OTHER SIDE- LEGAL REGULATED MARKET PREFERRED : MEDIA DEBATE 2004

THE MEDIA DEBATE 2004
THE ISSUE: CANNABIS IN CANADA

TABLE OF CONTENTS THE SCOPE POLICE CULTURE MEDICAL GOVERNMENT YOUTH HEMP UNITED STATES	ONE SIDE: ILLEGAL The Players The Incentives The Arguments Strategies	OTHER SIDE: LEGAL The Players The Arguments	THE DEBATE: BOTH SIDES CONCLUSION

ON THE OTHER SIDE: LEGAL REGULATED MARKET PREFERRED

Living in Peace With Cannabis Consumers

* Arguments favouring decrim are listed here, as the intention is to supposedly be moving in the right direction.

The Players:

Bad Laws And The People Who Change Them It Wasn't The Unlawful Open Selling Of Pot That Brought The Heat Down On Da Kine Cafe. It Was The Lawful Political Dissent Expressed In That Act That Brought Out The Shields
Proprietors Promote Pot Peace
Saint John Pot Cafe Busted
Pot Paradise Lost Reefer Refugees Caught In U.S. War On Drugs Freaked By Feds' Order To Deport Cancer Patient. Now, with the Kubby decision, other medical marijuana users seeking refugee status in Canada are fearful about their own cases
Pot Activist Jailed marijuana activist was sentenced to three months in jail after pleading guilty to trafficking when he passed a joint
'We'll Rally Everybody,' Pot Activist Says Angry that the Liberal government wants to simply decriminalize -- but not legalize -- marijuana, activists across the country are threatening to make any decriminalization law unworkable by burying police in paperwork and tying up the courts in red tape
End Pot Persecution, Activist Says "This is a very vicious worldwide pogrom against our people for the crime of free thinking and creative thought and questioning authority," Marc Emery
Police Yank Hemp Mascot Out Of Parade

Medical Activists:

Physicians Call For Decriminalization
Feds Talk Compassion The medical marijuana movement may be getting more respect ... pro-pot activist attended a meeting with the Health Canada Stakeholder Advisory Committee on the Medical Marijuana Access Regulations
Legalized Marijuana Advocate Invited To Speak At Boston Conference
Cannabis Crusader Appeals Calgary - Grant Krieger Is Appealing His Controversial Pot Conviction From Last Month. "I don't feel justice was done in that courtroom that day,"
Medicinal Pot Crusader Busted Grant Krieger, 49, said he was pulled over Tuesday night by RCMP, who seized roughly $7,500 worth of marijuana and cash from his vehicle.
Charges Dropped Against Medical Marijuana Club Toronto Ont - Two directors of the Toronto Compassion Centre, which had more than 1,200 clients, were charged with a number of marijuana-trafficking related charges after a dozen police officers raided the operation in August 2002.
Medical Pot Advocate Says Jail Conditions Cause of His Hepatitis C Halifax NS - Mr. Patriquen, the first federal inmate ever to possess a Health Canada permit to legally possess and consume marijuana, was not allowed to have any in jail. The Correctional Service of Canada, which has the right to ban cannabis use in federal prisons, said it can't legally buy the drug.
Crusader's Wife, Son Arrested For Pot Swift Current Sask - Mounties arrested Marie and Ryan Krieger following a traffic stop on the Trans-Canada Highway east of Swift Current.
Pot Bust Sends Society Reeling Victoria, B.C. - Last week's RCMP bust of an East Sooke marijuana grow-op has deprived almost 400 people from the medicinal pot they desperately need, according to the president of the Vancouver Island Compassion Society
Police Raid Smiths Falls Offices Of Medicinal Marijuana Police seized 221 marijuana plants from the headquarters of the Carasel Harvest Supply Corporation,
Compassion Club Operator Sees Pot Charges Stayed By Judge Victoria, B.C. - Ted Smith and Colby Budda have had drug charges against them stayed in a ruling by provincial court Judge Loretta Chaperon.
Pot Activist Thrown In Jail Winnipeg, Man - Defence lawyer had asked judge to give Chris Buors a conditional sentence because he was growing the drugs for people suffering from serious illnesses. Though Buor's motivation may have been compassion, the court couldn't condone his conduct, MacInnes said.
Political Prisoner in War on Herb Buors makes no bones about it -- unless doctors start issuing permits to people who feel they need the herbal remedy, he will reopen the compassion club and start all over again once he's released.
Pot Supporter Launches Challenge Of His Arrest. Ted Smith of Victoria, who has had numerous victories and defeats in the courts throughout the years, tried to advance a constitutional challenge to his arrest and charges.
Pot Centre Opens Regina Sask - A well-known medicinal marijuana crusader has defied the law yet again and opened a cannabis distribution centre.
Using Marijuana As Medicine Niagara Ont. - Last September, Mernagh founded the Niagara Compassion Society, a non-profit organization that helps people obtain marijuana for medical reasons.
Hemp Festival Aims To Heighten Public Awareness Atlantic Canada's first-ever hemp festival, a two-day event aimed at raising awareness about the use of medicinal marijuana. The non-profit group Maritimers Unite for Medical Marijuana (MUMM) plans to use the festival to highlight its ongoing concerns about the growth, supply and distribution of medicinal marijuana.
Feds' False Bud Advertising Our friendly neighbourhood pot promoters, Canadians for Safe Access ( CSA ), are calling for an immediate moratorium on the distribution of medical pot after independent testing of the feds' bud revealed that THC levels are nowhere near the 10.2 per cent claimed by Health Canada.
'Compassion Club' To Open Doors Montreal Que -David Mckenzie plans to open a "compassion club" there and sell marijuana to anyone who can show proof of a medical condition that would qualify for legal pot from the federal government
Pot Law Sparks Local Protest for one defiant cancer survivor who decided to smoke marijuana on the steps of Kingston Police headquarters. The demonstration ended without incident.
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ALSO SEE: CULTURE

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The Arguments:

Drug Reform's Next Frontier When predominantly conservative editorial boards have hopped so willingly on to the legalization bandwagon that they're wearing the T-shirts, you start to wonder who's left on the other side [No need to wonder - Cops, Hell's Angels and most politicians]
A case for Marijuana Inc ...when the neo-cons and hippies start agreeing on policy issues, it's a pretty good sign you've fallen behind a social trend.
Tax on Legal Pot Could Hit $2 Billion Marijuana should be legalized and then taxed like any another other product, says a study by an economic think tank. The Fraser Institute estimates that such a move would easily generate over $2 billion a year in additional tax revenues.
Marijuana Mountain Built Out Of Molehill Alan Young: Having been deeply involved in the fight to change our marijuana laws, I feel some discomfort in again writing about the debate. But the government continues to weave a web of deception. We find ourselves in a political twilight zone on the marijuana issue.
Is War On Drugs Worth The Cost? We just would rather have our understaffed and underfunded police department focused on laws that increase public safety rather than reduce it.
Dosanjh Should Do The Decent Thing Speaking of misguided drug policies, Canada's health minister, Ujjal Dosanjh, needs to rethink the federal government's approach to medical marijuana.
Locking Pot Users Up Isn't Working, Says Former Health Officer
Five Years for Sharing Many a greying baby boomer remembers the first social rule among marijuana smokers is "don't bogart" -- that is, hoard -- "that joint." What they likely don't know is that anyone who follows this friendly advice and shares the weed is guilty of drug trafficking.
Policy Of Prohibition A Failure I was appointed to the provincial court of British Columbia on Feb. 15, 1975.I retired on Aug. 13, 2003.During those 28 years, I presided over at least 1,000 cases, some big, most small, involving the possession or sale of illegal drugs
The Fraud Of Pot Decriminalization Dan Gardner
Drug Laws Make The Body A Battleground Alan Young
Search Heats Up Home Privacy Concerns The Supreme Court of Canada's decision in the Walter Tessling case is a blow to the right of personal privacy for Canadians. It's also in stark contrast to a decision of the United States Supreme Court, which produced the opposite result on a virtually identical set of facts.
Sweeping, Obtuse Laws Can Be Instruments of Oppression
Privacy Going To Pot Camera in the Sky Keeping an Eye on Us Please and Thanks, Chalk up a win for Big Brother in the Supreme Court.
Delusions On All Sides Dan Gardner
Pointless Prohibition It's been obvious for some time that Canadian society is ready to move beyond its existing drug laws. But nothing could make it much clearer than the recent case of a Vancouver "pot cafe.
The Problem Is, The Problem Returns That's What's Wrong With Using Prisons To Fight Crime
Pot Laws An Enigma It's hard to escape the pungent irony of a federal government that is planning to decriminalize pot possession in Canada while law enforcement and municipal officials here at home are gearing up for an all-out assault on marijuana grow houses.
Time To Abandon Failed Marijuana Policy The government also needs to be on the alert for unintended consequences. The Organized Crime Agency noted last year that efforts against grow ops had driven gangs into the production of crystal meth, a drug taking a terrible toll on young British Columbians.
Less Time For Pot, More On Meth There is a considerable difference between mellow puffers of pot who can barely get off the couch, and speed freaks with the unimaginable energy, drive and will to destroy all that is good in us
The Politics Of Pot It's easy to take pot shots at fringe parties in Alberta, given the strength of the provincial Tories. Heck, even parties that are mainstream in other provinces are relegated to fringe status here.
A Dopey Scheme Gone To Pot "It grows anywhere! Sprinkle a few seeds on the ground, you got pot! Why are we 10 storeys underground in an abandoned copper mine? Creating artificial sunlight! To grow bad medicinal pot for less than 600 people! It's totally whacked!"
Decriminalizing Marijuana Doesn't Lead to Increased Use
Criminalizing Social Ills Won't Cure Them
Let's Face Facts: It's Time To Make Marijuana Legal
Prohibition Didn't Work the First Time
Alcohol Kills More People Than Heroin, Cocaine
Pot Heads To Headlines
Confessions of a Recreational Drug User
Straight Dope On Police Scare Tactics
Legalize, Not Demonize, Pot
Your Money On Drugs
Regulation A Better Pot Option
Should Pot Be Legal?
Government Should Reap Pot Rewards, Not Organized Crime
The Lesser Of Two Evils
Pot Laws: Only Two Possible Choices
Drug War Failing
Time To Abandon Failed Marijuana Strategy
We Don't Need Tougher Drug Laws
Like Other Businesses, Organized Crime Is Based On Supply and DemandDan Gardner
Coleman's Drug War Overlooks the Gun Problem
Race, Sentencing, And The War On Drugs
Welcome to Drug-War Armaggedon Reverend Damuzi
Let's Legalize Pot And Tax It
Pot Cafes A Sign Of The Future Russell Barth
Attitude Toward 'bud' Embarrassingly Provincial In the 11 years between 1909 and 1920, legislators in Victoria appealed directly to the people on three separate occasions to learn which way they should go on laws dealing with a popular drug. In this case, it was alcohol.
Public-Private Jail Proposal Sets Off Alarms.
Gripped by Reefer Madness Philippe Lucas
Reefer Madness Prevails
Keeping Pot Illegal Is Real Reefer Madness If you could grow marijuana and sell it outside the black market, the price would drop and the government could tax it, tax it again and then tax it some more and it would still be cheaper than it is now. Government could earn about $2 billion a year, according to the right-wing think-tank the Fraser Institute.That's a lot of MRI machines. That's a lot of teachers. That's a lot of soldiers.It turns out the only real reefer madness is the insistence on keeping this stuff illegal.
Shades Of Reefer Madness when View editor Chris "Rock" Watson forwarded me an e-mail in big block headlines entitled, PUBLIC HEALTH REVEALS the MARIJUANA TRUTH, I actually thought it was a gag perpetrated by those notorious doobie brothers who run the Up in Smoke cafe in beautiful ( ? ) downtown Hamilton.
Weeding Out the Reefer Madness

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