing and has probably already been paid off by the pharmaceutical companies to come up with an ineffectual,feel-good "solution" to prescription drug abuse which doesn't hurt their bottom line. A few months ago a group of people were pointing out in the news how Souder has taken $22,000.00 from drug companies. I wouldn't doubt it is more. Crime is so ubiquitous in the US government.
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Comment #5 posted by Max Flowers on July 27, 2006 at 09:49:52 PT
(OT) Mayan and all
Don't you find it just painfully obvious and suspicious, the way this Al-Zawahiri guy shoots his new "video" in front of a poster showing the WTC being hit by the planes, while the word is already out that Bin Laden has stated that he and Al Qaida have no connection to 9/11? Isn't that a bit of a HUGE inconsistency?? They are the #1 and #2 in "Al Qaida"... yet Bin Laden says they didn't do it, while Al-Zawahiri shows an image that is clearly meant to convey that they DID? What is this bullcrap? It's CIA bullcrap, that's what it is. It's just getting STUPID now.
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Comment #4 posted by lombar on July 27, 2006 at 09:36:21 PT
It's easy FoM - anti prohibition is not
necessarily pro-drug. Drug war proponents always twist their opponents with the appeal to emotion. Prejudice, as most people have for cannabis "dopers, heads, dopeheads, stupid stoners...etc" it is conditioned behavior based upon misinformation. Cannabis users are constantly equated with alcoholics and hard-drug addicts because it is the staple of the war on drugs, without cannabis prohibition, billions of dollars does not go to Souders friends. Emotional manipulation, "fear what might happen, what IS happening does not matter".The government has NO RIGHT at all to dictate to you what you can consume. Doing hard drugs to the point of addiction or dependence is foolhardy and dangerous. They would have no problem with me being addicted to 'lipidor', despite the danger. It's prejudice, plain and simple and that will be my choice as a favorite new drum to beat on. The anti-cannabis laws arose because of predjudice, multiplied by Nixons predjdice, and is now maintained with predjudice. None of their reasoning for the war on drugs is in any way objective, based in science, because IT IS emotional manipulation and predjudice. The pot-smoker(now illicit drug users) is the 'jew' of the modern times, hatred is sanctioned and institutionalized but masked by the bogus notion that its 'for the good of society'. They also realized they could get more use out of slaves if they did not gas them.I wonder if the conservative government MPs of Canada would have made this argument:"We will not abolish slavery because it will offend the USA. There will be an underground railway of runaway slaves and criminals here will just sell them back the the USA."
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on July 27, 2006 at 07:31:57 PT
Mayan
I have strong and mixed feelings as to why they are against Cannabis (gentle and peaceful herb) and have let hard drugs that are highly addictive to be available until now. How can I sum up my feelings without seeming like I've gone off the deep end? Back during Vietnam they said the Army will straighten you up and they let people enlist to fix them. Our country wants to squeeze young people because how will war be escalated without young people who need to be fixed? I know this doesn't make much sense except to me but somewhere in my mind it is all connected.
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Comment #2 posted by mayan on July 27, 2006 at 07:13:59 PT
How Much?
Just how much freedom does Canada have to diverge from the United States on important matters of public policy?Many Canadians are likely asking that very question of Stephen Harper. Harper is running with a bad crowd and will likely end up in jail...if he's lucky. I hope Canadians realize that the neo-cons and their puppet Harper will most certainly drag them into the coming global war. I pray Americans come to their senses as well. Here's a link I posted in a previous thread which indicates that the Canadian/U.S. war on weed is absolutely futile...B.C. grow ops creeping east:
http://tinyurl.com/zhds9Fom, how is it that the No. 1 drug problem (cannabis) causes 0 deaths a year, yet the No. 2 drug problem (prescription drugs) causes 100,000 deaths a year? Souder is simply posturing and has probably already been paid off by the pharmaceutical companies to come up with an ineffectual,feel-good "solution" to prescription drug abuse which doesn't hurt their bottom line. Mark Souder had better hope that hell doesn't exist.THE WAY OUT...Advance Review of "World Trade Center":
http://www.911blogger.com/2006/07/advance-review-of-world-trade-center.html
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 27, 2006 at 06:15:31 PT
Off Topic: Souder Scolds Drug Regulators
July 27, 2006WASHINGTON – One of the biggest drug problems in the country is in U.S. medicine chests, but the federal government, drug manufacturers, pharmacies, shippers, Web sites and drug wholesalers aren’t doing enough to curb the “epidemic proportions” of prescription drug abuse, Rep. Mark Souder, R-3rd, said Wednesday.The government says misusing prescription medicine – especially painkillers – is the No. 2 drug problem in the country, with 6 million Americans using prescription drugs for non-medical purposes. Only marijuana is a more-used drug.Using a sharp tone of voice and testy language, Souder told Bush administration officials that he was tired of “empty rhetoric and long delays” on coming up with concrete ideas for reducing the misuse of medicines such as OxyContin.URL: http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/15134656.htm
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