cannabisnews.com: Disregard Rights





Disregard Rights
Posted by FoM on October 13, 2000 at 09:41:51 PT
Letters To The Editor 
Source: Ottawa Citizen
In their zealous pursuit of justice, American officials seem content to disregard the individual rights of their own citizens. One would hope that officials would honour their own law, California's Proposition 215, the Compassion Care Act that made it legal for seriously ill persons to purchase and use marijuana if recommended by a doctor. The law was voted upon by the same public who put these people in office. Does the United States not have compassion for the terminally ill?
I can think of no greater indignity than placing a terminally ill man in solitary confinement. What benefit does this serve? None. If Ms. Boje is returned to the United States, she will surely be convicted. Justice was not served for medical-marijuana users Peter McWilliams or Todd McCormick, so why would it be for Ms. Boje? Our Justice Minister Anne McLellan needs to take a stand and show the world that Canada is a country of humility and understanding. Unfortunately, everyone involved in this case will become a statistic, for the wrong reason though -- the War on Drugs. Robert Borden, Ottawa A Slave of U.S.If the extradition of Renee Boje is carried out, our government should not be surprised if Canadians across the country join in a protest and use the first opportunity to defeat a government that acts like a slave of the United States and disregards principles it has openly and loudly upheld for decades: the principles essential for a truly free, democratic country. We in Canada should not condone, or act as if we would condone, the U.S. for using their War on Drugs, which was described by Dan Gardner in earlier articles in the Citizen, as justification for trampling on human rights and treating its citizens in the same brutal manner as other countries have done in the past and are still too often doing now. These types of regimes and political systems have been condemned by us and the U.S. as being oppressive and anti-democratic. Let's hope the Canadian government will have the courage to make a decision in line with our Canadian tradition to protect those who are worthy of protection but who cannot protect themselves. Gisela Bublitz, Hull Another Victim:Renee Boje is on the verge of becoming another victim of the United States's paranoia-driven War on Drugs ("American faces 10 years in jail for tending plants," Oct. 7). While millions of happy and productive citizens continue to use marijuana for both medicinal and recreational purposes, those who have vested interests in the War on Drugs continue unsuccessfully to try and convince us that it is a dangerous, corrosive substance. Few people actually believe that, but most who see the lie continue to do nothing in defence of those who suffer. As a former resident of "the land of the free," I urge Canadians to speak out in defence of Ms. Boje, the late Peter McWilliams, Todd McCormick, and the many thousands of others who are being persecuted for use of a plant that doesn't happen to meet the U.S. government's very narrow standards of acceptability. With the death of Mr. McWilliams, the U.S. government has proven that it would rather see its own citizens die from untreated AIDS and cancer than reform its draconian and outdated drug laws. Citizens of Canada, don't let this paranoia take root here. Write to Justice Minister Anne McLellan and urge her to grant asylum to Ms. Boje here. Canada was a haven for many Americans who refused to be drafted into fighting an unjust war in Vietnam 30 years ago. It must now become a haven for the victims of this new war. Alan Arcadia, Bath, Ont. Don't Send Pot-Grower Back:I found myself quite affected by the front-page article on the case of Renee Boje ("American faces 10 years in jail for tending plants," Oct 7). I grew up in the United States and moved to Canada in 1969 because of the war in Vietnam. It was the enlightened policy of the Trudeau government at the time not to ask the draft or military status of young American males wishing to immigrate to Canada. This highlights the basic goodness and tolerance of Canadians, and this country's historical independence from American policy. I am appalled by what I read in this article about the injustice in the judicial and prison system of the country where I grew up. I would be deeply disappointed if the government of my adopted country veered from its historical position of tolerance and independence and failed to do the right thing in this case. I would urge federal Justice Minister Anne McLellan to allow Renee Boje to stay in Canada. The alternative is to condemn a young woman, who seems to have done nothing wrong, to years of meaningless imprisonment within a brutal system. Kenneth Webb, Ottawa Clean Up Planet:I commend the Citizen and Dan Gardner for the excellent and thorough series "Losing the War on Drugs." I thank you for printing the supplement, which I have sent to colleagues in Santa Fe, New Mexico, who are addiction counsellors. They are highly trained, deeply dedicated and very compassionate. However, like most people in North America, they do not have the whole picture. After reading the entire Citizen report with an open mind, I hope they will support their governor, Gary Johnson, in dialoguing about the damage caused by the drug war. If the Citizen decides to print more drug-war series supplements, include the poignant article on Renee Boje ("American faces 10 years in jail for tending plants," Oct 7). Her plight exemplifies the danger to personal freedom created by the conflict between the liberal states and the repressive U.S. federal government. My views have changed from legalization to decriminalization with moderate civil punishment, such as community service. And greatly expanded treatment facilities for those who seek sobriety. In addition, end the stigma attached to drug use. Instead, we should concentrate on ways to decrease poverty, and increase opportunity for meaningful work and education. Treat users with respect for their choices, at the same time giving them opportunities to improve their lives. The ultimate irony is that there is a war on social drugs (chemicals) abused by a fraction of the world's population, while the real threat comes from toxic chemicals in the water, air and soil, creating a "chemical soup" in which we all live. International companies continue to poison the entire planet. Thus the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink harm every person in the world. Who then are the real criminals? The pollution of the Arctic demonstrates dramatically how planetary pollution affects every single living being. The increase in mental illness among children, the staggering number of people suffering degenerative diseases, and the increase in violent behaviour worldwide, can be related to a greater or lesser degree to this pollution. I recommend a followup report on the real threat of "drugs" -- the chemical pollution of our planet and the degradation of all life. Let's redirect the money wasted on the War on Drugs to cleaning up our beautiful planet. In that way, everyone benefits Laura K. Golden, Ottawa CannabisNews Articles - Dan Gardner:http://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=Dan+GardnerSource: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)Published: October 13, 2000Copyright: 2000 The Ottawa CitizenContact: letters thecitizen.southam.ca Address: 1101 Baxter Rd.,Ottawa, Ontario, K2C 3M4Fax: 613-596-8522Website: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Renee Boje's Legal Defense Fundhttp://www.reneeboje.com/American Faces 10 Years in Jail for Tending Plantshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7280.shtmlCannabisNews Articles - Renee Bojehttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=BojeCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 13, 2000 at 18:19:23 PT
Canadian Press Article
Marijuana Crusader Grant Krieger Wants Right To Deliver Cannabis Author: Carol HarringtonPublished: October 13, 2000http://www.southam.com/Calgary (CP) - Marijuana crusader Grant Krieger wants the right to deliver cannabis to bed-ridden, terminally-ill outpatients, his lawyer said Friday. While the federal government allows medically ill Canadians to apply for the right to ingest marijuana, there is no one to supply it and some patients are too ill to grow cannabis, said defence lawyer Adriano Iovinelli. "The government is giving people a prescription for marijuana but they are not filling the prescription for them," Iovinelli said. "If these people can't access it themselves, then who is going to access it for them?" Iovinelli said his client wants permission to distribute marijuana to the sick or dying who have joined his Universal Compassion Club. Without making a profit, Krieger sells marijuana only to those who have letters from their doctors outlining their illnesses. Health Canada officials, though, have said they will appoint a marijuana distributor this fall for those who are exempted from criminal marijuana laws and have a supply ready within a year. Iovinelli made the comments outside Court of Queen's Bench, where Krieger, 46, is battling charges of trafficking and cultivating marijuana. Krieger is arguing the charges should be tossed on the grounds that growing marijuana for medicinal use is guaranteed under the section of the Charter that provides for liberty and security. A decision from the judge is expected next month. Krieger gained international attention in 1996 when he was arrested in Amsterdam for trying to transport a kilogram of marijuana back to Canada. He has been in court more than 30 times in his fight to smoke, eat, supply and grow marijuana for medicinal purposes. Krieger has said ingesting marijuana helps control the symptoms of his multiple sclerosis, a progressive, chronic disease of the nervous system that causes tremours, paralysis and speech defects. He has twice received fines after being convicted of possession for the purposes of trafficking and was jailed for two weeks in August 1999, when he refused to stop growing and supplying marijuana to other ill people. The federal government is looking at changing its marijuana laws after the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled the law unconstitutional earlier this summer in the case of Terry Parker of Toronto. Parker fought for the legal right to use cannabis to fight his severe epilepsy. The Ontario justices deemed the law unconstitutional because it violated Parker's rights to liberty and security and gave Ottawa a year to amend it. Health Minister Allan Rock has already exempted 72 medically-ill Canadians from being charged with possessing and growing marijuana under the federal Controlled Drugs and Substance Act. Five have been rejected. © The Canadian Press, 2000
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