cannabisnews.com: High On Canadian Hooch High On Canadian Hooch Posted by FoM on May 30, 2000 at 19:29:09 PT Americans Want Lots While Customs Tries to Stop It Source: ABCNews In Vancouver “toke-easies” allow patrons to smoke dope on the premises. The quality’s good, demand is high, growing it’s easy and distribution is cheap. Is it any wonder Americans are smoking a lot of Canadian pot? The quantity of “B.C. Bud,” a particularly potent strain of marijuana from British Columbia, being seized at the border this year is “probably double of what we’ve seen last year,” says Mike Lovejoy, director of anti-smuggling for U.S. Customs. Outspoken pot proponent Marc Emery says the land and sea border between the Canadian province and Washington state is so porous that smugglers can fill a football with a pound of marijuana and literally throw a long pass over the border. “There are so many foolproof ways of getting marijuana into the U.S.,” he says. “One guy put four pounds into his kayak and just paddled to the San Juan Islands [in Washington state]. The U.S. Coast Guard isn’t going to check a kayak.” More on Marijuana: Canada's Human Rights Commission bans random drug tests by business. An analysis by the Vancouver Sun newspaper found the number of pot smokers facing charges is dropping in British Columbia. In 1977, 70 to 80 percent of those caught with marijuana were charged, while currently only 28 percent of those caught with pot in B.C. are charged. Politicians from the Bloc Quebecois, the main political party representing Quebec in Canada’s federal Parliament, and from the right-wing Reform Party, have called for decriminalizing medical marijuana. British Columbia pot advocates have launched Canada’s first distribution center for medical marijuana. Several challenges of the ban on the medical use of marijuana are working their way through the courts. After an initial $10,000 investment in hydroponic equipment, an indoor cultivator of marijuana can expect to make $130,000 every four months. Big Bucks for The Bud:Canadian police sources estimate marijuana has become British Columbia’s largest cash crop, worth an estimated $2 billion yearly, and of that, 75 percent is exported to the United States. At Blaine, Wash.—the main border crossing point from B.C.—the amount of marijuana seized shot from 668 pounds in 1996 to 1,240 pounds last year, and is on pace to increase 50 percent this year. The northern border accounts for only 1 percent of U.S. drug seizures, but, Lovejoy says, there aren’t enough officers to stop the flow. And as U.S. Customs works overtime to seize marijuana, British Columbia is making it easier to grow and sell. Hey Man, Relax: Though Canadian law provides maximum jail sentences of six months for possession of an ounce or less of pot, seven years for cultivation and life imprisonment for trafficking, the average sentence for a first-time offender convicted of growing more than 100 plants is 60 days in jail and a $6,000 fine. “It depends on the judge. [Growing marijuana] could net a fine or a two- to three-month jail sentence,” says Leo Villent of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s drug intelligence bureau. “Possession of 50 plants won’t draw a year here, and you’d get at least that in the U.S.” Emery, who faces a variety of criminal charges related to selling marijuana seeds in Canada, says practically no one goes to jail for having pot in Canada. Dope Smoking Only, Please: In Vancouver, “toke-easies” allow patrons to smoke dope on the premises. “We don’t allow cigarettes to be smoked, but if someone lights up a joint, we won’t stop them,” says Adam Patterson of the city’s Cannabis Cafe. Canadian polls confirm the relaxed attitude. Toronto-based Angus Reid polling firm found 50 percent of Canadians and 63 percent of B.C. residents believe possession of marijuana should be decriminalized. Lovejoy sites “excellent cooperation” between U.S. and Canadian customs officials, who are also trying to halt shipments going from south to north. But no matter how hard the officers work, it seems B.C. Bud—and its eastern cousin, Quebec Gold—will keep flowing across the 5,000-mile border for as long as demand for them stays high. By Barry Brown, ABCNEWS.comWeb Posted: May 30, 2000 Copyright (c)1998 Related Articles:British Properties a High-Class Home to Marijuana Growshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread4660.shtml Tripping Down British Columbia's Ho Chi Minh Trail http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread2397.shtmlDirect Link To Above Article:http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/BritishColumbiaGold980910.html Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #7 posted by CD1 on June 01, 2000 at 07:57:05 PT I'VE Said it before So, BC Bud is more potent. Well, I've said it before, and I'll say it again. SO WHAT? There is still no proof that THC causes permanent brain damage, or cancer, or leads to harder drugs. It could be 100 times more potent, and this still would not justify the fear the politicians are trying stir up to promote their agenda. The whole potency argument is the baby boomers way off justifying their illegal drug use, while denying it to the present generation. This way, Bill Clinton, G.W. Bush, and Al Gore can promote the war on drugs, without appearing hypocritical (or so they think.) [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by dddd on May 31, 2000 at 13:12:39 PT Right On Right on Observer,,,,You are cool.....dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by observer on May 31, 2000 at 09:51:12 PT U.S. Customs Talking Up 'Potent B.C. Bud' "The quantity of “B.C. Bud,” a particularly potent strain of marijuana from British Columbia, being seized at theborder this year is “probably double of what we’ve seen last year,” says Mike Lovejoy, director of anti-smuggling for U.S. Customs. "More self-serving, vested interest, prohibitionist propaganda. a) users smoke less of the higher-potency cannabis, so it is therefore less damaging than low potency marijuana.see:http://www.marijuananews.com/remarkably_intelligent_article_i.htmb) There are no studies that confirm these potency claims.see:Canadian Magazine Takes Skeptical Look At Claims About Potent BC Marijuanahttp://www.marijuananews.com/canadian_magazine_takes_skeptica.htmMarijuana Prohibition And Potencyhttp://www.marijuananews.com/marijuana_prohibition_and_potenc.htmThe U.S. Customs, DEA and other Police State agencies on both side of the border are, however, doing their very best to talk up "potent" Canadian cannabis. Why would they continue to do that? [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by observer on May 31, 2000 at 09:37:27 PT re: Whiskey > It's interesting to note that during the liquor prohibition days,our Canadian friends were supplying us with some of the finer illegal beverages.History does repeat itself."Several Army pilots stationed at Selfridge Field in Mt Clemens, Michigan, together with civilian pilots in the Detroit area, were transporting liquor by air from Canada. “The ease of air rum-running largely explained the enthusiasm of many officers for flying daily practice maneuvers to Ontario and back.” . . . “During the coldest weeks of winter, convoys of cars from Canada crossed the ice daily. Cars on the American shore lined up at night and turned on their headlights to provide an illuminated expressway across the ice.”http://www.hoboes.com/html/Politics/Prohibition/Notes/Intemperance.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by dddd on May 31, 2000 at 04:58:11 PT Whiskey It's interesting to note that during the liquor prohibition days,our Canadian friends were supplying us with some of the finer illegal beverages.History does repeat itself.Let's just hope it continues to repeat itself concerning prohibition....dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Poster on May 30, 2000 at 21:12:01 PT Great Green North Instead of the great white north - its the great green bud. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on May 30, 2000 at 19:59:18 PT Pot North of the Border Pot North of the Border ‘Super Marijuana’ Trafficked from British Columbia A law enforcement officer bags "super marijuana" grown in Canada, which was headed for the United States. (ABCNEWS.com)Video:http://www.abcnews.go.com/onair/MP/000530pot_video_mp.htmlBy Tom ForemanMay 30 — It is a moonless night on the United States-Canadian border and Bob Bonbright of the U.S. Border Patrol is searching. His target is smugglers bringing in the highest grade marijuana ever seen in the U.S. “It’s a damn good business,” says Bonbright, pointing at the border in the dark. “I mean, you’re looking at Canada just right through there.” It’s easy for drug traffickers to come across the border in thousands of places. “And they do it,” Bonbright says, “night and day.” The so-called Super Marijuana, which is grown in and around Vancouver, is very valuable: a little more than two pounds, worth $1,800 in Canada, will bring in $5,000 in Washington state and $10,000 in Los Angeles, a price comparable to cocaine. Authorities believe it has turned marijuana farming here into a billion-dollar-a-year industry. “Right now, the marijuana that is out there being grown in British Columbia is what we usually call ‘rocket ship marijuana,’” says Pete Thompson, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. “This has no parallel to the marijuana from the late 60s and early 70s.” Most of the high-grade marijuana is cultivated indoors in conditions that make it six times more potent than average. Although marijuana is illegal in Canada, possession and use are widely tolerated. U.S. officials charge that smuggling has grown because producers have little to fear in Canada. “As long as you have the continued discrepancy in enforcement between Canada and the United States,” says Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, “you’re going to continue to have these kinds of problems.” Canadian authorities have raided substantially more growing operations this year than last, but there is so much marijuana and so much open border. Guards on both sides believe they are intercepting only about 2 percent of the super marijuana that smugglers are bringing into the U.S. every night. Direct Link To Article:http://www.abcnews.go.com/onair/WorldNewsTonight/wnt000530_CanadianPot_feature.html Copyright ©2000 ABC News Internet Ventures [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: