marihuana canehdian flower 040701 ... canehdian http://www.pot-tv.net/archive/shows/pottvshowse-2271.html -jack layton and marc emery talk pot http://www.pot-tv.net/archive/shows/pottvshowse-2783.html -play goes to pot http://www.cbc.ca/playgoestopot/ ! 040701 ... canehdian http://www.medicalmarihuana.ca/ 040701 ... canehdian it's funny...the price of herb has really been going down in BC (at last!) and according to bloomberg.com and other sources, it's because of increased border security since 911,... but that's mostly just bulltwicky in my opinion. a year ago, a good ounce was still $200-$250CDN but today that same ounce could be had for about half that amount. and basically, as far as i can see, this is a result of a relaxation of attitudes in canada. there were a couple of court decisions last year that certainly helped. heck, the feds have been growing and selling their own (crap/shwag) for a while now, and ever since they said they were going to decrim, most people have been a little more open and discussive about it all. but decrimming does not go far enough. just ask the senate report, or even (shockingly enough) the fraser institute. we need legalization, and short of that, at least a sensible decrim strategy that'll actually work for canada (unlike the liberal's stupid proposal). hopefully the ndp and bloc will put pressure on the liberals this fall to have some positive change. we need change. real change. let's do away with all this craziness. 040808 ... not now Is the US Playing Politics with Pot Research? For three decades, politicians and bureaucrats have ignored research on marijuana's role in cancer prevention By Paul Armentano Special to Betterhumans 10/6/2004 3:10 PM Clinical research published recently in the journals Cancer Research and BMC Medicine touting the ability of cannabis to stave the spread of certain cancers is the latest in a three-decade long line of studies demonstrating pot's potential as an anticancer agent. Not familiar with this research? You're not alone. For more than 30 years, US politicians and bureaucrats have turned a blind eye to any and all science indicating that marijuana may play a role in cancer prevention, a finding that was first documented as early as 1974. That year, a research team at the Medical College of Virginia (acting at the behest of the federal government, which must preapprove all US research on marijuana) discovered that cannabis inhibited malignant tumor cell growth in culture and in mice. According to the study's results, reported nationally in an August 18, 1974, Washington Post newspaper feature, marijuana's psychoactive component THC, "slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent." Despite these favorable preliminary findings, US government officials dismissed the study (which was eventually published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 1975), and refused to fund any follow-up research until conducting a similar—though secret—clinical trial in the mid-1990s. That study, conducted by the US National Toxicology Program to the tune of two million dollars, concluded that mice and rats administered high doses of THC over long periods had greater protection against malignant tumors than untreated controls. Rather than publicize their findings, government researchers once again shelved the results, which only came to light after a draft copy of the findings were leaked in 1997 to a medical journal which in turn forwarded the story to the national media. Nevertheless, in the eight years since the completion of the National Toxicology trial, the US government has yet to encourage or fund additional, follow-up studies examining the drug's potential to protect against the spread of cancerous tumors. Foreign findings Fortunately, scientists overseas have generously picked up where US researchers so abruptly left off. In 1998, a research team at Madrid's Complutense University discovered that THC can selectively induce programmed cell death in brain tumor cells without negatively impacting surrounding healthy cells. Then in 2000, they reported in the journal Nature Medicine that injections of synthetic THC eradicated malignant gliomas (brain tumors) in one-third of treated rats, and prolonged life in another third by six weeks. Last year, researchers at the University of Milan in Naples, Italy, reported in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics that non-psychoactive compounds in marijuana inhibited the growth of glioma cells in a dose-dependent manner, and selectively targeted and killed malignant cells through a process known as apoptosis. More recently, researchers reported in the August 15, 2004 issue of Cancer Research, the journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, that marijuana's constituents inhibited the spread of brain cancer in human tumor biopsies. In a related development, a research team from the University of South Florida further noted that THC can also selectively inhibit the activation and replication of gamma herpes viruses. The viruses, which can lie dormant for years within white blood cells before becoming active and spreading to other cells, are thought to increase one's chances of developing cancers such as Kaposi's Sarcoma, Burkitt's lymphoma and Hodgkin's disease. Regrettably, US politicians have been little swayed by these results, and remain steadfastly opposed to the notion of sponsoring—or even acknowledging—this growing body of clinical research. Their stubborn refusal to do so is a disservice not only to the scientific process, but also to the health and well being of America's citizenry. Nonetheless, it appears that their silence will be unable to put this genie back in the bottle, as overseas research continues to move forward at a staggering pace. Writing this month in the journal of the American Society of Hematology, researchers at Saint Bartholomew's Hospital in London reported that THC induces cell death (apoptosis) in three leukemic cell lines. Authors further noted that the cannabinoid appears to function in manner different than standard chemotherapeutic agents such as cisplatin, and begins taking effect within mere hours after administration. Swiss researchers are also weighing in on the use of cannabinoids' anticancer properties, reporting in a recent study published in the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology that endogenous cannabinoids (naturally occurring compounds in the body that bind to the same receptors as the cannabinoids in marijuana) induced apoptosis in long-term and recently established glioma cell lines. Even more notably, a review article published last month in the journal Neuropharmacology concluded that cannabinoids' ability to selectively target and kill malignant cells set the basis for their potential use in the management of various types of cancers. Unfortunately, as long as US politicians continue putting pot politics before patients' lives, it appears that any potential breakthroughs regarding the potentially curative powers of cannabis will only emerge in a land far from America's shores and beyond the reach of close-minded Washington bureaucrats. http://www.betterhumans.com/Features/Columns/Guests/column.aspx?articleID=2004-10-06-1 041016 ... not now JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli soldiers traumatised by battle with the Palestinians have a new, unconventional weapon to exorcise their nightmares -- marijuana. Under an experimental programme, Delta-9 tetrohydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient found in the cannabis plant, will be administered to 15 soldiers over the next several months in an effort to fight post-traumatic stress disorder. http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=595451§ion=news 041016 ... not now Teens spurn tobacco, embrace pot More adolescents smoke pot in Canada than anywhere else in the world FROM CANADIAN PRESS More Canadian young people appear to be butting out when it comes to cigarettes, but a growing number of pot smokers has put Canada at the top of the international heap for marijuana use among young adolescents, a new study suggests. "Canadian students are at the high end of using marijuana frequently," said William Boyce of Queens' University, principal investigator of the study on the health and well-being of the country's youth. The 2002 study of 7,000 kids aged 11 to 15 from across Canada, released today, found that about 40 per cent reported using marijuana in the previous year, about three per cent more than in Switzerland, second on the list of 35 countries conducting similar studies. The Netherlands, where the sweet weed has long been decriminalized, was in the middle of the pack, said Boyce, a professor of community health at the Kingston, Ont., university. Questionnaires filled out by the Grades 6 to 10 students showed that 43 per cent of boys and 37 per cent of girls aged 11, 13 and 15 had used marijuana, up a couple of percentage points over an earlier study in 1998. While the research didn't look at reasons for pot being favoured over tobacco, Boyce speculated that its increased use is tied to the three As — affordability, availability and acceptability. "In Canada, I think all three of those things come together so that it's actually used quite a bit by kids here. It's not so expensive, it's definitely available and with the legislation introduced in the last Parliament — and perhaps again in this one — that decriminalizes marijuana use, it certainly provides a signal to kids that this is not a highly illegal activity." from: http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1097013009312&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968705899037 041016 ... not now Teen marijuana use up Thanks to the Prohibition of Marijuana Jody Pressman - Executive Director NORML Canada OTTAWA, Oct. 6 /SEDCWire/ "Teens are turning to marijuana as a drug of choice, regardless of the confused policy the Federal Government, which continues to demonize cannabis and offers a so-called "decriminalization" policy without the foresight of providing a legal regulated market," said Jody Pressman, Director of NORML Canada. Not only does this breed disrespect for the rule of law, it demonstrates an abdication of responsibility on the part of our elected leaders." "This demonstrates that the Canadian drug policy on cannabis is an abject failure. When kids cannot access beer, wine, or spirits because they exist in a regulated framework that demands ID, they turn to their local marijuana dealer-- who never asks for proof of legal age because of zero oversight and zero controls," said Pressman. "Canadian Parliamentarians should keep this in mind when crafting a bill to reform Canada's marijuana laws," said Pressman. "They have consistently refused to deal with the supply and market regulation issues. If they only are doing minor changes to the offence of possession without regulating the market, Canadian youth will continue to be the targets of increased police enforcement and victims of the criminal elements in the unregulated marijuana market. It's time for a new approach. It's time our politicians tried to solve the problem instead of trying to make it go away." Pressman concluded, "Prohibition has never succeeded from keeping marijuana from being consumed, it has simply made it more attractive and more dangerous. We need to take the criminal element out of the equation and adopt regulations which allow Canadians not drug dealers to decide who marijuana is sold to. We need to follow the recommendations of the Fraser Institute to regulate and tax the sale of marijuana, taking the estimated $2 billion a year out of the pockets of organized crime and putting it into the federal coffers for social programs like health care, home care, and day care." http://www.normlcanada.org/index.php?module=article&view=28 041016 ... . The Stoned Myths of Canada (other current features) [ under culture ] - 11.03.04 - by: Matt Mernagh Bud Country. ­ The legends, myths, and lore surrounding the pot paradise that Canada has become has reached legendary proportions. An incredible level of tolerance has created a relaxing toking environment that Potheads booting the bong filled with "BC Bud" around the world wrongfully gossip about. Canada has been overgrown. However, save for the Summer of Freedom, which took place last year, where possession of under thirty grams meant the cops had to walk, grass is not legal. Caused by a strategic assault in court, the "Thirty And Under Blunder" opened the door to anyone and everyone toking openly everywhere. Now that the legal loophole has been closed, the fuzz has half heartily gone back to charging for simple possession. When the coppers do decide to use their discretion and bag a Pothead for the simple act of toking or passing a jay in public to a willing participant, the consequence is laughable. Instead of harsh meted sentences, judges are putting felons such as the self proclaimed Prince of Pot, Marc Emery behind bars for 90 day stretch. Then there's the horrid handling of Jean Cooper. The 76 year-old women, who found a community and more importantly relief from the aches and pains of old age was busted by the Hamilton, Ontario police for inhaling at the Up In Smoke Café. Cannabis cafés first sprung up in VanAmsterdam, a section of Vancouver that catered to marijuana enthusiasts. Blunt Brothers, "A Respectable Joint," tolerated customers coming into their establishment to toke. Following up the encroachment made during the Summer of Freedom several cafés opened in more conservative Ontario. Two well-located cannabis-friendly jives popped up in T-Dot, Hot Box located in the back of Roach-A-Rama in colorful Kensington Market and G-13 residing in the Beaches. During the last federal election both leading candidates in the electoral boundary where the cafes resided fell over themselves to say that they saw no harm and that the police were upholding their party's spirit of the law when it came to the toking. More talk than action, the government apparently intends to table their decrim bill, which would allow the police the power to simply ticket Potheads for possession of less than thirty grams. Where the three cafes are BYOB, Bring Your Own Bud, Hamilton's Chris Goodwin announced that his café would be pure-up Amsterdam style. The Goodster told the local cops that he would sell grass to members and allow them to smoke the herb on the premise of the Up In Smoke Cafe. Several meetings with the police chief later, Goodster conceded that people, who would be members of a club could toke on the premise. The coppers have entered the establishment when Goodster has had a mountain of grass on the counter, which they ignore. However, they have targeted customers, charging four people for possession since the grand opening in late August. Not to be outdone, on the West Coast, Da Kine opened and actually went through with the selling of grass ala Amsterdam café. Two weeks of surveillance the coppers shut the joint down, only to be opened a day later. The fuzz claim that the friendly strangers rolled in the dosh better than a casino, earning, according to their far reaching estimates $30,000 a day. When not baking a full line of awesome tasty stony treats, T-Dot's Puff Mama operates a marijuana speakeasy. Taking a page out of '20s alcohol prohibition, where a doormen oversaw entry by password to a bopping joint fueled by bootleg booze, the awesome baker hosts semi-regular Sunday night marijuana speakeasy. Nothing but good vibes, great buzzing eats, shared grass and like-minded stoners chilling in a positive, healthy, homey vibe. Celebrating one's love of the herb with people who are also there to get their ya-yas out in an environment conducive to getting stoned can be an overwhelming experience. People ingesting great quantities of grass, whether it be in coffee, cakes, crumpets, scrumpets, bongs, vaporizers, blunts, pipes or tasty rolling papers, can send an outsider curled up and shaking their head. It's not unheard for a hardcore veteran to curl up into the "This Is Not Happening" position after hitting the Volcano vaporizer one too many times. For an American or any grass tourist the experience can be overwhelming. Many attuned American heads pilgrimage North to experience the forbidden pleasure either taking in a café as part of their vacation or attending a cannabis cup. Suddenly treated as an adult for the first time in their life these outsiders get gonozoed. Their minds explode when Canadian Potheads take up park space and start openly flaunting the law by passing spliffs. On Canabian Day, Niagara Falls Potheads peacefully did just that by pleasantly protesting on the corner of Canada's busiest tourist corner Falls View Ave. and Clifton Hill drawing gawks from tourists, but also participants. Besides handing out literature, organizers smoked up brave souls who couldn't believe the audacity of the group to break the law. "How are you guys doing this?" A perplexed but friendly fellow, who had heard me work the megaphone inviting anyone and everyone to "Meet the Potheads. We're a friendly bunch" wanted to know. "We're doing it, man." I replied, observing the lone copper who had taken up position across the street. "Want to smoke a joint?" my hippie comrade asked the disbelieving American. Talk about a weird and crazy vacation. Imagine returning home from traveling aboard, and we're talking Canada, a fairly accessible country for the bolder American and telling friends. "I saw the Falls, but walking back to the hotel these Canadians smoked me." There's no grand conspiracy that a full-fledged Canadian marijuana legalization law is being hampered by America's War on Drugs meddling. Hence the reason Niagara Falls is used as inroad to generating American heat. Canadian lawmakers have studied grass legalization since the disco days. However, like the supposed red triangle theory in the Far East, a Green Menace apparently is lurking on the other side of the 49th. Should Canada fall, and ultimately the end is coming, America one day might go Titanic also. U.S. Drug Czar John Walters has preached the false horrors of Canuck grass, claiming that loaded in THC "BC Bud" is the "crack cocaine" of marijuana. Superb genetics, high yielding organic nutrients, a booming indoor hydroponics industry has created marijuana that, unlike back in the day, has a unique taste, high and look that can only be maintained through talented gardening. Naturally this loving care has created an improved quality of grass. The Czar insists that Canadian marijuana is driving the number of impressionable young American teens seeking drug dependency help higher than the sun. The tragically misinformed White House nutter pounds the rubber chicken circuit preaching the false horrors of Canuck grass, lax attitude of our officials and the idea that marijuana is mostly harmless. Though every Pothead insists that they've had genuine "BC Bud," the reality is that the term has been so co-opted that any weed with some potency to it often is labeled "BC Bud." The reality is that the amazing Canuck grass largely remains domestic, with only about three per cent trekking south. This is less than Mexico exports. The mostly harmless substance that does arrive into the U.S. is often returned for the much harsher drug cocaine or to many Canadians' horror guns. A legal environment would keep the grass in and the guns out. When Canada removes prohibition, Americans would be welcome to taste freedom. Whereas Americans tend not to want government meddling, Canadians accept government rules and regulations placed upon intoxicants alcohol and tobacco that has done wonderfully at keeping these drugs out of teens' reach. New Democrat Party politicians are calling for the mountain of grass that their constituents are partaking in to be taxed, purchased and smoked in licensed establishments, with professional cannabis vintners having their product distributed via government operated outlets. Think this is crazy talk! The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) controls access to wine, spirits and beer, along with what establishments are permitted to sell alcohol. This government body rakes in over a billion dollars for the state. A Cannabis Control Board of Ontario would regulate marijuana in the same manner as alcohol. Without lifting the bonds of prohibition the federal government has decreed that marijuana is a taxable substance. They'll gladly accept what is owed to them on sales. Call their measure a Grass Sales Tax. A tax battle that I partook in had the government argue that marijuana could be taxed at seven per cent under the current tax code. With the government gleefully going after money owed on my marijuana sales, the CCBO argument began to take. With the Minister of Finance refusing to clarify that the Canadian government wanted weed money without setting out any form of regulation, the CCBO is an NDP motion to Tax, Regulate, License, Sell, but more importantly would immediately address the problem. Activists have stopped calling for decrim, opting instead to go for the gusto by demanding nothing less than the full legalization of grass. For now many, many, marijuana enthusiasts are jitterbugging the law into submission. The final, glory, sun-setting days of prohibition has possibly begun to hit Canada. Getting in on the dance shouldn't be a stumbling block. Acting stoner stoopid is surely going to lead to a downer vacation, but even an American could somewhat integrate himself into this culture. Besides the cafes, making a trek for a marijuana protest is often worthwhile. These protests are an excellent place to meet like-minded souls who might smoke an American or provide some grass. Many Canadian tokers are aware of the harsh conditions set upon them by The American Man and are willing to show a brother or sister freedom. During the warmer months Canucks have taken to protesting outside, bringing bongs, bullhorns and signs to parks. Besides outright pot toking, many of these protests, which verge on festivals, have frontline speakers bringing their stories of police harassment and court victories firsthand to the masses. Up to as many as three thousand people lounge about on the grass listening to the message and soaking in the freedom of outdoor toking. Winter months have cannabis competitions. Which are propping up just about anywhere a café is. These competitions offer participants an excellent opportunity to flavor an assortment of the best that growers have to offer. Then there's the speakeasy. Marijuana has become mainstream. With the massive positive media exposure, Canadians have in some cases accepted and in the majority tolerated those who partake in the herb. Once one begins to understand the difference between tolerance and legalization they are halfway to grasping the Canadian marijuana issue. The current tolerated environment is favorable over decrim. The overgrowth has taken hold. The police would need an industrial military sized weed eater to eliminate the amount of grass grown here. With cafes taking hold, growers enthusiastically producing large sums of grass, incredible amounts of money being generated and a populace aware that the country didn't become a Russ Myers horror movie when the law fell by the wayside last summer has created an environment favorable to legalization. The positive peaceful pot movement, who's numbers continue to grow as weed like as the plant they represent, has glimpsed a Promised Land. Soon those false myths that cannabis is legal up there in Canada will become, like all good legends after a while, true. http://www.getunderground.com/underground/features/article.cfm?Article_ID=1738 041103 ... . Let's remember Prohibition -- and legalize marijuana By JOHN IBBITSON Tuesday, November 2, 2004 - Page A4 The commercial cultivation of marijuana, once largely confined to British Columbia, has spread nationwide. In Ontario, the harvest has grown by an estimated 250 per cent in the past two years. Police recently raided grow-ops in Moncton. In Edmonton, real-estate agents are exploring their legal liability for selling a house that turns out to have been a nursery. Remember this, when you consider Bill C-17. The Liberal government's third attempt at decriminalizing marijuana possession was introduced in the House yesterday. Whether the bill makes it into law will largely depend on whether Parliament lasts long enough to get it through. Ottawa has been considering such legislation now for a year and a half. In that time, as usual, political considerations have fallen behind reality. Evidence is sketchy -- there is, as yet, no marijuana marketing board -- but various studies suggest that pot is now one of Canada's major cash crops. RCMP marijuana-plant seizures have increased fourfold in the past four years. The Electricity Distributors Association estimates that Ontario utilities are losing as much as $200-million a year from illegal taps of power lines by grow-ops. Some people believe the retail value of the national marijuana harvest surpasses the wheat or dairy industries. In an effort to control the spread of grow-ops, governments are skirting with unconstitutional laws. The Ontario government has introduced legislation that would permit authorities to cut power to homes suspected of growing marijuana. At the federal level, Bill C-16, which was also introduced yesterday, will expand police powers to compel blood, saliva or urine tests for suspected drugged drivers. Both laws may well offend the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Today, the Mounties begin a two-day conference on the problem of grow-ops and what to do about them. They are unlikely to grapple with the real solution. We are rapidly moving to the point where the state will have no choice but to move beyond decriminalization and toward legalization and regulation. Otherwise, we could be back to the 1920s and the challenge to state power that accompanied Prohibition. According to Statistics Canada, 12 per cent of adult Canadians in 2002 admitted to smoking pot at least once in the previous 12 months. (The real number is probably higher.) That doesn't make it a good thing, but it does make it a common, socially acceptable, thing. Opponents of legalization point to the many safety hazards of pot consumption: It can be far worse for your lungs than cigarettes; it is addictive (psychologically, if not physically); and putting it in the hands of Labatt or Imperial Tobacco would offer societal sanction of a dangerous drug. Except that society already regulates tobacco and alcohol because they're dangerous. Banning them is impossible, given their widespread use, and so governments permit their sale under strict conditions, accompanied by heavy taxation to mitigate their societal cost. Regulating cannabis would provide a cash crop for the struggling agriculture sector that, rest assured, would not require government subsidies. Strict laws and punitive taxes would make sure the weed would be no easier for underage tokers to obtain than it already is. Legalization would be a blow to organized crime, would improve health and safety conditions among cultivators, would increase tax revenues, and would relieve governments of the temptation to violate the Constitution in their futile efforts to shut down the industry. We shouldn't be legalizing marijuana because we want to feel all right. We should be legalizing and regulating it in recognition of the truth that this soft but potentially dangerous drug has crossed the threshold of respectability in middle-class society. Let Parliament pass Bill C-17. (Bill C-16 may need another look.) Then let's get to work on the bigger job of figuring out how to control recreational drug use in a society that has decided there's nothing wrong with occasionally getting stoned. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20041102/IBBITSON02/TPNational/Canada 041103 ... . CN MB: OPED: Legalize, Not Demonize, Pot by Gerald Flood, (03 Nov 2004) Winnipeg Free Press Manitoba IN the final days of the federal election campaign this summer, I found myself at a big rally for Conservative Leader Stephen Harper here in Winnipeg. I had arrived early in hopes of finding a good vantage point from which to watch the proceeding. Several hundred Conservative supporters had done likewise. While waiting for Mr. Harper, it was natural that many of these Conservatives would strike up conversations about things political. I admit I eavesdropped -- how can you not when people are speaking at elevated levels right next to your ear? In any event, one of the louder mouths -- an older gent -- caught my attention when he started talking about legalizing marijuana. He thought that it made more sense than continuing to pursue what is so obviously a failed effort to prevent its consumption. He talked about how it would free police to pursue more serious crimes and how the government could make a bundle by taxing it. "If you're stupid enough to smoke it then you're stupid enough to pay for it," he said to murmurs of approval. I made a mental note of that because it indicated that rank and file Conservatives seem out of step with their leader, who is opposed to reforming pot laws. It also reminded me of a similar experience three years earlier during the election in British Columbia. I was at an all-candidates meeting at which two candidates for the Marijuana Party spoke. What they said was not that different than what I heard in June. It was, however, more, shall we say, nuanced. They had statistics about consumption and estimates of potential government revenue as well as arguments that the way to get pot out of the hands of children was to first take it out of the hands of criminals. One of them was a school teacher who argued that legalizing and regulating the use of marijuana was the best way to ensure that kids have no easier access to pot than they do to alcohol. There was applause for the speakers, and voters -- mostly older voters; they are the ones who, for the most part, attend such political meetings -- exchanged looks that said: "That makes sense." What I take from those two incidents is that, in terms of the debate about legalizing marijuana, people get it. And not just these people, or tokers, or free spirits in general -- Canadians generally get it. A committee of the Senate -- the chamber of sober second thought -- two years ago reached the same conclusion that pot use should be legal and regulated. "Make no mistake," the committee declared. "We are not endorsing cannabis use for recreational consumption. Whether or not an individual uses marijuana should be a personal choice that is not subject to criminal penalties. But we have come to the conclusion that, as a drug, it should be regulated by the State much as we do for wine and beer, hence our preference for legalization over decriminalization." And yet federal politicians seem unable to get it. Either that or they lack the courage to follow the advice they are given. This week, the Liberal government introduced for the third time legislation to decriminalize marijuana consumption. Given the government's minority status, it is quite likely that this legislation will not pass either. But the fact is that even if it does, it will not solve the problem, which is not consumption of marijuana, but the fact that it is illegal and as such is in the control of criminals. All this law tries to do is minimize the stigma of being declared a criminal for doing what millions have done. It would take possession of small quantities -- not so small, actually: ten joints or three plants -- out of the Criminal Code. But it won't stop criminal grow ops or the wasteful battle against pot that could end overnight through legalization and regulation, as happened with alcohol once it was determined that prohibition had gone bust. If anything, what this change will accomplish is some growth in demand, which encourages more criminal production in addition to the current levels, which have grown so great that marijuana has a significant positive impact on GDP, but a significant negative impact on government revenues. In Toronto alone it is estimated that there are 10,000 illegal grow ops. Police last year managed to shut down 1,000 with no deterrent impact. Busting grow operations, in fact, has become so commonplace that police are increasingly concerned for the health of the busters, who are exposed to high levels of harmful moulds and chemicals. When are we going to accept that this should not be about cops and robbers, and it need not be? It should be about, as the Senate committee said, "a personal choice that is not subject to criminal penalties," which is best achieved through legalization. I'll drink to that. http://www.mapinc.org/newscc/v04/n1566/a10.html?397 041103 ... . _cannabis_ 041211 ... monee Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN) Author: Janice Tibbetts, CanWest News Service Published: Thursday, November 25, 2004 "...Canadians are smoking pot more than ever before and the majority want police and government to leave people to indulge in peace... more than half of Canadians effectively support legalization, with 57 per cent reporting that people should be "left alone" if they are caught with small amounts of marijuana for personal use... The poll also provides a breakdown of public opinion, showing that Quebec residents, renters, and Canadians 18 to 29 and 40 to 59 are most likely to support a "hands-off" approach. Westerners were evenly divided on government intervention and Ontario and Atlantic Canada hovered around the national average. In Quebec, 68 per cent of respondents reported that people should be "left alone" to smoke pot in peace..." http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/mjnation.htm i say yay quebec.) 041212 ... mon uow "Marijuana and Mayerthorpe National Post March 7, 2005 In the midst of Canada's national grief comes the refrain that this would not have happened if marijuana was legal. The Liberals' proposed new law, however, would only decriminalize the possession of small amounts of pot. This would increase demand and make grow-ops more lucrative. Those currently afraid of the taint of a criminal record would soon be able to indulge freely, sponsoring the criminality of their suppliers. Either legalize the growing and distribution and control it or increase the penalties and mandate enforcement. No more in-between, Mr. Dithers. Stan W. Currie, Edmonton." http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/comment/letters_story.html?id=0aab7c43-5183-46e4-8f7b-8802f104c85a 050307 ... mon uow "Sun, March 6, 2005 Pro-pot members criticize media BROOKES MERRITT, SUN MEDIA Pot activists are criticizing the media for sensationalizing the recent killings of four RCMP officers in northern Alberta. They say reporters are ramping up anti-pot sentiment by spinning the story toward grow-ops and failing to ask how a dangerous offender was repeatedly overlooked by the courts. The officers were killed earlier this week in a botched raid at the farm near Rochfort Bridge of James Roszko. They were attempting to recover stolen goods and investigating a marijuana grow-op. "Marijuana is the background scenery of this tragedy," said Alan Young, a York University law professor and marijuana advocate. "This is about police safety and the proper procedures for executing a warrant." Young said the massacre is uncharacteristic of grow-op busts. "Police have taken down hundreds of grow-ops in the last two years without ever encountering such violence." Marc Emery, leader of the B.C. Marijuana party, said media frenzy over the grow-op has incited outrageous hysteria. He speculated Roszko's trigger finger was bent by problems far greater than too many pot plants. "(Roszko) was a notable misanthrope raised as a Christian fundamentalist, who loved guns and whose own father described him as a wicked devil, but everybody is jumping on marijuana as the focus of this tragedy." Federal Marijuana party Leader Blair Longley blamed the ordeal on statistics rather than soft drug culture. "Roszko must have felt terrorized by society to do what he did; the mentality of marijuana culture isn't one of 'shoot the police.' "" http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/News/2005/03/06/952051-sun.html 050307 ... mon uow as far as i can see, what happened in alberta last week had very little to do with marihuana, but, instead had very much to do with one cop-hating gun-happy mentally imbalanced man. but of course much of the spin would have many believe otherwise. that is what spin is for. 050307 ... mon uow "Mar. 7, 2005. 06:27 AM Bloody end sealed before police arrived ROSIE DIMANNO A bad seed can find fertile territory even in the most bleak and un-nourishing of landscapes. It doesn't need the hothouse environment of a marijuana grow-op. It doesn't need real or imagined grievances against the institutions of law and authority. It doesn't need self-imposed isolation and a virulent antagonism towards the entire world. It requires only the fecund soil of a twisted, impenetrable mind. And that's a place where no legislation, no social covenant, can be imposed. James Roszko was, from all reports, a walking time bomb, a man so distorted by seething hatred and violent belligerence that he will go un-mourned even by his own father, a rejection of blood by a staunchly religious old man that might possibly shed a thin ray of light on the pathology of this cop killer. It was left to the father of one of Roszko's victims to forgive the unforgivable. "I bear no bitterness in my heart towards the family and I bear no bitterness in my heart towards the man," Don Schiemann, a Lutheran minister, said on the weekend in a gesture of mercy so gracious it astonishes and humbles. "If I was to harbor bitterness and hatred, then I would become another victim of the shooting.'' His son, Const. Peter Schiemann, was only 25 years old, the youngest among the four RCMP officers massacred by Roszko before the hermit lunatic turned the semi-automatic rifle on himself. A satisfactory explanation for what went so terribly amiss inside the rural Quonset hut in northern Alberta where Roszko was cultivating what now appears to have been 20 mature marijuana plants — hardly a sophisticated or big-time grow-op — has not been forthcoming. RCMP officials have divulged details only in small doses and some of that information has been subsequently contradicted, both by the police agency and others who claim to have some knowledge of events. Roszko's mother, Stephanie Fifield, who lives in a trailer on her son's property, insists her admittedly volatile son is not the demon as described by his father, from whom she has been long-divorced. "No, my son was not the devil," she told reporters. But he was a malevolent and brooding creature, quick to rage and endlessly nurturing a bilious resentment towards a vast array of enemies. "When he gets a grudge against someone, he will be mad at you for the rest of your life. That's the way he is." He was also a notorious cop hater before he became a cop killer. Just as he hated bailiffs, school board trustees, civic and court officials, neighbours, and anybody who represented authority, every manifestation of the common law that he so savagely and self-righteously disdained. But he loved firearms. Friends, or at least those who've described themselves as such, have said Roszko surrounded himself with weaponry, had buried ammunition all over his property, perhaps anticipating some future time when he would have need to defend himself against encroachers, might even have booby-trapped his land with grenades. That would explain the nervousness of investigators scouring his ranch over the weekend, how quick officers were to draw their guns at one tense point, another incident which has gone without illuminating comment from officials. And he liked little boys, allegedly hanging around a school in the past, attempting to lure kids with offers of candy. A convicted pedophile, Roszko served 2 ½ years for sexually assaulting a boy between 1983 and 1989. He denied the accusations, never expressed remorse and spurned all treatment while in prison. One of his victims distributed posters of Roszko around town, describing his tormentor as a child molester, just one more valid reason for the local population to shun the man they viewed as a menace and a crackpot, capable of anything. But nobody could have foreseen the worst massacre of police officers in Canada in a century. Or could they? Countless townspeople have wondered aloud how the four slain RCMP officers could have exposed themselves so disastrously to what even agency officials are now describing as an "ambush." Everybody knew, or should have known, what a threat the 46-year-old Roszko posed, how combustible his temper, how easy he was to provoke when anyone so much as approached his property gate. Bailiffs, a particular bane of Roszko's miserable existence, were loath to go near him when executing court orders. One such bailiff, who attempted to seize property from Roszko's farm in 1999, wrote in her report afterwards: "The debtor is known to be extremely aggressive ... (I) learned he was quite dangerous, has a long history of assaults, (was) in possession of a number of firearms, (and) would most likely shoot anyone on the property on sight." That bailiff was handed a police vest by an RCMP constable who'd accompanied her during that futile repossession mission. In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, a nation looked inwards to try to make sense of the disaster. Were the officers properly armed and sufficiently protected for the assignment? How could such a chronic malefactor remain in possession of lethal weapons? What of the federal government's wildly ineffective and controversial firearms registry? Had a lenient justice system failed to protect not just the officers but also an entire community? The public debate centered at first on the scourge of marijuana growing operations and Canada's pot laws. Opportunists seized on the ghastly scene near Mayerthorpe, Alta., to either promote tougher sentencing for hydroponics operations or champion the legalization of cannabis. Roszko's fate last week might have been pre-ordained or a self-fulfilling prophecy Predictably, politicians and activists provided a cacophony of sound bites, even as the grieving families asked that the focus remain on the victims, on the sacrifices they had made for duty and country. Yet it now seems the marijuana crop was only peripheral to the raid and the events that ensued. It was Roszko's mother who first made mention of a pick-up truck— and an internecine family squabble over a sibling loan that remained unpaid. If this tragedy indeed arose from the repossession of a truck, then it is eerily reminiscent of previous confrontations between Roszko and bailiffs supported by RCMP personnel. How was it that Roszko could disappear into his Quonset hut at one moment and then reappear some distance away, with no one having noticed any movement? It was as if he'd secured for himself secret avenues of escape. Or, more disturbingly, entry. The Edmonton Journal reported that two bailiffs drove to Roszko's farm on Wednesday afternoon to repossess a 2005 white Ford pickup, on behalf of an Edmonton dealership. Roszko ignored their honking but unleashed a pair of Rottweilers, Mark Hnatiw told the paper. Then Roszko, who'd gone inside the Quonset hut, somehow popped up beside his truck and burned rubber as he fled the farm, later crashing through a fence. The abandoned truck was found on Saturday. On the farm, bailiffs and two RCMP officers they'd summoned by cell phone — one of them was Const. Schiemann — discovered the marijuana plants in a shed at the rear of the Quonset hut. They also found a number of brand new trucks in pieces, strewn about. The bailiffs left at 6:30 p.m., leaving behind two RCMP constables to guard the farm overnight. In the early morning, they were joined by two other RCMP colleagues. It must have been assumed that Roszko was nowhere on the premises and the quartet of officers were waiting for the arrival of an auto theft unit from Edmonton. Just as those officers got to the scene — they were actually stepping out of their car — gunfire erupted inside the Quonset hut. Roszko ran outside shooting and the Edmonton officers returned fire. A wounded Roszko — it's unclear which officer struck him, whether inside or outside the hut — retreated back inside where he killed himself. "Suicide by cop" — a known phenomenon whereby an individual, unwilling to submit to custody, all but forces police to shoot — is suspected by some. But that doesn't seem to fit the scene because Roszko allegedly ran from the enemy outside before taking his own life. It is mystifying. Nor is it clear when the murdered constables were shot. An official inquiry should determine whether the constables inside the hut ever had a chance to draw weapons and defend themselves. Or whether they were slaughtered in cold blood. Only one thing would appear to be grimly true: That events conspired to give a paranoid, delusional James Roszko precisely what he feared most and surely imagined often, what his entire life had been building towards — siege, standoff, shootout. Even if, as it seems entirely likely, there never was an actual siege or standoff. Rather, a stalking and an ambush. Roszko's fate might have been pre-ordained or a self-fulfilling prophecy. It was the dreadful misfortune of four young RCMP officers to be trapped within the horror of his blood-drenched destiny." http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1110150624781&call_pageid=970599119419 050307 ... mon uow "...The shooting has sparked debate over the government's plans to decriminalize marijuana possession, but town residents and criminologists say they do not believe the suspect, James Roszko, 46, opened fire to protect a pot crop. Roszko was also killed in the incident. It has been widely reported he turned his gun on himself. "Jim has been developing more and more hate and anger against the police," said his father William Roszko, 80. He said his son "probably is in Hell already." Family and neighbours described his short temper, angry encounters with police and bailiffs and his firearms cache. Police said the young Mounties were armed with handguns and wore light body armour when the entered the shed. They were shot with what was described as a "rapid-fire, high-powered rifle." "The RCMP were out-powered...," George Roszko, James' older brother, told the Edmonton Journal newspaper. "This is not your average hunting rifle-style kind of situation. There were numerous searches there, they tried to find his automatic weapons numerous times. But he's not stupid." Even Roszko's lawyer was quoted as saying he was frightened at times by the repeat-offender, who was also convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage boy in 2000. Residents of Mayerthorpe, a town of 1,600 people about 90 miles (140 km) northwest of Edmonton, described how the farm was equipped with heavy gates, booby traps and security cameras. "Everybody knew he was nuts," said Tanya Madigan, a gas station clerk, whose boyfriend owns a nearby property..." http://www.reuters.ca/locales/c_newsArticle.jsp;:422b6caa:c88d9e2279dc1c2e?type=topNews&localeKey=en_CA&storyID=7816717 050307 ... mon uow "Grow-ops not the culprit in RCMP shooting despite initial finger-pointing at 16:02 on March 7, 2005, EST. (CP) - From the first word of the fatal shootings of four RCMP officers in rural Alberta last week, the spotlight was turned on marijuana grow-ops - the dangers they posed, the tougher laws needed to combat them. Within hours, politicians, police, pot activists and even the father of killer James Roszko pointed both to marijuana itself and the illegal trade in the drug as a major player in the chain of events. RCMP officials said from the outset that their men were killed in a grow-op raid. William Roszko said his son was never the same after he started smoking "that crazy dope" as a teenager. The Marijuana Party said the shootings underscored the need to legalize pot and wipe out the black market. Police and some politicians argued just the opposite, saying the tragedy proved that any move to legalize weed was madness. It now appears the focus on grow-ups was misplaced. "It was shameful and disrespectful both on the side of the state and on the side of the activists, who felt they had to respond to the state," said Alan Young, a lawyer and longtime proponent of legalizing marijuana. "Four police officers were dead and it was alarming to see it turn into a propaganda play right off the bat. There is really nothing about this case that should cause someone to develop public policy one way or the other. This case is about how to deal with psychopathic people who have long histories with the law." Young isn't alone in his distaste. Letters to newspapers and callers to TV and radio shows buzzed Monday along similar lines. It now appears growing marijuana was only one of the problems that vexed Roszko. Police have backed down from original claims that the 46-year-old convicted pedophile with a long history of violence and a high-powered assault weapon had a substantial grow-op on his residence, saying they found "several brand-new trucks in pieces" in a metal shed on the property and found evidence of a pot-growing operation that included "20 mature marijuana plants." By all accounts, Roszko was a ticking time bomb with a hatred of police and a history of mental illness that went unchecked despite the entire town of Mayerthorpe, Alta., living in terror of him. That didn't stop the New York Times from weighing in on Sunday and painting the shootings as almost entirely grow-op-related. The Times quoted Leigh H. Winchell, special agent in charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle, as saying the killings in Alberta last week were stark evidence of "how much money is involved and the lengths to which these criminals are willing to go to protect it." He added: "It's a very dark day for all of us." Bonnie Burstow, a senior lecturer at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education who specializes in drug policy, calls that kind of reaction from police ironic. "It was anti-drug hysteria at play in the hours and days after the shootings, or what I should say is anti-drug-not-sanctioned-by-the-state hysteria," said Burstow. "Because let's face it: there's no bigger pusher than the state. There are far more dangerous and mind-altering drugs than marijuana being pushed on us every day by huge pharmaceutical companies, with the blessings of our doctors and the state. And no one's raiding the drug companies." Ottawa lawyer Eugene Oscapella, one of the founders of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy, fears some dangerous repercussions as a result of the swift finger-pointing at marijuana grow-ops last week. "You are going to see more violent raids now as police point to what happened in Alberta as proof that the people operating grow-ops are armed and dangerous and possibly crazy," he said. "That may lead to the militarization of the illegal drug trade - police have bigger weapons and use more violent tactics, so growers may then arm themselves. And all the state really has to do to end this insanity is get rid of the lucrative black market that encourages large grow-ops. The economies of prohibition are pretty plain - you don't have to be a brilliant economist to get this."" http://www.940news.com/news.php?cat=9&id=n030729A 050308 ... mon uow "Mar. 12, 2005. 10:32 AM Media duped on dope story BEN RAYNER As Canada nears the end of its media-imposed mourning for the four unfortunate RCMP officers killed in Alberta last week, it might finally be time to call the nation's police officials out for their duplicitous appropriation of the shootings as ammunition in the war on drugs. In no way should this be taken as disrespectful to the young men who lost their lives in the line of duty on March 3. No one should have to die for their job, particularly when that job involves something as mundane as repossessing a pickup truck — which, now that some of the smoke surrounding the sad events on that Mayerthorpe farm has cleared, appears to be what those officers were called in to do. The fact that the RCMP was so quick to muddy the circumstances of the deaths of four of its own men by insinuating that they were gunned down while marching into a heavily fortified marijuana-growing operation, however, is in entirely bad taste. Their killer, James Roszko, had about 20 marijuana plants on the property. Twenty pot plants don't make for a terribly lucrative operation, if they even qualify it as an "operation" at all. That number is, in fact, downright mom-and-pop when one considers that a much-publicized raid on a covert plantation in Barrie's old Molson brewery last year yielded 30,000 plants. That, my friends, is a grow-op. And not a single gunshot was fired during its police siege. Were the RCMP and the chorus of Canadian police chiefs — blowing hot air about the "plague" of grow-ops afflicting our nation — hoping to drum up a little anti-marijuana fervour at the Liberal policy convention in Ottawa last weekend? Or was the RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli's claim (later retracted) that the men were killed fighting for "a drug-free Canada" merely an attempt to make their deaths come off a bit more heroically in the media? Whatever the motivation, it looked like shameless opportunism on the RCMP's part, another case of the police manipulating the media and fomenting middle-class panic to get what they want — which is, inevitably, more money and more men to make us safer from the very perils they're fond of exaggerating. We've had experience with that in Toronto under outgoing police Chief Julian Fantino. Remember all those knives and guns "seized" by police at raves a few years back? One hears echoes of the same fear-mongering in the recent police chatter about grow-ops: In the immediate aftermath of the Alberta shootings, it was impossible to get through an article about the affair without hearing some police official linking marijuana cultivation to organized crime, guns, child neglect and booby traps, booby traps, booby traps. I've never heard the term "booby trap" invoked so much in a concentrated period of time. A lot of this is grasping at straws. An OPP official testifying in court over the Barrie affair is on record saying that the force has encountered violence in only two of more than 800 grow-op raids in Ontario. And Sgt. Birnie Smith, an Alberta drug-enforcement officer quoted in a CP story on grow-ops last week, could come up with no more pressing public threat from the operations than neighbours being mistakenly targeted by criminals showing up to rip off the wrong address. "They go in, they're armed, and there can be serious consequences," he warned. "It's a danger if you're living next door to it." Still, the police got what they wanted. Given the circumstances in which these exaggerations and half-truths were bandied about, the media — no doubt delighted to have a little bullet-riddled, American-style War on Drugs violence in its own backyard — reprinted them unquestioningly. The grow-op angle only receded in recent days, as it became more and more obvious that marijuana had very little to do with the killings and everything to do with what happens when you allow a deranged, antisocial loner to amass a large private arsenal out in Hell's Half Acre, Alta. Pledging stiffer sentences for anyone caught growing pot is now an easy and obvious public-relations mark for politicians, and lingering fallout from the RCMP's grow-op disinformation will no doubt make it even tougher for the Liberals to get their half-assed decriminalization bill through Parliament. This, of course, is missing the point. Decriminalization won't do anything to remove the criminal, potentially violent aspects of the marijuana trade, since it still leaves cultivation illegal. Legalizing pot completely is the only way to eliminate that side of the game, and the U.S. is likely to invade us if the Liberals allow that to happen. The entire legal debate is useless, anyway, as no one's about to stop growing or smoking marijuana in this country. Supply equals demand, and the demand is ravenous. As Ron Allen of the RCMP's anti-drug unit in Toronto told Reuters last week: "If we focused all the forces in the GTA solely on marijuana, we still wouldn't get a handle on it. It's that large." Much as it might ruffle conservative feathers, marijuana has become part of Canada's national mythology abroad. We're renowned as the source of killer B.C. weed. We paint affectionate portraits of small-time growers on Trailer Park Boys. A recent Simpsons mistakenly assumed pot was legal up here — as many Americans do — and had Ned Flanders being offered "a reeferino" on the streets of Winnipeg. While perusing grow-op stories on the Star's own website last week, I was delighted to see the band of Google-generated advertisements down the side of the screen, consisting entirely of hydroponics ads promising advanced nutrient products, "huge yields" and "massive harvests." Marijuana is not going away. And, in the grand scheme of things, it's not doing nearly as much harm in this country as, say, guns. Oppose it if you will — you have as much right to your opinion as you should have to smoke or ingest whatever you choose — but don't stoop to using dead men as pawns to support your position. They deserve to be remembered as men, not symbols." http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1110495014498&call_pageid=970599119419 050318 ... anomalous "Multiple Sclerosis - Canada Approves Cannabis Derived Pharmaceutical Treatment, Sativex® 22 Apr 2005 Health Canada has approved Sativex® (Cannabis sativa L. extract) a new drug developed as adjunctive treatment for the symptomatic relief of neuropathic pain in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). Canada becomes the first country in the world to approve Sativex, a novel prescription pharmaceutical product derived from components of the cannabis plant shown to have therapeutic properties. Sativex is administered via a spray into the mouth. Health Canada has approved Sativex with conditions, under the Notice of Compliance with Conditions (NOC/c) policy. This authorization reflects the promising nature of the clinical evidence which will be confirmed with further studies. Products approved under Health Canada's NOC/c policy, have demonstrated promising benefit, are of high quality and possess an acceptable safety profile based on a benefit/risk assessment for the approved use. “Effective pain control and management are extremely important in a disease like MS,” said Dr. Allan Gordon, Neurologist and Director of the Wasser Pain Management Centre, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario. “The approval of Sativex in Canada reflects the urgent need for additional treatment options in the field of neuropathic pain in MS.” Neuropathic pain Pain is a common symptom of MS occurring in up to 86 per cent of people with MS. Neuropathic or nerve pain can occur spontaneously or can be provoked by touch, temperature or movement. It is estimated that 50 per cent of people with MS suffer from chronic neuropathic pain. , , The most common descriptions of neuropathic pain are of freezing, cold or burning sensations usually of the limbs and most often of the lower extremities. Many individuals with neuropathic pain respond inadequately to current treatment options. , “It's hard to explain to someone who has never felt this type of pain. It's like being plugged into an electric socket all the time,” said Steve Walsh, who suffers from MS and has lived with neuropathic pain for five years. “At times, putting on clothes or anything touching me can be too much to take,” he added. Data demonstrates efficacy While there is no complete cure for MS or neuropathic pain, a double-blind placebo controlled parallel group study demonstrated that Sativex provided significantly greater pain relief than placebo. Sativex also significantly reduced pain-related sleep disturbance.8 Principal components A product resulting from the pioneering research efforts of UK-based GW Pharmaceuticals plc and marketed in Canada by Bayer HealthCare, Pharmaceuticals Division, Sativex is the first product indicated in Canada as adjunctive treatment for the symptomatic relief of neuropathic pain in MS. Its principal active cannabinoid components are delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). The ratio of THC to CBD in Sativex is 2.7 mg : 2.5 mg per spray, ensuring a standardized dose is delivered each time it is used. “The approval of Sativex is good news for the Canadian MS community. People living with MS and neuropathic pain need new options to address their pain. Sativex will likely be welcomed by the many people with MS, whose quality of life has been further compromised with neuropathic pain,” said Dr. William J. McIlroy, National Medical Advisor, MS Society of Canada. How Sativex works Sativex is administered through a spray pump under the tongue or on the inside of the cheek, providing reliable, self-administered pain relief. The spray formulation allows for more flexible dosing than an oral tablet, well suited to the variable nature of neuropathic pain experienced by people with MS. “Because Sativex is designed for self-administration, this allows for flexible dosing and puts the patient in control of their pain,” said Dr. Gordon. “This is very important since pain severity varies between different patients and even in the same patient at different times.”..." http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=23299 050512 ... skyburst777 "Mayor backs proposal to legalize marijuana Put tax revenue into health care, he says By ROD MICKLEBURGH Thursday, June 9, 2005 Page S1 With a report from William Mbaho in Vancouver VANCOUVER -- "Legalize Pot!" -- the rallying cry of pro-cannabis crusaders across the country -- may soon be official policy for Canada's third-largest city. A wide-ranging city report on drug prevention strategies released yesterday calls for marijuana to be legalized and regulated, much in the manner of alcohol and tobacco. The recommendation, which goes far beyond Ottawa's proposal to decriminalize the drug, was enthusiastically endorsed by Mayor Larry Campbell. "We're talking about a $3-billion industry in this province. Tax the living hell out of it and put the revenue into health care," Mr. Campbell said. More importantly, he added, legalizing marijuana will enable educators to talk realistically to young people about the dangers of drug use, as they now do about the harmful effects of drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. "We can't do the Cheech and Chong routine any more. We've got to be honest with these people," said Mr. Campbell, who is a former member of the RCMP's drug enforcement unit. "There's no sense in me, as a Mountie, going into a school and saying: 'You know what? If you do marijuana, you're going to become a heroin addict.' " After all, students see the captain of the football team, a guy in the school band, or a top scholastic student, "and they know that these people may have smoked marijuana and they didn't grow horns and they aren't shooting heroin," Mr. Campbell said. He noted that alcohol and tobacco use is declining among young people as health and addiction experts learn how to more effectively communicate the dangers involved in using those substances. "The same thing will happen with marijuana. And at the end of the day, how many marijuana addicts do you have, anyway?" The mayor's advocacy for legalizing pot brought a quick, hostile response from Staff-Sergeant Chuck Doucette of the RCMP, regional co-ordinator for the force's Drug Awareness Service in British Columbia and the Yukon. "It still amazes me that Mayor Campbell can continue with the idea that legalizing marijuana will help," Staff Sgt. Doucette said. "Legalizing is giving up. Instead of giving up, let's start the fight. Let's start proper prevention. And the black market for marijuana will not change, whether it's legal or not." Mr. Campbell spoke at a news conference packed with cameras and reporters enticed by the thought of laid-back Vancouver endorsing legalized pot. He said the federal government's suggested decriminalization of marijuana won't do the job. While convicted users may avoid a criminal record, decriminalization gives a green light to criminally run marijuana grow-ops, since pot will still be illegal, Mr. Campbell said. "We would be saying to people: 'It's okay that you do this [use marijuana].' And we'd be saying to criminals: 'Fill your boots.' " When asked how legalizing marijuana would actually help prevent use, Mr. Campbell said: "It will allow us to control a drug that at the present time is not being controlled. It's out there and we can't do anything about it. "By controlling how it's used and who gets it, we can start building a base to help those who might otherwise move on to harder drugs. Right now, we have no control over that whatsoever." In Ottawa, federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said there is no chance the federal government will embrace legalization. "We have chosen as a policy option the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana for personal use," he said. "We don't want to go down the route of legalization." Local police, meanwhile, distanced themselves from the views of Staff Sgt. Doucette. Inspector Scott Thompson, drug policy co-ordinator for the Vancouver Police Department, said he wanted to remain neutral on the issue. Tim Stockwell of the B.C. Centre for Addictions Research said data have shown that neither decriminalization nor legalization is likely to increase marijuana use. And, at the same time, they would both remove "certain social harms and injustices." The recommendation to remove marijuana use from the Criminal Code was only one of 24 recommendations contained in the drug prevention blueprint, to be presented to city council next Tuesday. Mr. Campbell acknowledged this particular recommendation was "the sexy one," but urged a reading of the entire report that includes many "ground-breaking" social measures aimed at curbing the city's devastating scourge of drug addiction." http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050609/BCDRUG09/TPHealth/ 050609 ... skyburst777 i'd like to try sativex 050609 ... . tue. jun. 14 2005 "Medical marijuana sub-standard, patients say Kathy Tomlinson and Margo Harper, CTV News Cindy Reardon lives with constant pain in her legs. The Toronto resident says she would be bedridden with a debilitating nerve condition, if it weren't for the only thing that gives her relief: medical marijuana. Reardon is one of about 800 Canadians licensed by the federal government to buy pot through a four-year-old Health Canada experiment in growing medical marijuana. But Reardon says the stuff that Ottawa sends her is powdery and sub-standard. "It's not potent enough," says Reardon. "Generally cannabis works for me -- this does not." Reardon is not the only medicinal marijuana user in the country with complaints about the government grow operation. Of the 800 Canadians licensed to buy marijuana, only about 150 are currently ordering Ottawa's pot. That's because -- like Reardon -- many users say the government pot is too weak to relieve their pain. And there is also a widespread perception that the stuff may not even be safe for consumption. "What we see is a massive level of distrust with the entire program," says Philippe Lucas of Canadians for Safe Access, an advocacy group for users of medical marijuana. Distrust, says Lucas, because Ottawa chose one of the most polluted mine sites in the world for its experiment in producing medical marijuana. The site is a former mine shaft on the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting property in Flin Flon, Manitoba -- about 600 kilometres north of Winnipeg. And even though heavy metal tests have shown the pot is safe, many smokers simply don't want the stuff. Most of Canada's registered medical users buy their pot through the country's network of compassion clubs. In 2001, Ottawa awarded a company called Prairie Plant Systems an experimental contract to grow pot in the old mine shaft. The program was launched with a beaming Allan Rock, then the federal health minister, touring the facility. "It's a great operation," Rock said at the time. But four years, and $24 million worth of taxpayers' money later, critics say Ottawa's experiment in medicinal marijuana has been a disaster. In that time, the federal program has harvested about 1,800 kilos of pot. Almost half of that is not up to standard for human consumption, according to Health Canada. So the unmarketable pot is sitting on ice, with your tax dollars being used to study the "long term stability of the product under storage conditions." "We keep it in storage," says Health Canada's Richard Viau. "We keep it in freezers and indeed the material that wasn't suitable for distribution we use for research." Given the $24 million cost of Ottawa's entire medical marijuana experiment and the fact that so little pot produced in the government grow operation is reaching its intended users -- advocacy groups are calling on the government to re-think the whole thing. "To continue to dump money down the big hole that is the Prairie Plant Systems mine, to me that is offensive," says Philippe Lucas. "It's offensive to see Health Canada and the Office of Cannabis Medical Access pretend that everything is working when they are very well aware that this program is a failure." Current Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh defends the government grow operation. "It always takes time when you are dealing with new issues and new substances that otherwise have not been dealt with by government," says Dosanjh. "I believe the situation has improved. The potency has improved. The grower is learning. As is the government." In fact, CTV News has learned that Ottawa is preparing to re-tender the marijuana project when its contract with Prairie Plant Systems expires at the end of the year. But many users, like Cindy Reardon, say that government should hand the contract over to Canadians who know how to properly produce pot. "If they are going to offer it to me, why not offer it so it can work for me, and offer it properly" says Reardon. "Put it in the hands of the master growers - people who do this for a living."" http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1118793669985_7/?hub=CTVNewsAt11 050615 ... . "one of the most polluted mine sites in the world" yeah, good going. effin schwag. 050615 what's it to you? who go blather from