cannabisnews.com: Canada Moves Toward Decriminalizing Marijuana
Canada Moves Toward Decriminalizing Marijuana
Posted by FoM on May 28, 2001 at 12:46:04 PT
By The Associated Press
Source: USA Today
The Friendly Stranger used to be up a narrow stairway in a back room, a crowded little shop offering water pipes, T-shirts and other products of the cannabis — or marijuana — culture. Now proprietor Robin Ellins has a prominent storefront on busy Queen Street and plenty of room to display everything from hempseed oil and chips to a full line of hemp clothing and elaborate smoking accessories.The transformation from hidden emporium to thriving commercial venture is part of Canada's slow but clear shift toward decriminalizing marijuana.
Justice Minister Anne McLellan says the issue should be studied, and a new Parliament committee on drug matters will look at decriminalization. Conservative Party leader Joe Clark is urging the elimination of criminal penalties for possessing a small amount of pot."It's unjust to see someone, because of one decision one night in their youth, carry the stigma — to be barred from studying medicine, law, architecture or other fields where a criminal record could present an obstacle," Clark said last week.The government has proposed expanding medicinal use of marijuana, and the Canadian Medical Association Journal recently supported full decriminalization. Canada's Supreme Court will consider a case this year that contends criminal charges for the personal use of marijuana violate constitutional rights.Making possession and use of small amounts of marijuana a civil offense — akin to a traffic fine- instead of a criminal violation would move Canadian policy closer to attitudes in The Netherlands and away from the United States, its neighbor and biggest trade partner.That worries U.S. anti-drug activists like Robert Maginnis of the Family Research Council. "It will have a residual effect in this country of depressing prices and making marijuana more available," he said.He also knows a shift by Canada would boost the arguments of American advocates for easing U.S. drug laws. "We find our allies are piling up on us and making it more difficult" to fight drug use, Maginnis said.Joseph A. Califano Jr., president of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, is skeptical about that.Califano, a former U.S. secretary of health and human services, said increasing medical evidence on the harm caused by marijuana makes it unlikely that a change in Canadian law will affect U.S. policy. "I don't think it means much," he said.Canada already has a legal industry for hemp — cannabis cultivated with very low amounts of the chemical that produces the high sought by marijuana smokers — while the U.S. federal government prohibits hemp production.In April, Canadian Health Minister Allan Rock proposed expanding the medicinal use of marijuana beyond cancer sufferers now allowed to take the drug to people with AIDS and other terminal illnesses, severe arthritis, multiple sclerosis, spinal injuries and epilepsy. By contrast, the U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld a federal ban on medical marijuana.Some U.S. states allow hemp production and medical use of marijuana, despite the federal bans, noted Bill Zimmerman, executive director of the Campaign for New Drug Policies in California.Arrest statistics show the disparity in the two nation's approaches.Richard Garlick of the Canadian Center on Substance Abuse said about 25,000 people were arrested in Canada for simple possession of marijuana in 1999.The U.S. figure for that year under the "zero tolerance" policy of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was 24 times higher, exceeding 600,000, says the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Washington. The U.S. population is about eight times that of Canada's."Thank God, I'm in Canada," said Ellins, a long-haired entrepreneur who gives his age as thirtysomething. "I just can't believe what's going on down there. ... That's a war against people."Believing decriminalization was inevitable in socially liberal Canada, he moved his store to a larger, more public setting last year. It's named for the "friendly stranger" cited in 1930s anti-marijuana propaganda as the supplier of "reefer madness."Police leave him alone, because the store avoids anything considered drug paraphernalia, he said."Before it was too compact and tucked away," Ellins said. "There's definitely been an increase in business. We're more accessible. We're more in demand."Source: USA Today (US)Published: May 28, 2001Copyright: 2001 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.Contact: editor usatoday.comWebsite: http://www.usatoday.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Canadian Medical Association Journalhttp://www.cma.ca/cmaj/Friendly Strangerhttp://www.friendlystranger.com/Canadian Linkshttp://www.freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmRock Open To Debate on Pot Legalization http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9851.shtml Clark: Decriminalize Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9842.shtml
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Comment #16 posted by Bill Clintion on May 30, 2001 at 10:48:10 PT
Never Inhaled?
When I said I didn't inhale, I lied.
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Comment #15 posted by wyatt anderson on May 30, 2001 at 10:43:05 PT:
Herb Style
Hell yeah, Leaglize the natural herb!
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Comment #14 posted by carl on May 29, 2001 at 11:05:08 PT:
allo
alloquoi neuf par je vous bye
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Comment #13 posted by letsgetfree on May 29, 2001 at 10:04:13 PT
i live in T.O.
...and go to the friendly stranger all the time. mostly just window shopping cuz i'm broke, but it's fun drolling over there purdy bongs. It's right out on one of the busiest streets here, Queen St., and the store looks fantastic. Hopfully with so much support on all sides of the political spectram marijuana will be decriminalized. The police chief of Toronto has already said he supports it, now Joe Clark of the centre-right Tories, it seems like we might have a chance. The only way America will change it's laws is if it comes from the right, like Gary Johnson.Keep fightin the fight in Amerika, freedom is possible.
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Comment #12 posted by germ on May 29, 2001 at 06:38:22 PT
I'm glad I live near Canada!
I wonder if Canada and Mexico decriminalize or legalize marijuana, how would it affect their tourism from our country? You'd think it would increase it substantially. You'd think US border areas would want to have part of that money. Imagine the possibilities.
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Comment #11 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on May 29, 2001 at 06:10:58 PT:
Senor Lehder Tiene Razon Otra Vez
Lehder, you are right as usual. It will be amusing to watch Walters, Bennett and their prohibitionist cronies impugn the reputations of Mexican, Uruguayan, Canadian, and European leaders as they further distance themselves from repressionistic Amerikan policies.I sense some bad things coming. Dubya is a jingoist and American Firster. It is a bad combination. From my viewpoint, the WWW has has increasingly rendered this planet as one world, more than a collection of disparate states. All nations must be aware that extremist views (such as drug prohibition and fascism) will not be accepted by the world at large, and greater effort will be needed to get along and find common ground.The UN will succeed as a peacekeeper, but will not when it is attempting to enforce historical anachronisms and medical mistakes such as the Single Convention Treaty. The two best strategies we should pursue to end the World War on Drugs and re-establish sane policy would be to revoke or amend the Controlled Substances Act in the USA, and Single Convention Treaty at the UN.
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Comment #10 posted by Lehder on May 29, 2001 at 03:00:59 PT
Gregorio Urias German, Patriot of Mexico
Thanks to J.R. Bob Dobbs for a great link which I'll repeat here:http://www.narconews.com/mexcongress1.htmla quote:In a report, the PRD legislator said that Mexico and all of Latin America must advance strategies to "break the spinal column of drug trafficking, since the policies imposed by the United States have shown to be a rotund failure."In the text, titled, "An Informed Vision to Confront Drug Trafficking," Urias said that the United States anti-drug policy has been converted into an instrument of espionage, subordination and interference that harms the sovereignty of nations. This is marvelous. It's as if a Democratic or Republican member of the U.S. Congress were to publicly condemn the "war on drugs." And either the precedent set by common sense and decency advocate Gary Johnson will snowball among holders of high political office, or the U.S. will follow the the classic totalitarian descent into war, genocide and economic and political destruction. I've long thought that our internal efforts would be inadequate to end the war and that only outside pressures from civilized governments could oust the criminals who have seized power in the U.S. As the federal government obstinately pursues its ugly war, it more and more falls into the lifestyle of a hardcore addict itself: isolated, deranged, despised. When the war is over, let's assure our future freedom and not neglect to follow through with the trials for treason and war crimes.
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on May 28, 2001 at 18:20:38 PT
Pictures of Friendly Stranger
Hi everyone,I was looking at the Friendly Stranger web site and saw how nice their store is and thought you might like to see the pictures too.Enjoy!http://www.friendlystranger.com/pixpages/pixpage1.htmhttp://www.friendlystranger.com/pixpages/pixpage2.htmhttp://www.friendlystranger.com/pixpages/pixpage3.htmhttp://www.friendlystranger.com/pixpages/pixpage4.htmhttp://www.friendlystranger.com/pixpages/pixpage5.htmhttp://www.friendlystranger.com/pixpages/pixpage6.htmhttp://www.friendlystranger.com/pixpages/pixpage7.htmhttp://www.friendlystranger.com/pixpages/pixpage8.htmhttp://www.friendlystranger.com/pixpages/pixpage9.htmhttp://www.friendlystranger.com/pixpages/pixpage10.htm
Canadian Links
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Comment #8 posted by J.R. Bob Dobbs on May 28, 2001 at 17:34:43 PT
Mexico, too!
Looks like Canada won't have to go it alone:
Legalization Proposed in Mexican Congress
in Mexican Congress!
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Comment #7 posted by anonymous on May 28, 2001 at 16:53:41 PT
Oh Canada!
"Califano, a former U.S. secretary of health and human services, said increasing medical evidence on the harm caused by marijuana makes it unlikely that a change in Canadian law will affect U.S. policy. "I don't think it means much," he said."Yeah, that's the ticket. Keep whistlin' past the graveyard, dipstick.
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Comment #6 posted by Imprint on May 28, 2001 at 16:24:09 PT
Memorial Day
Being that today is Memorial Day, it makes me think that someday will we honor those that died in the war on drugs. All those that fought for our freedom and all the innocent folks that died in the line of fire. For me, this holiday has become a day of conflictive thoughts. We honor (rightly so) those that died in all the wars to give us freedom yet we aren’t free to enjoy the natural herb “marijuana”.
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Comment #5 posted by kaptinemo on May 28, 2001 at 16:08:38 PT:
Aw, let's give the anti a pity party
"Making possession and use of small amounts of marijuana a civil offense — akin to a traffic fine- instead of a criminal violation would move Canadian policy closer to attitudes in The Netherlands and away from the United States, its neighbor and biggest trade partner.That worries U.S. anti-drug activists like Robert Maginnis of the Family Research Council. "It will have a residual effect in this country of depressing prices and making marijuana more available," he said.He also knows a shift by Canada would boost the arguments of American advocates for easing U.S. drug laws. "We find our allies are piling up on us and making it more difficult" to fight drug use, Maginnis said."Oh, this is rich.Amazing, isn't it? The US has not been thrown off the UN Narcotics Control Board more than a month even, and other nations are displaying their "votes of no confidence" in the American-style DrugWar by pondering their own courses of action...without cringing and scraping before Uncle to ask 'pretty please', first. And Mr. Maginnis is soooo upset he's publicly whining about the Canucks?Awwww, poor ba-aby.
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Comment #4 posted by fivepounder on May 28, 2001 at 15:50:05 PT
price supports
"Making possession and use of small amounts of marijuana a civil offense — akin to a traffic fine- instead of a criminal violation would move Canadian policy closer to attitudes in The Netherlands and away from the United States, its neighbor and biggest trade partner. That worries U.S. anti-drug activists like Robert Maginnis of the Family Research Council. "It will have a residual effect in this country of depressing prices and making marijuana more available," he said." Can you believe that the Family Research Council is lobbying basically for price supports for us American growers. Wouldn't want the price to drop to reasonable levels so people who need could actually afford it.
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Comment #3 posted by MikeEEEEE on May 28, 2001 at 14:57:54 PT
War Against People
[He also knows a shift by Canada would boost the arguments of American advocates for easing U.S. drug laws. "We find our allies are piling up on us and making it more difficult" to fight drug use, Maginnis said.]The drug warriors are losing.["Thank God, I'm in Canada," said Ellins, a long-haired entrepreneur who gives his age as thirtysomething. "I just can't believe what's going on down there. ... That's a war against people."]It is!!!
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Comment #2 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on May 28, 2001 at 14:48:37 PT:
Hilarious Claim
Califano, a former U.S. secretary of health and human services, said increasing medical evidence on the harm caused by marijuana makes it unlikely that a change in Canadian law will affect U.S. policy. "I don't think it means much," he said.How can anyone be so wrong, not only doctrinaire, but flat out plain wrong? Where is this new evidence? Why is Canada and most of Western Europe ignoring it and liberalizing their laws? Huh? Mr. Califano will live to see cannabis law changed in this country as well. The unfortunate thing is that thanks to his misguided policies and those of his chums in the coven of prohibition, it will occur here among the last places in the industrialized world.
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Comment #1 posted by observer on May 28, 2001 at 12:58:37 PT
Beware!
Young and Old -- People in All walks of Life!This [reefer] may be handed you by the friendly stranger. Original "Friendly Stranger" poster, circa 1930 :http://dopefiends.com/images/poster.jpg(from http://dopefiends.com/gallery.html )
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