cannabisnews.com: The Minister of Marijuana B.C. Man Preaches The Minister of Marijuana B.C. Man Preaches Posted by FoM on February 28, 2000 at 07:04:43 PT By Zev Singer Source: The Ottawa Citizen The Bible was already in the dresser drawer at the Travelodge Hotel. The marijuana and the blow-torch he had to bring himself. As the Rev. Brian Carlisle inhales the essence of the ever-controversial plant, he is actually not in violation of the no-smoking sign posted on the door of his room at the Carling Avenue hotel. First grinding the plant with a small, portable machine, he then balls up the powder into small lumps which he presses between two red-hot knives. The vapour, not smoke, thereby produced is what he inhales. He holds the base of the blow-torch between his legs as he does it, adept enough in the process to execute it in the car -- perhaps not accidentally green -- in which he has just driven to Ottawa all the way from Vancouver. Mr. Carlisle, the leader of a group called "Holy Smoke" has come to bring his pro-cannabis message straight to the government. He has made the trip for a Health Canada conference being hosted today at the hotel on the therapeutic uses of marijuana. For the occasion, the hotel is even setting aside a room in which people can take their "medication." In a letter to guests, the Travelodge's "catering sales manager," Tamara Lee Collins, asks guests not to light up in their rooms, but to use the dedicated room. "Due to the sensitivity and nature of cannabis," the letter says, "it would be greatly appreciated by the hotel management if you would refrain from smoking this substance in your room as it is not permitted. We are happy to provide the Rotary Room, located on the lower level of the hotel, where this will be accepted and available to you 24 hours a day." On the agenda of the conference will be discussions of the latest scientific research on the medicinal uses of the plant and sessions on the legal process of obtaining medical exemptions. Mr. Carlisle's agenda, however, is a little more grand. "I think Health Canada should create a Ministry of Marijuana, and they should make me minister." Mr. Carlisle's current designation as minister was obtained a little less than a year ago to the Universal Life Church in Modesta, California, where the 30-year-old B.C. native was ordained. Although Mr. Carlisle was given official governmental permission to use marijuana based on his glaucoma, he considers his exemption from the law to be "medical-religious." "I have eight gigs of memory," he says pointing at his laptop computer, "to prove that Jesus smoked marijuana." Giving an example, he says, "He was given frankincense at his birth!" His church, he adds, is non-denominational. "The Buddha ate a hemp seed every day. And Moses was inspired by a burning bush." Mr. Carlisle believes that the hemp plant is capable of solving a lot of the world's woes. "It provides food, fuel, fibre and medicine." Canada specifically could benefit, by letting farmers grow hemp "instead of paying them not to grow crops," he says. "It could end debt and end taxes. I want to talk to Chretien about this." Beneath his flamboyant talk, Mr. Carlisle has a message about which he is very serious. He says that although the Canadian government is now giving legal exemptions to people with medical needs, there is still no legal supply of marijuana. The government, he says, is doing nothing more than research. "They are not even looking at supply." People who need it, even those legally allowed to use it, depend on organizations like his, which grow the plant and distribute it in small amounts. Last October, only two months after he was granted a personal exemption, his organization's farm was raided and 160 kilograms of marijuana, which he says has a street value of over $1 million, were seized. He says he needs it for the 1,500 members of his group who are suffering without it. "We need to palliatively take care of our sick and dying." Last month a B.C. judge dropped charges against a man transporting six kilograms of marijuana to a similar organization in Vancouver called the Compassion Club. In his ruling, the judge said that because it is not available at pharmacies, people who need it must get it somewhere. Mr. Carlisle will ask Health Canada today to grant permission to Holy Smoke as an organization to grow and distribute marijuana, a permission that no organization has received. Published: February 28, 2000Copyright 2000 Ottawa Citizen Related Articles:CannabisNews Articles On Canada - Over 450 Articles:http://www.alltheweb.com/cgi-bin/asearch?type=all&query=cannabisnews+Canada END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by Symmetric on February 28, 2000 at 17:34:15 PT: no way this is a sting operation The rcmp in canada have no financial incentives to harass cannabis users like the us authorities seem to do. Some of my friends here were caught smoking by the local police on the trails behind campus and all the cops did was follow them out of the park and told them to go home. Another time I was at my friends house after the bar and we had basically hotboxed his entire apt, we had the music blasting and the police showed up because of a complaint about the noise. The smoke was pouring into the poor guys face when he opened the door.One of the cops told us that we shouldn't make them go get a search warrant and I guess that was fine seeing how they didn't come back after we turned down the music. I know the statistics are there but I don't see it personally. However, I'd still really like to live in a country that doesn't have any state sanctioned persecution of cannabis users at all. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on February 28, 2000 at 13:21:04 PT No direct info, but this might help The premier pro-cannabis mag in the area there is Cannabis Culture. They are at http://www.cannabisculture.com [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by CongressmanSuet on February 28, 2000 at 09:44:52 PT Yes, Canada has something to offer..... I remember reading, not too long ago, that there were speakeasy type smoking rooms popping up all over B.C. Can anyone verify this info.? [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on February 28, 2000 at 09:06:00 PT Canadian sensibility vs. US paranoia Can you *believe* this?'For the occasion, the hotel is even setting aside a room in which people can take their "medication." In a letter to guests, the Travelodge's "catering sales manager," Tamara Lee Collins, asks guests not to light up in their rooms, but to use the dedicated room. "Due to the sensitivity and nature of cannabis," the letter says, "it would be greatly appreciated by the hotel management if you would refrain from smoking this substance in your room as it is not permitted. We are happy to provide the Rotary Room, located on the lower level of the hotel, where this will be accepted and available to you 24 hours a day." If this is for real, it illustrates an important point. Is this just what it seems to be, an seemingly typical sensible Canadian approach to the matter? A gesture of good will (and needless to say, *outstanding* customer service) on the part of a hotel? Or is it an RCMP plot to corral the expected cannabis users for easy arrest? (my US paranoia showing). Just asking the questions reveals an awful truth. This is what the DrugWar has done to us in the States: instilled paranoia and distrust of a citizenry towards its' own government in such a way and at such a level that it is nearly automatic. I hope you Canadians are able to avoid the corrosive effects of such paranoia by lobbying you MPs to reject the siren song of US DrugWarriors. Because if you don't, your future is staring back at you when you look across the border. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: