WHEREAS, despite almost a century of prohibition, millions of Canadians today regularly consume marijuana and other cannabis products;
WHEREAS the failed prohibition of marijuana has exhausted countless billions of dollars spent on ineffective or incomplete enforcement and has resulted in unnecessarily dangerous and expensive congestion in our judicial system;
WHEREAS various marijuana decriminalization or legalization policy prescriptions have been recommended by the 1969-72 Commission of Enquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs, the 2002 Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs, and the 2002 House of Commons Special Committee on the Non-Medical Use of Drugs;
WHEREAS the legal status quo for the criminal regulation of marijuana continues to endanger Canadians by generating significant resources for gang-related violent criminal activity and weapons smuggling – a reality which could be very easily confronted by the regulation and legitimization of Canada’s marijuana industry;
BE IT RESOLVED that a new Liberal government will legalize marijuana and ensure the regulation and taxation of its production, distribution, and use, while enacting strict penalties for illegal trafficking, illegal importation and exportation, and impaired driving;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a new Liberal government will invest significant resources in prevention and education programs designed to promote awareness of the health risks and consequences of marijuana use and dependency, especially amongst youth;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a new Liberal government will extend amnesty to all Canadians previously convicted of simple and minimal marijuana possession, and ensure the elimination of all criminal records related thereto;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a new Liberal government will work with the provinces and local governments of Canada on a coordinated regulatory approach to marijuana which maintains significant federal responsibility for marijuana control while respecting provincial health jurisdiction and particular regional concerns and practices.
Young Liberals of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada (British Columbia)
Connecticut is about to become the latest state to legalize the sale of medical marijuana. After ten hours of debate, the Connecticut senate passed a bill with a vote of 21-13 early Saturday morning that would legalize the sale of medical marijuana. Once Governor Dannel Malloy signs the bill, which he is expected to do, they will become the seventeenth state (plus the District of Colombia) to legalize the selling of prescription weed.
http://news.yahoo.com/connecticut-legalize-sale-medical-marijuana-181736582.html
Lost the by election as predicted again we are too afraid of the sane answers and afraid to use resolutions 77 % approved at 10 AM in the morning !!!!
With most delegates still sleeping
The oldest approved this …not kids
Mexican Drug Lord Officially Thanks American Lawmakers for Keeping Drugs Illegal
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-henry-sterry/mexican-drug-lord-officia_b_179596.html
Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera reported head of the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico, ranked 701st on Forbes’ yearly report of the wealthiest men alive, and worth an estimated $1 billion, today officially thanked United States politicians for making sure that drugs remain illegal. According to one of his closest confidants, he said, “I couldn’t have gotten so stinking rich without George Bush, George Bush Jr., Ronald Reagan, even El Presidente Obama, none of them have the cajones to stand up to all the big money that wants to keep this stuff illegal. From the bottom of my heart, I want to say, Gracias amigos, I owe my whole empire to you.”
See the link for more
Cheers
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Tomorrow, March 15th, Victoria City Council Governance and Planning Committee will be discussing a motion on cannabis regulation.
Send an email to Council
Stop the Violence BC
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http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6452/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=9967
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this is what ben had to say on face book today.
Tried and failed to save the City from bankruptcy on the new Johnson Street Bridge project. But in other news, Council voted unanimously in favour of a motion I presented to regulate and tax marijuana. So maybe we will be able to pay off the bridge after all ;)
i found len richmonds film ‘what if cannabis cures cancer’ film
on you tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiP9LVtE9EY&list=PL7535CE394CCCB891&index=1&feature=plpp_video
this works on diabetes.
Of course they will vote but it obviously will be with the ndp and against the bill as far as I know
Still their vote is irrelevant in a majority government of conservative cowards and cow toe-ers
I am thinking you got confused about the vote ?
If they were to stupidly support it of course they would be idiots and soon more irrelevant
But based on their fear with the cannabis issue in the by election in the riding with the most cannabis using Canadian voters I would still think anything the liberals do is soon irrelevant ….no??
fter taking up more than three hours of debate by reiterating his party’s opposition to the omnibus crime bill, NDP MP Jack Harris proposed a motion to reject the Senate amendments. The Conservatives were able to defeat the motion and pass the bill by a vote of 154-129.
I haven’t done the math but it looks like most MP’s other than the Conservatives, voted against it.
Hi Frank,
>I haven’t done the math but it looks like most MP’s other than the >Conservatives, voted against it.
I would be very disappointed to hear any Liberal ever backed C-10 in any way shape or form.. its bad.
Poor Canada.
thanks for looking into this while i took a nap ;p
it looks like they didn’t by stats.
I was in shock when i saw the statement.
i wanted to ask the liberals .
if it was true.
Hello Michael,
I can confirm that all liberal MP’s in the house last night voted against bill C-10.
merci andre’
As final follow-up, you may be interested in the Party’s news release that went out today: http://www.liberal.ca/newsroom/news-release/statement-by-liberal-leader-bob-rae-on-the-final-passage-of-bill-c-10/
i apologist for jumping to conclusions
when i read that lie.i should of known better
my bad.
“chosen ideology over evidence-based policy”
Mr.Rae could not of worded it better.
well 307 MP’s yet only 283 votes on C-10… 24 less
I wonder who did not vote… and were they Cons… if so did they abstain
because they could not stomach this regressive bill..
If so we need to work on these folks, might be a chink in King Steph’s armour..
So far.. hes seems “untouchable”… this must be extremely frustrating
for you guys in the HOC … cause its driving me nuts
Hi Michael
11 Cons must have missed the vote
its 165 mps for them
101 ndp
35 liberal
4 bloc
1 vacant – layton
1 independent
1 green
a total of 308 and soon bigger
but the bloc and the green would be on our side so we need to find out which cons (11) did not vote
all of them must be targeted any way and to do this one has to become involved
sadly though the liberals are too afraid to do any thing and it remains to be seen if they will
the by election non effort has done more to kill liberal support than anything recent
oh well what can you do?
lots I say
any that would like to help register the Common Sense Party please contact us
cheers
Liberal MPs are set to give the Conservative government help tonight in passing tough drug-crime legislation, despite the risk of a backlash at the party grassroots.
is this true ?
i hope it’s not
Well Peter, if it is, they should be prepared to get even less seats next election. I am a long time Liberal, particularly with my provincial riding, but I will not hesitate to vote NDP or Green if I decide that further decimation of the Federal Liberal Party is what’s necessary for them to rise from the ashes as a worthy representative of social justice in Canada.
I too would have blue flames coming out my arse…. if this were true…
What makes you say/think that the Liberal party would support Bill C-10 in any way shape or form?
Please let us know if you have something that would show us this…
Bill C-10 is the most back-ass, regressive bill the Cons have ever put forth!! period!
Please Peter… let us know if you know something
Thanks
Michael i just read it somewhere and i don’t remember where,as i have been
on every news site in the last few days reading. i copied and pasted that remark from somewhere. i can not confirm where i read that. will look tonight through my browser history. it may of been someones comment.
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Ok ….the bi-election will soon be over and it will be too late to say it again and again and again
Is anyone listening here from the real liberal party??
Do you have maybe even just enough time before the bi-election to look at one even?…Maybe even the first 15 minute video ??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj8NQAsv2ZM&feature=related
What is point by being afraid of one of your best weapons?
Politicians for Prohibition
are also for persecution terrorism greed corruption and graft
The drug war against canadian citizens with their own tax dollars …is obscene and in the future those who did nothing will in the end look no different than slave traders and facilitators
Please watch at least one video and maybe decide we can win this bi-election by standing up as the sane rational party that will emerge at some point have no doubt
Its a shame it couldn’t have been used to take not only an ndp riding but jack laytons own riding
For it to be over the cannabis issue…makes incredible sense !!
Cheers
Is anyone here actually listening ????
I’m listening ;p
this documentary almost starts to get into the endocannabinoid system
dr mechoulam is in a fair amount of vid on you tube.len richmonds film “what if cannabis cures cancer” is a must see – 45min long
he interviews most of the experts on the topic,he’s also on face book ;p
while researching the endocannabinoid system
as an alt to treat my t2 diabetes
i set up a page on my site for others to view
http://www.germstv.ca/ecs.htm
there’s hours of embedded video on the topic.
as it turns out,, the vid’s i had up on my page were third
party vid and were removed ;p lol so i have to redo the page sorry
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I no longer wish to be treated as a criminal. When I open my mouth all that is heard are the ramblings of a twisted user. When I speak of the benefits in health and wellness you only see a person who is out for themselves. When I voice my opinions of the recreational uses I am told to goto a bar and to lay of the drugs… When I tell people of the needless violence that has occured as a result of the laws, I am called a liar. When I let the public know of lives that could be saved through the alteration of our rights, I am told not to spread slander. It has been said that I do not teach, I only corrupt.
Change does not come easy, it is not going to happen over night. People can become scared of what change might bring. It is only through education that our country will truly acknowledge what it is you are trying to do, why it is neccessary for it to happen, and what they need to do to be prepared.
According to my findings it seems to be that the want/need for legalization or decriminalization is strong. What we the people need is your support, because without it we are just seen as a bunch of missguided individuals, alot of which whom are toscared to speak up publicly for fear of repercussion, not just from our government but from our communities and our jobs as well.
You now know how I feel, and I know I do not stand alone.
So I would like to ask,
“What can we do to help you, so that can help us?”
Thank you for your time.
thank you for wording it so perfectly
If it’s not done right this poplicy “as written” would only make matters worse, Much worse becasue we would have the “gov’t dealer” competeing in a market against teh “illegal dealer” so he could just have that guy put in jail and eliminate the competition and form their on monopoly on weed. So anything short of it being completely legal sold in any store and policed by existing laws that protect consumers against glass in babay food, poisonous dog food, hell Maple Leaf killed 20 poeple but were stopped. I’ll bet we already have law in place that could apply to a “weed store” and they are force to put the cosumer ahead of thier own needs and prfoti margins. Just like the consumer protect laws we already have. So no need to complete another library full of laws, just allow society the “just society” I dream of to take care of itself. True Liberlas know wher the phrase “just society” came from LOL
As they mentioned already; it’s been almost a century since the beginning of marijuana prohibition. The facts and numbers show that it doesn’t work, exactly the same thing with alcohol. Another fact, marijuana alone does not affect people the same way as liquor. Under regulation by the government, marijuana will prove to everyone to be able to be sustained safely within a society, just as it has in Amsterdam.
Legalize Marijuana!
OK so this is a topic the public wants addressed. What are the liberals going to do? Wait 2 more years and allow 60,000 more arrests for possession to get sentenced, another 20,000 for trafficking. So another 160,000 Canadians can be charged for pot or selling pot AND SENT TO JAIL, when we all agree it should not be a crime. Meanwhile we all sit here saying “yep somebody ought to do something”. So if the liberals are PUBLIC SERVANTS; they should be poised to do public service, right? So if they plan to use this topic to help them in the next election they’RE AGENDA IS SELF SERVICE not PUBLIC SERVICE and are just another politcial party who wants “power” more than just governance. I say bring it up in the house, get the country talking and force the conservatives to address this NOW! Not after another 160,000 Canadians who are eligible voters are jailed! So what’s the Liberals REAL STAND ON THIS TOPIC? A) or B) where A)=So legalize pot, but only if it’s in the best interest of the Liberal Party of Canada? Cause we can regain power and rule absolutely! Leaving thousands to rot in jail or get criminal records, because it’s of no advantage to them right now? OR B)= Address it now because there is enough public interest, regardless of who is in power and try to run the government and give up on the fight for power for a while! In other words “serve the public” not “the Party”. Get a motion/bill started launched whatever the hell you folks do with our tax dollars, do it now! Politics has evolved into a struggle for power and nothing else, the public only matters if they’re bitching about something. I do suspect they are all the same and if they use this as a “tool to their own benefit” then I am right and there is no political party in Canada that is any different from the others. They are all out for themselves and the friends that got them into power and things will never change. Maybe get rid of politicians and just hire folks to do the jobs (you know the jobs where people actually work and accomplish stuff on a daily basis). They get reviewed and fired if they aren’t performing I like it, no more bullshit back and forth, spin won’t matter either; hell we’d never have to listen to another one ever again. PLEASE DO PROVE ME WRONG AND MAKE A MOVE ON IT, I DARE YOU!
Health Canada
and a study group of politicians and various professionals
should do an investigation into dr.Guzman’s research.
If the liberal party of Canada emailed him,,,,
i’m sure he would respond ;p
besides being another weapon for legalization
it has the possibility of major health benefits
the 3 i suggest to investigate are
1 dr.guzman Spain
2; dr.Robert melamede Colorado
3 dr.Raphael Mechoulam Israel
Spain has changed there laws. i wonder if it’s because
of what Dr.Guzman of Madrid and his crew have discovered
about cannabis. and there politicians listen to scientific
facts and not out dated opinions ? no way ;p
Dr.Guzman ,, well here’s his web site
http://www.bbm1.ucm.es/cannabis/manuelguzmanequipo_en.htm
so cannabinoids in cannabis kill cancer.
that’s his findings.well there’s allot more
but I’ll leave it at that.
Health Canada has never herd of the endo cannabinoid system ?
it been known about for 10 years now. are they holding back
information ?
On March 1st join David Bratzer, David Kennedy, Chris Fibiger and Dr Evan Wood in Kelowna for a panel discussion on the link between marijuana prohibition and organized
https://www.facebook.com/events/328551113856302/
Stop the Violence BC (STVBC) is bringing together a panel comprising law enforcement members and public health officials to discuss the link between cannabis prohibition and organized crime.
Kelowna was recently ranked by Maclean’s as the 7th-most dangerous city in Canada. The city was joined by three other BC municipalities in the top-10, the result of gang activity in these communities. The central question the panel will address is: “Does Canadian drug policy make our communities less safe?” STVBC coalition members appearing on the panel include:
• Dr. Evan Wood, co-director of the Urban Health Research Initiative at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV AIDS
• David Bratzer, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition member and off-duty police officer from Victoria
• David Kennedy, retired physician
• Chris Fibiger, professor emeritus at UBC
For more information, please visit http://www.stoptheviolencebc.org.
Some mention schizophrenia
I hope those of you who may think cannabis has something to do with that reads this
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/how-your-cat-is-making-you-crazy/8873/
“”"The psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey agrees—though he came to this viewpoint from a completely different angle than either Webster or Flegr. His opinion stems from decades of research into the root causes of schizophrenia. “Textbooks today still make silly statements that schizophrenia has always been around, it’s about the same incidence all over the world, and it’s existed since time immemorial,” he says. “The epidemiology literature contradicts that completely.” In fact, he says, schizophrenia did not rise in prevalence until the latter half of the 18th century, when for the first time people in Paris and London started keeping cats as pets. The so-called cat craze began among “poets and left-wing avant-garde Greenwich Village types,” says Torrey, but the trend spread rapidly—and coinciding with that development, the incidence of schizophrenia soared.
Since the 1950s, he notes, about 70 epidemiology studies have explored a link between schizophrenia and T. gondii. When he and his colleague Robert Yolken, a neurovirologist at Johns Hopkins University, surveyed a subset of these papers that met rigorous scientific standards, their conclusion complemented the Prague group’s discovery that schizophrenic patients with Toxo are missing gray matter in their brains. Torrey and Yolken found that the mental illness is two to three times as common in people who have the parasite as in controls from the same region.
Human-genome studies, both scientists believe, are also in keeping with that finding—and might explain why schizophrenia runs in families. The most replicated result from that line of investigation, they say, suggests that the genes most commonly associated with schizophrenia relate to the immune system and how it reacts to infectious agents. So in many cases where the disease appears to be hereditary, they theorize, what may in fact be passed down is an aberrant or deficient immune response to invaders like T. gondii.
Epstein-Barr virus, mumps, rubella, and other infectious agents, they point out, have also been linked to schizophrenia—and there are probably more as yet unidentified triggers, including many that have nothing to do with pathogens. But for now, they say, Toxo remains the strongest environmental factor implicated in the disorder. “If I had to guess,” says Torrey, “I’d say 75 percent of cases of schizophrenia are associated with infectious agents, and Toxo would be involved in a significant subset of those.”
Just as worrisome, says Torrey, the parasite may also increase the risk of suicide. In a 2011 study of 20 European countries, the national suicide rate among women increased in direct proportion to the prevalence of the latent Toxo infection in each nation’s female population. According to Teodor Postolache, a psychiatrist and the director of the Mood and Anxiety Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, a flurry of other studies, several conducted by his own team, offers further support of T. gondii’s link to higher rates of suicidal behavior. These include investigations of general populations as well as groups made up of patients with bipolar disorder, severe depression, and schizophrenia, and in places as diverse as Turkey, Germany, and the Baltimore/Washington area. Exactly how the parasite may push vulnerable people over the edge is yet to be determined. Postolache theorizes that what disrupts mood and the ability to control violent impulses may not be the organism per se, but rather neurochemical changes associated with the body’s immune response to it. “As far-fetched as these ideas may sound,” says Postolache, “the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention was willing to put money behind this research.”
GIVEN ALL THE nasty science swirling around this parasite, is it time for cat lovers to switch their allegiance to other animals?”"”
See the link for much much more please
And one more thing
A 58 year old Heart Surgeon…we obviously dont need any extra of his calibre is that it ????
What stupidity what a crime this disgusts me !!!
Land of the Free..??? sure !!!!!!!!!!!
Free to destroy and rape and seize you mean !!!!!
Cannabis: God’s Medicine
http://www.canadiancoop.com
“”"I write this from a prison bed (rack) in Mississippi. I am a prisoner of war. I am a retired cardiac surgeon who has never been arrested in all my 58 years on earth. I am a prisoner of a failed yet highly functional drug war on our citizens. The reasons for this war are not clear, nor are the reason…”"”(see link for more please)
http://www.canadiancoop.com/index.php/news/532-cannabis-gods-medicine
I just thought these were important to educate liberals
Cheers
Ok its all straightened out….I believe
And I dont want to just leave it with that post on top here…
So
Lets maybe remember here that some like this fellow below will never ever see a jail cell
But that 60,000 canadian citizens are right now going through it … just from last years crop !
Mostly teenagers !
Those with $20,000 dollars will get another chance but also be easy marks as police like anyone else are lazy and will go with who they know already
You ever hear “”Known to police”" …? yeah I thought so
http://www.nowmagazine.co.uk/celebrity-news/533430/michael-buble-i-never-wrote-a-song-without-marijuana/1
“” Michael Buble: I never wrote a song without marijuana “”"
NICE
How many others are chosen people and have also got away with something others I know…. did 7 years in JAIL for ONE JOINT or for the same thing
All those who have ever tried cannabis are as guilty as anyone else actually caught and should be the first to know and say no one should be destroyed for its use
We need hypocrites to find their guts
Again I thank you all but also ask that we now start posting and calling for signs of this policy being integrated into liberal policy so that we can then start to show them what we do and have done
Please send a note to HQ or and Bob Rae and the Council
Every last one of the potential Leadership Candidates needs to be grilled on their stance on our being free and equal citizens in this country
Because we see this…..EVERY DAY !!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFjQKcwbTdY&feature=g-all-f&context=G22f558eFAAAAAAAAAAA&fb_source=message
“” Recording The Police is a Dangerous but Necessary Thing to Do “”
Police will tell anyone “”they only bust one in 10 or 20 people they catch “”
How many have ever heard this statement?
Well please remember this that what they are saying is that THEY THEMSELVES have by that admission broken their oath and more importantly probably broken the law…have they not?
Not one of them can promote themselves to being a Judge !!
And had they not illegally “pretended” to be judges it would be 600,000 to 1.2 million people now waiting for jail from last years persecuted crop
And any educated person knows that if ever 1.2 million people were actually waiting for what I have already gone through…. this FARCE would end much much much FASTER !!
Imagine if just all those who had ever tried cannabis all went to the police station ….the same day and turned themselves in !!
Please do what ever any of you can to reach those in charge of the liberal policy agenda and please help us to help them to help us all
And nothing stops anyone from saying anything here to help !!
Cheers
I must point out that for 5 or 6 days I have attempted to post here and have been blocked
I have posted what was said else where and would put the link if I was not worried about this also being censored …in fact I am not even sure this one will make it public here
(all in my groups may see this direct but may not on the liberal resolution site….please go check and advise)
Now without going into details here I will just say that what if all those who had ever tried cannabis were like with other crimes not just allowed to get away with it because they were not caught? hmmm?
I don’t want the discussion to just end here and am not like some other liberals who dont believe we can effect this issue from a 3rd place position …on the contrary I believe we can build a huge party very soon if we make the right moves right now
I know I as a liberal would destroy any other party’s candidates in any debates with this issue alone and our other policies we have and hope whom ever is lucky enough to represent us in jack laytons riding bi-election uses this issue to win it !!
I am saddened the party does not seem to see the power in this resolution nor the amount of people who would vote for it
Nor does it see for example how many of you just joined to speak to this issue here
I have said obviously too much here already and am as I say now censored
I have offered to post the videos I did at the convention of certain individuals to help speed our growth in the party
The individual involved expressed fears of me doing that as without seeing them of course they are worried about possible damage to our party
This will be discussed and posted here if allowed and if done
But I want to say good bye I guess if I am taken out because of fears as to what I may say here and I thank you all…all you others for trying to help here and for what you will do in the party to help us
I for one wish we can take the Toronto seat and I know so many of you there who worked to elect layton who in reality are now liberals if only the party says what needs saying…NOW
I believe we could win that seat !!
Please… whom ever allows postings here please let this last one to make it to the page as it is relevant to my and our groups efforts
Cheers all
Hi Shavluk,
I’m unable to find a record of your attempts to post comments in the past 5 or 6 days so I will see with IT and will connect with you directly to investigate this. All I can say is that this latest post of yours is public.
That’s pretty funny Andre
And no I will not now just take the bait as you wont let me post it again.
Whom are we kidding?
I am talking about the posts you and I have talked about for 6 days …yes of course!
We will just leave it as only my own groups I guess knowing the truth and as most here are also my friends I will as I say just leave it at that
I will send that post and what I wanted to say directly to those individuals personally
They are not hard to find…certainly not for me any way
But I do want to stress here that yes Toronto Danforth could be ours for the taking as many many of what were that ridings ndp supporters are actually even reading here and were instrumental in laytons wins
With out jack its a whole new game and no riding in canada has more cannabis people than this riding..I KNOW..not even here in vancouver centre
30 to 40 thousand meet up and march every May (Million Marijuana March) and I know many of them personally and know what they blindly with hope did for jack
And as previous ndp executive myself I know how many times jack strung them along with things like “wait til we win” and some other such stupid nonsense
I do not believe it will be as easy to take the seat for them unless we of course as liberals just sit as cowards on this issue
Hell I will even donate to that riding or run myself even to prove it
Any way with out getting into more trouble here how about I just say thank you Andre
Even though I and others who have seen my emails just chuckle knowing its just the fear or hypocritical nature of the beast and hey we have seen it all before don’t forget
We have of course seen it before and still re elected layton for example but to do so for liberals would take a little guts first from liberal leaders if any get any of this at all
I think its silly to just give this seat back to the ndp blindly because we are afraid to even use the same lies they did
To you others not in my position here please continue to try to educate and add and please take heart that what we want may still come to pass
As usual though I am deemed expendable as I say too much
We all belong to an organization called the Cannabis Party even though it doesn’t formally exist…and with all due respect we would love to say it was replaced by the liberal party and yes we are hopeful but we are also now not as blind as we once were,,,simply to be hopeful
No party will ever get my vote again unless they openly stand for re legalized cannabis ….Period
Cheers
Liberal’s will have my full support if they keep fighting to end this pointless fight against a harmless substance that has the potential to only do good. LEGALIZE IT!!!
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The argument goes that the Health Minister had the power to put any substance in the schedule he chose, but if that were the case, why did he go to such great lengths to not mention cannabis (why?) . . .and since he didn’t mention it by name, how did “there is a new drug in the schedule” become “cannabis”?
THE PETER POT PAPER (http://mypage.uniserve.com/~ttrevor/peter_pot.html), Panic and Indifference (http://www.cfdp.ca/giffen.htm), and the 2002 Senate Report on Cannabis (pg 256-257 Volume II: Part III) http://www.parl.gc.ca/SenCommitteeBusiness/CommitteeReports.aspx?parl=37&ses=1&Language=E&comm_id=85 .
If anyone here thinks America will jeopardize the economic relationship with the nation that supplies the bulk of its energy and yearly trade, they are dreaming.
We need a Canadian government with a backbone, not a pull-string.
In order for serious action on legalization/repeal to take place it should include a specific definition of what legalization entails, what models to consider, how regulation and taxation fit in, who the stakeholders are, and, most importantly, a national drug strategy with a robust harm reduction component must all be considered. All these areas would have to be addressed. Empowerment through education and harm reduction should be the core focus of a national drug strategy; moreover, it should be presented as a comprehensive entity that is seamless.
SMART ON CRIME, This is not a simple thing and every thing you say is something to consider. That however is true on any policy the LPC comes up with.
I’ve read somewhere that 85% of the crime in the country is related to drugs. That most of the money that the crime organizations make are from drugs. So we need to look at who has an interest in keeping the status quo:
1) The Drug Importers
2) The Manufacturers of Illegal Drugs
3) The Criminal organizations that distribute the
drugs.
4) The local Crime Boss, and his front people.
5) The people selling drugs on the street corners.
6) The people selling drugs on our school grounds.
You all know of these guys, but have you considered:
7) The lawyers who defend the criminals in court.
8) The lobbyists who are working the halls of
government and justice.
9) The police force, who receive funding based on the
size of the Drug problem. The police have no
interest at all in catching the the drug pushers
and closing down their organizations.
10) How about our prisons, without drug offenders they
would have to close half of them.
11) Judges, Crown Prosecutors, court personal etc.
12) How about the whole drug enforcement system.
The list just goes on and on: All these people have an interest in keeping the system as it is.
So how do we stop it?
To stop it you need to take the profit motive out of it.
So how do we do this?
Well let’s start by treating drug addiction as a disease (which it is) and giving the addicts prescriptions for their drugs. You then have a chance to reach these people and maybe turn their lives around, at the very least you take them off the street. Reducing street crime, break and entries, prostitution, muggings etc.
Addicts would be getting cleaner drugs, and clean needles, reducing the costs to the health care system.
This is complicated and start up is costly, no where near as costly as the crime it would replace, and the legal system the drug trade supports. Complicated yes, not as complicated as the system we are running now.
Next step legalize recreational drugs, and sell them through government outlets. Costly start up but would very quickly pay the cost of the whole preventive system. Also, people would be getting cleaner drugs, and would be less likely to try street drugs.
There would be very little reason for the development of new recreational drugs, (no money in it).
There would be no one at our schools pushing drugs at our children.
Our Police and court system could be refocused on other hard core crime problems.
Over time, the number of addicted people would drop, but the big change would be people coming into the system from the hard drug side of things.
There would no longer be a profit motive, at least not on any great scale.
Very well thought out. I couldn’t agree more, the revenue stream from this one new commodity is more than just staggering and your points all expanded my thinking. Wouldn’t be nice to have a government that sould afford to do “everything” for it’s citizens, including educating them on the pros and cons of it’s use. And help those with serious hard drug problems (which would include alchohol). Thanks again Richard :)
I am going to address the elephant in the room. Has any considered the consequences this would have on our largest trade corridor. I guarantee you trade to the US will become much more difficult. Especially since Mr. Romney’s election prospects are becoming favorable.
I just read this yesterday on Ekos Politics – here’s a excerpt:
‘The longer term tracking on attitudes to pot legalization in the United States shows the American public steadily warming to the idea of legalized marijuana.’
They need us more than we need them. My small town already lost both it’s paper mills, since the conservatives decided not to protect forestry. We are noe importiong more than we are exporting to them….So I say to hell with them and their conservative ideas, there are others in the world we can trade with. Besides we may be able to enlighten them at the same tiem :)
Um, that’s not quite accurate. Here is an excerpt from StatsCan regarding the balance of trade.
“Canada’s trade surplus with the United States increased from $3.5 billion in October to $4.6 billion in November. Exports to the United States rose 1.9% to $28.6 billion, on the strength of energy products. Imports from the United States declined 2.0% to $24.0 billion, largely the result of lower imports of automotive products.”
That is most certainly not true, they can get the resources form South America(for a little more yes). Less trade with America does not equate with more trade with others, it means less trade overall. With the rise of wireless technology and advances in recycling the market for paper has retracted harshly. That, combined with the fact that only Alberta has accomplished a fully sufficient lumber industry, has caused effects to this rather traditional industry.
http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/gblec02a-eng.htm
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/65-508-x/2007001/tf/4129845-eng.htm
Whether or not cannabis is good or bad is another discussion, the legalization of cannabis at the expense of hundreds of thousands of jobs would be very destructive. As for America being a conservative bulwark. Whether or not you like US political thought does not change the fact that the US was founded on the principles of the European enlightenment. Canada was founded on the principle of the divine right of Kings.
As I said in elections we already spend 3 billion tax dollars a year just subsidizing big oil so that americans can have 100% of what we produce and drive cheaper than us
We dont even have a national energy policy and eastern canada imports from outside our own country (a pipe line to the east makes sense as our own country)(when the lights go out and michigan is lit and ont and quebec are out many will know what I know)
This is a done deal though and in the end we will be walking while our masters can still drive tanks and airplanes
And of course we are Indians (no disrespect) getting beads for mink stoles….whom do you kid?
Our exporting bitumen is the biggest traitorous crime openly done in this country …it is not rocket science if any remove themselves from their self sustaining troughs and look around but some would be killed trying to stop or change it …and probably already have been
In alberta (go see if you can even find out) the story goes they used to get about 8 cents on a barrel of oil @ 20 bucks a barrel
And at a hundred or more now they get probably a half cent but see if you can tell me…please
No representation with out taxation I say to my kids there ….so hence no peoples government in Alta
I wish I could type….
But
Norway with a duplicated un watered down alberta heritage fund is now the second richest country on earth with their meager oil fields
And in Alta …hell ….I am ashamed of canadians and traitors actually
Bottom line is yes of course its irrelevant …any trade ….without considering what we are trading with and only a fool would think we dont hold the upper hand
Who wants to go down though in jet liner crash fighting this though?
We are either going to be americans or chinese …or like me…dead trying to help
I must go and thanks for the signs of life here
Myself I am going to shut it down as a liberal I think until I see real action and try to stop just jumpin in with mere individuals and some what I consider moralistic unrealistic or uneducated views
I dont want to be taken out of here as my passion erupts and I just say what I would say to peoples faces myself
I realize I am an acquired taste as most cant handle truth
I hope those of you I know are out there find $ 10 dollars or more …like some of us have and exercises one of the few remaining rights you have left and join ……and please …speak your minds
Cheers all
With any luck liberals themselves will wake up and we can actually make a difference but based on what I have seen and done….it may again be a waste of time
I will be back if there are signs of life but our fight doesnt end because liberals found their guts again…14% more than the year before and 60,000 now face jail for possession of cannabis from last year I think they are much more important when I think about things like the Raheem Jaffer case as an example
Or how about this one for some of you
http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/02/01/married-couple-gets-life-for-possessing-planting-cannabis/
Isn’t that quaint ??
HELLO LIBERAL PARTY !!!! NOW WHAT ????
***Disclaimer …shavluk like all here does not speak for the liberal party ************
in 2007, our annual trade with China equaled 8 days of trade in America.
Here quote soem newer stats. And besides do you wnat to live as they (USA) tell us how to live? I mean they do it all over the world, but here too? No way!
The 2010 Canada Year Book published by Statistics Canada indicates that:
Driven by large decreases in exports of energy products and automotive products, Canada’s reliance on the United States as a trading partner declined from 75% of total trade (the sum of exports plus imports) in 2005 to 68% in 2009.
For the first time [in decades], countries other than the United States accounted for more than 25% of Canada’s exports, up from 18% in 2005. This rise occurred despite exports to these countries declining in 2009. Similarly, the share of Canada’s imports from countries other than the United States rose from 33% in 2005 to 37% in 2009. This increase occurred even though imports from these countries fell for the first time in eight years.
With all due respect what I see from the current american election farce is simply a guarantee …..yes…that barac “bush” obama continues to be the puppet for wall street and no republican will stand a chance as they already have a right wing champion in power
This is just a show…(speaking of shows watch “inside job” and know who is really in charge)
Now with out blowing my cover or getting more writing me off (again with their own ignorance and knowing nothing of the subject in reality )
I want to say obama has the same astrological chart as napoleon
( and his waterloo will be in 2015 goat revenge)
But
Even the illusion of power will be enough to keep him in line and he will keep what ever he now thinks he has…not even a contest this time
The election is irrelevant or it is fixed
Now if Gary Johnson or Ron Paul was in romnys shoes maybe I would care but to any not really paying attention it looks to me like there wont even be a real election based on who the media is dictating to win the nomination
romny winning would take more voting machines than jeb in florida has though hahhaha it will be educational for harper how they do it I am sure
And as my colleague below says more americans than us actually want cannabis legal so to me this explains why there wont be a real republican as our masters can not have people awake… aware and questioning dying uselessly in one of their wealth recapturing oil wars…come on even the university of saskatchewan admitted openly if you can believe it that using cannabis makes subjects smarter
I wondered how they got away with it
No american government really wants that …come on
No the election like harper with the pension silliness is merely a distraction
( up here some dont even realize they should have sold their house last year)
Thanks for your comments but knowing how easy it really is to get out of the 1961 UN Treaty that everyone banters around at these times …(its merely a letter sent) I just want to ask…WILL YOU NOW HELP US…. NOW ….THAT THE LIBERALS HAVE FINALLY STEPPED OUT OF THE CLOSET ???
We could and do spend days on why we maybe shouldnt and zero… nothing on how we should
I am saying right here and right now that with at least 80 vacant ridings with no EDA and me knowing someone like me in all 308 of them that we are being silly ….over confident and like we have a sense of entitlement
We as a majority and with this same resolution being approved many times over decades … have allowed by our silliness the party to go down the drain as we some how think some actually do not pay attention to our record
As a majority we did nothing on this issue
Show a sign …wake up !!…inject guidence and policy ideas and watch as an army rises up and stares down not only harper…… but even the american grey coats
Who is with me on reclaiming our country by freeing the slaves and letting them actually help us be victorious ???
Do you think we should wait til we are a majority again before we ever openly say we will free the slaves ?????????
And please …which way will they fight….better??
Cheers
*** disclaimer…neither I nor anyone here speaks for the liberal party****
Neither do I speak for the Liberal Party, but I’m hopeful that the 60,000 (and growing) of us can collectively get it right.
Yes, America has a large rich-poor gap, but it’s highly mobile. There is no real multi-generational wealth(aristocrats). Wall street, while rife with sheer corruption, is merely a vassal in which people with capital meet people with ideas. A corporation is a entity with many who own a share(and they elect a board to represent them, and the board appoints a CEO). Much like we elect MPs and the winning party appoints a prime minister. The biggest problem in the US is the non-enforcement of white collar crime.
Bernie Madoff might disagree with you. He’s got a little over 147 years left on his sentence.
We have already addressed it. Their southern neighbours are moving towards legalization faster than we are. It is unlikely to affect trade negatively and if it did, it is not as though there will be a shortage of worldwide markets for our natural resources.
We can invent all the excuses in the world as to why the liberals shouldn’t stick to their resolution but when the next election comes, if the liberals don’t have it as a policy, and can’t work out an arrangement with the rest of the current opposition parties, we are stuck with conservatives and their war on social justice.
If that is true, then we should proceed, it should be done in step with our neighbors rather than against.
So, as part of the flock, rather than leaders?
yes, as part of the pack. Let’s not delude ourselves in thinking we are a driving force in the foreign sphere. Our laws must be made keeping in mind the presence of border smuggling across a large border. If the Americans go for an increased war against drugs, and we legalize, it will not be good. I have no problem with cannabis, I’m sure most of it’s health benefits are hype(as tobacco was supposed to be good for you) but let’s not let our pride overwhelm our circumstances. Canada’s influence comes from our previous history in providing good advice and hitting above our weight in initiative spearheaded by foreign forces. Mr. Harper is correct in his economic assessments that jobs need to be safeguarded first in these times. I don’t like how he goes about doing it but that’s another story. We must not allow the trade corridor to be threatened, and that may require a retreat on principles. Better for people to have homes over their heads and food on their table. Summary, I am for the legalization of cannabis, as both a tax source, opening the door into medical research, and possibly as an export. However, we must not go about this alone, and must keep expediency towards the Canadian economy, Canadian workers, and Canadian companies in our mind.
No matter how I try…. I just cant turn …a blind eye
Wow zachary…..really??…like is this serious??
“”"I’m sure most of it’s health benefits are hype(as tobacco was supposed to be good for you) “”"”
Well ok zachary I guess I have to say I disagree with all of this
And maybe tell Michael J Fox to stop smoking cigarettes even if they help his Parkinson disease..sure..ok
ps the majority of cigarette smokers of course do not die from that habit
And some have reached 122 years old (guinness)
You are sure its hype eh? ….cannabis as medicine..??
hahahhhahahaaaa wow
Are you not a lab tech?
Are there receptors in the body for CB1 THC and CBD …OR NOT ..??…
Yes or no?
If yes ….as I know to be true ….it looks like a refund of some school expenses should be due?? Eh?
Please give your data to show why you disbelieve thousands and thousands of testimonies from sick people with cannabis …yes please I will bite
And
“”"”However, we must not go about this alone”"”
Really ..?
why??
Sorry that’s just silliness to me and I totally disagree again
Hell with that kind of thinking americans would not even have made it to the moon
I would think any living on the TIT (taxpayers income taxes ) would maybe be concerned with our trade deficit …sure… but most do not even think of border issues when they want …oh like gays to be stopped from being killed for their sexuality etc ….hmm I wonder if some were concerned with lost trade when we stopped destroying gays here first …hmm???
And again I must point out that our richest citizens took advantage with alcohol in exactly the same manner as is happening now with cannabis any way legal or not
I laugh thinking of the closet millionaires who will all of a sudden be out of the closet and looking like they were something cause they have money and made it all in crime…Bromfmen with alcohol for example
No sorry I dont buy it and the border will be just fine…same at it was with alcohol
As if we could close it …LOL or they could
Sure just turn all your cars into Flintstone types and all will be just fine
Any other problems you see with making those like me not live in terror for our house plants?
You of course just …fire away
But lets stay with truth please and not unsubstantiated theories
Whew I feel so safe with the border today …hmm…must be because of all the laws stopping all the bad activity…whats that …??…Afghanistan opium smuggled in by the US army crosses every day unchecked ?? and the trade in it had multiplied a hundred fold since the US invaded hmm??
And 10 times more Oxycontin comes across than all prescriptions ever written for it …wow …I wonder where it goes eh..?
I guess with the power of american pharmaceutical companies they can keep the border safer hahhaha…just by not talking about that..eh?
To those against this policy I understand your fear ….but just for one second imagine alcohol still illegal and all those you see every day that work legally in that business now.. didnt??
And who would be doing the jobs if illegal and how much would they contribute to society and do you think anything about a “border” would affect that business in any way?
I say the border will be fine except for all the refugees …..and brain draining immigration from our big brother to the south
The real danger is all wanting to be canadian again isnt it?
C’mon Shavluk, an attitude that you’re always right and everyone else is an idiot isn’t helpful to a discussion.
@Shav @Chris and Zach too. Hello again. I would like to just add that we are all discussing things right now and there’s too much “tension”. I am glad Shavluk is passionate; he does provide more facts than others. I have extracted some of his stats and have yet to find one in error. I think your frustrations spill over in your punctuation. I know when I try to type sarcastically and it never works :) Chris too has lots of facts and could come across in a very similar manner (if not careful). If Zach feels the border is a concern, I’m glad he brought it up. It does need to be considered. But I think a lot of Canadians are tired of being pushed around particularly the 4,000 + workers who lost their forestry jobs here in my home town while the conservatives sat on their asses and did nothing to protect it. So many of us think it’s only THEIR (U.S.A.) interests that are being preserved NOT OURS when it comes to border issues. I would expect many to say to hell with what they want for a change let’s put our priorities up front for a change. BUT I COULD BE WRONG! I’m only basing my opinion on “my little world” here within Canada :D
So maybe Shav can use less punctuation, Chris can be less harsh as well, and Zach, seems to be sticking to what he’s thinking without any angst!. We are all on the same page (it’s a big page, but we’re on it together), we all have good ideas; we all can LEARN A THING OR TWO, I KNOW I HAVE. I must say I have learned from both Shav and Chris and I look forward to their comments. Zach, I am open to more learning :) I just checked and they do buy 74% of our exports! (Canada’s State of Trade: Trade and Investment Update 2011 -V. Key Developments in Canadian Merchandise Trade) So I think more discussion and facts are required? They could try to boycott our goods to get their way and we would/might give in anyway. So full address it and keep those facts for when they put together some sort of platform. For example what are we selling them exactly? Can we sell it elsewhere? Can they get it cheaper elsewhere? Are they willing to pay more elsewhere to boycott us?? Then again we’re going to have so much revenue from legal cannabis, we could just start buying up the northern states and work our way downward :) Keep the exchanges lively AND CORDIAL!
Hello again. I would like to just add that we are all discussing things right now and there’s too much “tension”. I am glad Shavluk is passionate; he does provide more facts than others. I have extracted some of his stats and have yet to find one in error. I think your frustrations spill over in your punctuation. I know when I try to type sarcastically and it never works :) Chris too has lots of facts and could come across in a very similar manner (if not careful). If Zach feels the border is a concern, I’m glad he brought it up. It does need to be considered. But I think a lot of Canadians are tired of being pushed around particularly the 4,000 + workers who lost their forestry jobs here in my home town while the conservatives sat on their asses and did nothing to protect it. So many of us think it’s only THEIR (U.S.A.) interests that are being preserved NOT OURS when it comes to border issues. I would expect many to say to hell with what they want for a change let’s put our priorities up front for a change. BUT I COULD BE WRONG! I’m only basing my opinion on “my little world” here within Canada :D
So maybe Shav can use less punctuation, Chris can be less harsh as well, and Zach, seems to be sticking to what he’s thinking without any angst!. We are all on the same page (it’s a big page, but we’re on it together), we all have good ideas; we all CAN LEARN A THING OR TWO, I KNOW I HAVE. I must say I have learned from both Shav and Chris and I look forward to their comments. Zach, I am open to more learning :) I just checked and they do buy 74% of our exports! (Canada’s State of Trade: Trade and Investment Update 2011 -V. Key Developments in Canadian Merchandise Trade) So I think more discussion and facts are required? They could try to boycott our goods to get their way and we would/might give in anyway. So full address it and keep those facts for when they put together some sort of platform. For example what are we selling them exactly? Can we sell it elsewhere? Can they get it cheaper elsewhere? Are they willing to pay more elsewhere to boycott us?? Then again we’re going to have so much revenue from legal cannabis, we could just start buying up the northern states and work our way downward
That is part of the attitude that led the Liberals to a crushing defeat in the last election and could do so in the next. In order to do any good in any sphere, the Liberals first need to get elected. In order to do so, they have to have most of the social justice vote. Harper owns the right.
Cannabis is not the issue, it is just one of a myriad of misguided policies which have helped to give the Conservatives a majority and will continue to do so, if we cannot open our minds and become leaders rather than followers.
Ture the US is a problem, and must be considered. That is one of the reason for us to develope more trade with the rest of the world. It is not only on this issue that we come up against the US wants and needs.
If legalization is to be adopted by both the Liberal party and general public as a viable platform there is a great deal of work to do beyond what legalization entails. What models to consider, how regulation and taxation fit in, who the stakeholders are, jurisdiction; these are just some of the issues that will have to be dealt with.
Another realm of consideration should be the replacing of the anti-drug strategy with a national drug strategy that includes both an education component and a robust harm reduction component. Empowerment through education and harm reduction should be the core focus of a national drug strategy; moreover, it should be presented as a comprehensive entity that is seamless.
As well, marketing & networking are essential for a successful campaign.
If the LPC is serious about this, they should be forming a committee now, to deal with these issues.
If they are not serious, and they also cannot find the way to present a united front against the conservatives, it will not matter, as they will continue to be a skeleton of what the LPC once was.
I agree a lot of work is required BUT not regulation. If the LPC wants to set itself up as Canada’s dope dealer it’s headed for disaster! It should not follow any existing “models” but instead actually be made legal (period). Then the growers and sellers can actually start small businesses, hire people, pay taxes, hire accountants, lawyers to incorporate their businesses, use freight companies (and Canada Post) to distribute their products etc. etc. David Suzuki did a documentary on pot and I think the LPC does not realize, that the tax revenue from this one source alone is enough to over fund ALL OTHER SOCIAL POLICIES, including drug awareness AND ELIMINATE NATIONAL DEBT FOREVER! If they truly want to turn things around then legalize it AND STAY OUT OF IT! We don’t need M.C.B.O. (my spin on LCBO) that will only create “legal weed” and “illegal weed”. I want the growers and users to come completely “above ground” and participate in our society. It would be like any business; if theirs money to be made in other Marijuana products (and there is) then the research and development will take place WITHOUT government involvement.
We could actually be the world leader in scientific research of this substance and have breakthroughs and new discoveries that put Canada on the world stage. In David’s documentary it completely stopped epileptic seizures and that’s only 1 benefit there are literally thousands. Our governments have scared us away from this for too long! It has so many benefits and so many possibilities. That is if they can stand up and educate those who oppose it for no other reason than an emotional response; they have to cut through the BS and misinformation surrounding this topic.
But most importantly they must let it evolve on its own and not be Canada’s dope dealer! The free market will take this product where it needs to go! Someone needs to launch this and I hope it’s the party I support!
I must profoundly disagree with you. Health Canada is around for a reason, and while not perfect, does try to make sure unsafe elements don’t get into our bodies.
There are reasons why alcohol and tobacco are under tight regulation. Too much of the essential ingredient can kill you very quickly.
If you carefully watched the Suzuki documentary, you would have noted that too much THC can lead to mental health issues, and it was the non-intoxicating element CBD that ameliorated the problem.
In it’s natural form – without being amped up by elevating the THC, both THC and CBD are well balanced.
Hi Chris; Do more research! You can die from drinking too much water too, but are you afraid of water??? Google it there’s more than 1 of them. How much THC would it take to kill you? How many crackers would I have to eat to choke?? I doubt your claim! It’s that sort of ignorance that has kept pot illegal. Do you really think a pot business would want to KILL IT’S PATRONS? You sound like a conservative fear “mongerer” trying to sway people with partial truths and even BS! Come on give Canadians more credit than that! I cannot find a single claim of death by pot! As for alcohol and tobacco pot is weaker than alcohol and cigarettes are highly addictive. The government fails at all attempts to regulate anything, need examples? Guns, alcohol, tobacco (ever heard of illegal cigarettes? I have, every heard of a bootlegger? I have. Oh and by the way if they are so darn harmful why are they legal in the first place??? ANSWER: CAUSE PEOPLE WANT IT! You really have to open your mind more :) Health issues aside, because we need more proof than “Chris’s opinion” (neither of us are fully qualified for that anyway) what about the social aspects of people NOT going to jail for something they chose to do that does not hurt others? Thanks for your reply Chris, but let’s add accurate and meaningful input and not spew ignorance. So if you want to tell me it will kill my people PROOVE IT! Otherwise you’re just another source of UNIMFORMED hot air! If there are health “legitimate” concerns, then they can be addressed accordingly. The point I’m driving at is it is all underground and the economy is suffering and has been for 50 years or more. The product is being sold, bought, grown, used and it’s all UNDERGROUND! If these people are getting sick they are already going into the health care system anyway so take the bull by the horns, and stop chasing it around with a shovel!!!
You could calm down a bit before you offend those such as myself who are trying to get marijuana users dropped from the criminal rolls.
If you think I’m uninformed, you don’t know me at all. I don’t form any opinion before doing a great deal of research, which from all the rants I read on various sites is a rarity.
There’s a reason why non regulated alcohol and cigarettes are illegal, and if you had read my post carefully, no where did I write that marijuana can kill you. If you were to read what’s happening in the West from one drug masked as another, you might be more sympathetic to having a regulatory body to ensure the safety of what we eat, drink and smoke.
@Chris Hey Sorry! I did not mean to come off that way; when you wrote “the main ingredient can kill you quickly” it sounded uninformed and that you were in fact saying you pot can kill you :) I just want it brought completely above ground. Having a regulatory body to ensure public safety makes sense, and I admit you are correct in that it will need “SOME” regulations. But not like alcohol and tobacco, more like licensed growers, health inspections (like an agricultural endeavour). Anything short of that will only create legal and illegal pot; then we are no further ahead at all. It’s not going away and throwing kids in jail is not the answer either. So when I read it as “pot can kill you” I must admit I LOL and felt a bit “charged” at such an idea. I want to promote meaningful dialogue too. And to Mikeybear; I have nothing vested in this either, aside from maybe an income tax break, if the gov’t bank account gets filled :) I am, however, the father of a brilliant teenager with a bright future that could be ruined by one bad decision to try something I truly feel is less harmful than tobacco or alcohol. Thanks guys, have a great day!
No sorry you were correct in your reply grdinc@shaw.ca
CHRIS does not speak for anyone…but himself
If it is for anyone its the 23 % who tried to stop this resolution
Just read his comments and you will see he is not our friend
Chris again I ask what authority do you use to say such ridiculous things?
“”"There are reasons why alcohol and tobacco are under tight regulation. Too much of the essential ingredient can kill you very quickly.”"”
That may be a harmless statement to you but to me its crap
Show us the bodies or retract it
The fatal dose is something like the THC from 1500 pounds for gods sake
grdinc@shaw.ca please maybe read the comments and the older comments as well
Chris is like many we meet and about his own sense of self importance I think because after being told many times the same things he still tries to rain on our parade
He isnt trying to stop harm from any of us and on the contrary would bury this resolution in fear …my opinion
Please just ignore this type of person and please just contribute your own personal story…we need more here
But as senior liberals and those with some actual authority unlike chris are reading all this and I ask that you please just dont get hooked by those like him
Please share your stories of how cannabis helps you and leave the fear mongers to themselves
He is on the record of being against us and his comments say it all
Thank you
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I just love the information, and the intellect being displayed here, as most Canadians(and our biggest opposition Americans)who do not support the legalization initiative are under the impression, that every person who supports legalization, are under the impression that all those in support of this, are a bunch of lazy pot smokers, who cannot string together a cohesive thought, as they must be a pot smoker.
I’ve posted here before, and since have been well, astounded by the by the knowledge and ingenuity most of the people who have posted here are displaying.
As for one or many previous poster’s have claimed that the United States would close their borders to us, were we to go ahead with legalization, REALLY?Thats the best you’ve got, bottom line, they need us, and frankly, a lot more than we need them, their country is desperately trying to keep its head afloat, and they can not afford to lose their relationship with Canada.
I hate to put this out there, but if this is done correctly, and the Liberal party revamps a lot of other important issues, you will win a majority in the next Federal election, on this issue alone, and not just because of the votes you would get from a certain type of individual, who normally wouldn’t even vote.
Thats why I said it has to be done correctly, I would be willing to bet there is a large part of the population of Canada, that doesn’t even know this convention happened, so I recomend you invest some money, reach out to the right technical geniuses, allow them to set up polls, via all the social media sites, and other mediums, with a simple question”do you support the Legalization of Marijuana?”, and “Will the Liberal Party of Canada, have your vote if they PROMISE that after they win the next election, legalize it, no waffling on it, a vote for the Liberal party in Next election, is your vote to legalize Marijuana, thats it”
Now I know thats naive, and probably not possible, but the polls that I mentioned are definetly possible, and it would inform more people as to what you are trying to do here.
I voted NDP in the last election, and thats the only way I will ever vote liberal, EVER!
Thank you everyone, for posting here.
Those of you who think that after legalisation that anyone will be able to grow pot in their basement are living in a fantasy world.
The bureaucrats from Health Canada will jump all over this, and in the end, it will probably only be legal to produce by either the tobacco or booze producers, who have a great deal of experience dealing with myriads of regulations.
It will be treated like tobacco and spirits, not beer and wine
@ Christopher
Please show us your credentials…??
Or… at the very least what authority are you quoting to say what you do here ?
Where are you getting this information?
I am sorry but I see nothing guaranteeing the two worse business’s against our freedoms for 40 years will now get to dictate how our freedom will be brought back out..???
Did I miss a meeting??
I worked with SAFER of Colorado who brought out legal cannabis there and no business spent more MILLIONS of dollars trying to keep us going to jail and as slaves than the alcohol business
All the BIG NAMES in booze gave millions and LOST !!
All the booze business’s worry with very good reason about us earning our non slave status and freedoms ……PERIOD!!
And no one spent more money… as I say to try to stop us and keep us as slaves !!!
I say none of this has been decided and that there is nothing now stopping any one from growing grapes or apples etc and making their own wine at home so quit this ridiculous teasing of the long prosecuted and marginalized with absolutely no authority that I know of to do so
You to must see a transition just like we saw with re legalized alcohol in the 30′s…NO?
It took years and years to get to where we are now with alcohol and I see a transition with this as people give up growing and just pick up a pack of 5 joints at the beer store on their way home because it is so much easier and cheaper in the long run
Its much more expensive to make wine or beer at home and so will cannabis be in the end
I say you have absolutely no authority to say what you do and if the party is serious about this resolution they will… just as they profess…. use facts based research and experts in the field to draw out this model
That Christopher means people like me and some I know
@ Michael
I am not to sure if you are aware but since I have been brutalized and attacked multiple times by police and others over the years I always carry spy cameras
I am not sure if you saw my video linked here but it contains some of that footage
You may also not be aware that I as soon as I saw Justin I went up to Mr Trudeau myself and with the knowledge I have of his visits out here with us in Vancouver I reminded him that I know he has used cannabis and that to me he is not nor has he been truthful in recent media reports
He admitted his cannabis use to me and came clean and over the next few days I came to forgive his transgressions and knew it was merely the intense scrutiny and almost racism and discrimination we are all familiar with in our stigma that caused his original blunder
I forgive him and with us now supporting the membership to do this transition I think you will all be amazed over the years as to who was actually a closet hypocrite all along or not
But I have legal “publicly” obtained video to back up every word I say
I explained a lot… to a lot…Mr Rae…Mr Kennedy and many more
I reminded Mr Kennedy for example that had he not written me back… at the time… saying he was against re legalized cannabis (actually marijuana and he could not even spell it ) we would not then have abandoned him at the last convention and then given over our many many votes there over to Mr Dion !!!
As I say it took years and years for the lies to be so well ingrained….in all of this
But please give us a couple of months to undo some of them… please… as harpercrite is in my opinion already shaking in his boots just with what we have done so far
But realize none of us speaks for all of us…even Mr Rae is only an interim leader and not the membership and has again already assured me (on tape) that he will not VETO THIS
If he wants to be leader I would think he would help those of us who have already started rebuilding this party?
I was against Mr Rae because of his stance on MEDIA mere hours before this hit the convention room floor ….. but now I am a big big FAN !!
BOB RAE FOR LEADER !!
To all of you others now waking up to the fact that we may now finally now have help
Please do not believe every word you read from mere members here
None of them including me really have all the answers…its all speculation
But read the OFFICIAL RESOLUTION for the spirit of OUR SPIRIT !!
And then help us and then lets get this done !!
WILL YOU !!! HELP ??? PLEASE ???
Cheers
You might want to read the resolution. It calls for both legalisation AND regulation.
To quote Max Weber, politics is the art of compromise. You aren’t going to get everything that you want and the prohibitionists aren’t going to be able to continue to ban it.
There’s a reason for most health related regulations.
“”"”"BE IT RESOLVED that a new Liberal government will legalize marijuana and ensure the regulation and taxation of its production, distribution, and use, while enacting strict penalties for illegal trafficking, illegal importation and exportation, and impaired driving;”"”"
The resolution is clear
What are your real fears or concerns Christopher?
We are on the same team
I am sorry for my style…I do have a rage created in a jail cell as an innocent citizen 20 years ago
I apologize for my bluntness
But I do not get the attempts to take the wind out of our sails or to consider yourself the voice of the party
Can you share a little more so that we all get where you are coming from on this?
No offence but to us its like someone not in agreement with the spirit of our resolution
And we all need to get together to build the monstrous party I see emerging
How do we put some of your concerns aside?
As you said it…can you please list these so called health concerns I have obviously averted for nearly 30 years?
What are they??
And did you read about what I said caused the most concern for my health in the cannabis issue?
It was jail
Thank you
Don’t misunderstand me – I have no problem with the resolution. It’s those that think they will be able to grow their own pot without restriction and are against the ‘regulated’ part that concern me.
Thank you for saying this
Well with all due respect what is the problem if I have a dandelion plant or a cannabis plant in my garden?
We dont have concerns with apple trees ..dont forget
I think we will be able to produce our own without fear of prosecution ridicule or stigmas and if this resolution means otherwise it is news to me and will be incredibly damaging to our party
As I say I am glad that neither of us speak for the party…yet… and will stay hopeful …and am shelving our Federal Common Sense Party for now and will obviously see if we are all on the same page
But in the mean time lets let new people and new members have their say without being belittled and I do say that they have been as what you say may be nothing more than pure speculation !!
And if you haven’t signed up hundreds of new members in the last week you are far far BEHIND US
How many did you get???
Cheers
Chris, what simple or reasonable issue do you have against the complete release of the cannabis plant (Hemp as well Marijuana) from any and all control – the way it was before corporate greed saw the complete snuffing of such as a major advantage? Did you realize this is a simple natural plant? Did you at all consider the FACT that no human has any constitutionally legal authority to deem to another individual about the use of this phenomenal piece of natural amazing-ness?
One must simply do a ‘pros & cons’ list of BOTH (separately) Hemp as well Marijuana. Your homework assignment.. As one starts filling out these lists, one begins to notice the BENT of illogical and propagated subterfuge that has conveniently shrouded the ENTIRE species into one convenient social outcast – evil weed – devil gateway spew – ever since the original and distorted prohibition was illegally & successfully enforced, let alone conceived.
Rather, with all due respect, the major spotlight focus of (particularly) Marijuana IN THE PUBLIC’s EYE has been on the 0.01% use of this plant, that being RECREATIONAL use. Outside of that 0.01%, there is an outstanding 99.99% use that has been UNACCOUNTED for – again – conveniently – so as to not allow the population masses to actually wrap their collective heads around the blatant FACTS that this species of freely naturally growing plant should, could & would be free to grow in the backyard garden along-side the beans & carrots.
You are talking about ‘concern’? Are you stating that all alternatives presently ‘available’ from current corporate & political monopolizing buffoons are a better route to sustain on a global scale rather than letting this entire LIE go once-&-for-all & relinquish the inevitable truth to the people who are actually killing our own species in lieu of harnessing all the greatness this simple plant species has to offer – and always had to offer all-the-while? Concern?
I had a great discussion with a gov’t ‘insider’ recently who works on behalf of Health Canada – they were quick to point out the Government’s ‘concern’ as well, regarding the THC content on the Marijuana side (vs Hemp, which is beyond all logic as to why it is even involved in this idiocy). They stated that ‘for the protection’ of the people, there is a great need to ‘control’ this plant. How comforting, considering for 80+ years ‘they’ have been selling us down the river, allowing Monsanto muscle to take over our & our children’s DNA, endorsing Monopolypharma Inc.s to offer their synthetic, highly addictive, more harmful than beneficial dangerous crap, while feeding us bio-engineered disasters day after day! No. That is shear evil.
Consider that I have spoken to countless Seniors about the option of having a simple free, COMPLETELY natural alternative for their sleeping issues, arthritis issues, psoriasis, as well A HOST of other very common health & well-being issues with nothing but perplexed disbelief about why they are so far off in ‘left field’ about any of this – they’ve been stuck in the ‘EVIL WEED’, Reefer Madness propaganda machine. By the time I even get to the 5 minute-mark of discussion, they are saying to me – so how do we change this?
Chris, you are displaying some pretty 1-sided posturing yourself, quite frankly, so very expected of one who either has a vested interest to either gain somehow from the status quo, is too focused on the potential monetary gains if indeed it were ‘legalized’ or ‘decriminalized’, OR you are just dead-set on some preposterous belief that this plant actually presents some form of danger.
A COLPETE TURN AROUND – Yup! 180 degree turn is what is required here! This Liberal stance is ‘a start’, a step in the right direction, however, it too is missing the BIG PICTURE completely, and unfortunately is clouding the waters even more.
The SIMPLE point is, these plants are nothing but beneficial to both humans as well as the planet we are currently infesting.
These plants are an astonishing species that offer a natural, beneficial, FREE, non-toxic, non-addictive, superior fibre, super food, super medicine, super everything you can apply it too solution to our present global living condition. Are you ready to accept this fact? It IS indeed fact. Now that you have done your ‘pros & cons’ lists, you should be wholly aware of this.
To conclude, again, there is only propagated ‘hype’ being endorsed by a host of groups (listed in a previous comment) who are presently benefiting from any ‘control’. The concept of these plants being COMPLETELY REMOVED from any and all taxation, control, limitation, access issues, legalities, or any other such methods of hindering total access to growing, harvesting, using, possessing, or processing well within reality, on the contrary. It is the truth – and the truth, by default, always trumps!
It’s just a matter of time. Our health & well-being as well as the planet’s environment cannot sustain the current course any longer. Being able to make a fine rice wine in my kitchen actually is a far more sinister reality than a miraculous, simple, natural plant suffering a class-action International liable & slander attack in dire need of some backing.
One last thing – schools should be mandated to educate kids about the serious benefits these plants have to offer immediately. That’s more responsible than endorsing a gaddamn alcohol product on our highways or media! Stunning.
Sir you guys so have the right idea, I can’t tell you how many of these pages I sign up for, and get sick same old arguments, and stop following, as for this, everytime I get an email notification that someone has posted here, I immediately read it.
It fills me with hope, I’m not personally vested in this, the only thing I have to gain, is cleaner air through the process of photosynthesis, and a government with more money to spend on programs to help people get off hardcore drugs FOR GOOD, and not continue to repeat the same old pattern, of; do tons of heroin, cocaine, etc.get arrested, go to prison, do drugs inside(because there is barely any substance abuse intervention, CSC ensure that they get the bare minimum of treatment before they are released),do their time, get back on the street, and do it all over again.
I do not think the legalization of pot alone will fix all of our country’s problems, no but what I meant by hope, is that this is not a Legalize pot forum put together by some teenage pothead in his Mom’s basement, this is being discussed by the Liberal Party of Canada, this might actually happen.
Shaveluk: If you only are prepared to look at an issue from one side, you are being intellectually dishonest.
When I come to a point of view, it’s after looking at both sides, trying to disprove what my original opinion might be.
If I have to write it yet again, I AM NOT AGAINST THE RESOLUTION!!!
It it you who are trying to change it.
Thank you Chris
My name is shavluk by the way
I know you respect the vote but I do not believe you really respect us users… again my opinion
And I have researched what you say else where for example ( and more actually)
I am sorry if I do not come across right but your comment is totally misleading and you discount all the research done that destroys david suzukis attempts to paint cannabis as some trigger for schizophrenia
There is no proof of what his show attempted and I have even told him so myself and have even been in his house
I again ask why you keep on in this thread discounting peoples comments?
I already asked you to share more so we might understand your view better
And with all due respect can I ask if you in fact have ever even tried cannabis?…or alcohol… yes alcohol because just about every heroin addict has and everyone of those on the suzuki show HAVE ???
If you reread the comments in question above you should see that the person was talking about regulation as tax was mentioned and no tax is applicable in an unregulated market
I am curious about you though as it is important that if we are to be successful with this policy we need our own members on board obviously
You say you are in favor of this resolution but I say to me it certainly does not seem so
Where is this poll you spoke about as you earlier said you had posted one as a non supporter of this policy (with Don who reversed his views and is now ok with it) where is it?
To any I offend with my style I am sorry and can only say that when I was jailed beaten and bankrupted trying to spread the truth about this issue I lost a lot of social graces and have a burning rage inside
I do not for example turn and walk away as so many others do as children are being beaten …for example
I crash in and destroy not only people but entire political parties if need be
Ask the greens
I am in no way threatening by that comment what I mean is I am standing on the side of science and truth and will always call a spade a spade and you chris have in my view publicly opposed this resolutions vote
So yes I would like to try to get to the bottom of it so that we together can stop the travesty’s I see every day and so that we can together build this once great party
Cheers
***Disclaimer: the opinions expressed are my own and like chris or anyone else here I do not speak for the liberal party***
Like most of my generation in the 1970′s I experimented for a very short period with pot. I stopped after a month or two, as I was in university and needed all my faculties to continue to get high honour grades.
I also did my share of drinking in my younger years, but rarely drink now, as I know alcoholism runs in the family.
I also have a stepson whose life was nearly ruined before he recently gave up pot, alcoholism running on his side of the family as well.
Regulations won’t stop abuse of pot or alcohol, but it’s better than having none at all, as 95%+ of Canadians a law abiding and most don’t have the addiction gene. I wouldn’t want to see the regulations on alcohol production either.
Regulations can also help to avoid problems such as the current ones with Ecstasy.
@mikeybear26627@hotmail.com is quoted as saying….
“I just love the information, and the intellect being displayed here, as most Canadians(and our biggest opposition Americans)who do not support the legalization initiative are under the impression, that every person who supports legalization, are under the impression that all those in support of this, are a bunch of lazy pot smokers, who cannot string together a cohesive thought, as they must be a pot smoker.”
Yes MikeyBear… its an uphill battle to break the “pothead” stereotype… but social media will prove this stereotype could not be farther from the truth.
Even during the convention Justin Trudeau said during an interview with James Di Fiore (reddotproject.ca) that he felt consuming cannabis “disconnected” users from the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llTcoaBhU14&feature=plcp&context=C3cfe5dcUDOEgsToPDskLMjz2JFyZNeJLVSCwoXA-j
In the “social media” circles I hang out in… nothing could be farther from the truth… :-)
The Liberal party is building some momentum with us… and as long as this resolution 117 is not another ploy to get votes and the party follows through… this will definitely result in votes for the party.
We despise harpers cons as much, or more than anybody… so lets rebuild the party.. kick harpers arse out of power… and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for us, is resolution 117.
Lets not forget.. that since the 117 resolution was passed there has been almost ZERO negative publicity, and a virtual landslide of polls from one end of the country to the other… showing the will of the people is .. clearly behind this. (66% on average pro legalization)
:-)
“”"”and “Will the Liberal Party of Canada, have your vote if they PROMISE that after they win the next election, legalize it, no waffling on it, a vote for the Liberal party in Next election, is your vote to legalize Marijuana, thats it”
Now I know thats naive, and probably not possible,”"”"
No it ISN”T and ….it BETTER BE
And with all due respect my friend and yes I saw your other post
But
Anything is possible….if there is ….a WILL
In fact nothing else matters
Belief is the most powerful force in human existence
But
Forget the part about “”"after”"”" the election too ….please
It must be assimilated into policy NOW …right now if its REAL
Or nothing can nor will change anyway
Why should it not be if it is REAL..?
As some of my comrades have said “so what..?… the liberals have again found a little guts AGAIN….So what..? They have done so how many times before???
1978 !!..the same thing existed….a member approved policy to re legalize cannabis
(I hope you read my earlier comments in here too?)
Sorry if we really live in a “REAL” Liberal “Legalized Cannabis” world things in other policies obviously need to change today to reflect this change of philosophy or it hasnt really happened or changed…no?
Sorry I am not one of the stupid ones…I use cannabis
Or maybe I am and just have a cursed memory
I guess it will boil down to how smart “we” liberals think the canadians I speak for … who we gave up on how many times..??…are
And if they don’t remember how many times they were betrayed they will be NOW of course now watching for signs
But really the majority will wait for signs period as they wont formally join…I am no miracle worker and they already have MJ ndp and green buttons hahhaa !!
I am a mere scout …what can I say?
Example….??? hmmm?
As I said to Hedy Fry…here
http://www.liberal.ca/newsroom/blog/share-views-fix-health-care-canada/
There is no such thing as healthcare with out THC….go look and see if you can see what I see..LOL
PS
And look up there to the left
The share button
Of course to some it is irrelevant …but
Well I wont bother as some find me too crusty ..LOL
But
I HAVE TO REMIND THOSE WITH ASPERATIONS HERE
That when voting closed it was under 500
Actually on November 29th with two days left is was 98 VOTES and get this it had taa daaa .. 420 SHARES !!
And we stopped allowing votes at # 201 on Nov 31 I think or I am sure it would be well over a thousand by now
But then as things progress and die down truth seeps out
Little snippets…it never ever fails
Tell tale signs….weakness
Not much is missed in my camps
Its not some hobby issue….some die in my issue…get it
Like this below that comes out innocuously enough ….almost like stockwell day now showing up with medias ear easily and tells everyone harpers team really does think dinosaurs are mere fakes and just a conspiracy by saskquatches
Any of this sinking in ?
Well I can and maybe some others can too watch the numbers slow down here now or reverse
The Choice is thankfully not Martins
This post
“”” DECRIMINALIZATION is now being floated as an option by Liberal leadership hopeful types and the major media as an acceptable “first step”
(not major media…harper media)
Martin Cauchon, the justice minister who introduced the invented liberal word “decriminalization”, said Sunday he believes legalization is inevitable but that Canadians would be more comfortable with decriminalizing pot as a first step.”
Oh really Martin? Hmmm..really eh?
I am a canadian Mr Martin and I say that word is a misnomer and created for cowards
$100 dollars for first offence…in your plan
$500 Second offence …
$1,000 a Third offence etc etc
How long before those like me Sir …who will pay NONE …go to JAIL?
No… its hiding behind a lie actually
And you of course will never ever ever ever get mine or any of my friends VOTES !! PERIOD
But
When they decriminalized sodomy in the US in 2003, they didn’t replace criminalization with a fine system.
In fact, no country or state has replaced sodomy criminalization with sodomy fines.
When they repealed the US abortion law to allow for therapeutic abortions in Roe vs. Wade in 1973, they didn’t replace criminalization with a fine system.
When New Zealand decriminalized prostitution in 2003, they didn’t replace criminalization with a fine system.
Somebody please correct me if I’m wrong, but in all the modern cases of decriminalization – abortion, breastfeeding in public, drugs, euthanasia, homosexuality, prostitution, public nudity and pornography, the only example of replacing criminalization with a system of fines are in drug cases –
AND SPECIFICALLY marijuana cases
PROVE OTHER WISE
Either walk the talk…or walk the plank
Parlor tricks for cowards wont keep me
They call it a War for a reason
Its too bad Mexico’s 60,000 dead innocents example…. falls on blind eyes and willfully deaf ears
You miss the convention Sir?
I suppose the details will be fleshed out IF they put it on their platform and IF they get elected and IF they keep their promise to legalize … admittedly those are three very big IF’s
But at the same time more and more will eventually wish they had built the party in more than just a Writ period
Me for example
Because I know what probably will happen
Cheers
If you are a serious grower and could not make it worth your while to sell to grower co-ops for 20 dollars an ounce or less….I dont think you will be happy with us
I know it only took “officially” 35 years of organized political effort to get a main stream political party to say they would re legalize cannabis
Maybe getting one with your terms will be quicker for you though !
Good luck…I would think the second time some one does it…. the beatings wont be as bad?
But if you are still here and you can work with legality and outside or any side growing for that matter …and not worry about jail nor rippers nor bully’s nor over priced clippers …etc …etc we have space for any growers products in our collective
Can you use your skills in an open free market to make any money?
It will come down to quality over quantity like everything else
Already the harpercrites have fired up the rhetoric with using media to dispel this policy and then of course show absolutely no way to rebuff it as we all should
http://www.globalwinnipeg.com/health/devils+in+the+details+of+liberal+party+proposal+to+legalize+and+regulate+pot/6442563233/story.html
These are obviously some hoping for maybe a senate seat for themselves at that paper?
But without question they are obviously fearful of our success
Their portfolio contained a lot of the new jail company stock no doubt? Hmm it seems so
Read there at that link for some answers they want answered but then they dont allow you …on purpose to answer them
…. or read our resolutions comments for hints of policy and to see a real plan
I know you can make an awful lot of money at anything over a buck or two an ounce so get that star dust out of your eyes and tell me why you should get more than any other farmer in an open market?
If it isnt cheap many like others now have already shown up and will try to exploit the market
If people think they will make what they did in prohibition you better do like they did in California as growers or exploiters or pimps of pot did and all rise up to kill that resolution ever seeing the light of day
To some money is greater than freedom…myself I can see many successful coop growers making a great living and getting both
And with none of their children in jail for their gardening skills
Take care and cheers
AND…..Will you help?
The argument that the US will close its borders to us if we legalize cannabis, is not a valid argument. The US wants our resources and will not give up access to them. They may make waves, as they have done on Keystone XL, but the pipeline will flow sooner than later.
One of the current Republican candidates, Ron Paul, wants to end the war on drugs and allow the individual states to regulate them. While he isn’t likely to get elected, he is garnering substantial support. Their southern neighbour Mexico, will likely vote out the current party led by Felipe Calderon, over the failed war on drugs. The Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy has recommended that they, and the US,consider legalization. The dominoes are falling all around them.
In order for us to win the war against the war on drugs, all that has to happen, is for the issue to become mainstream and for those support legalizaton, to transfer the shame to the shoulders of those that have supported a repressive prohibition that has destroyed many lives.
The Liberal Party of Canada has made a bold step forward. Let us not let anyone impede our march towards sanity.
regulation would have to compete with a system of distribution
that’s been evolving for 80 years.we may need to review
other systems in place else where .
Amsterdam has a system in place that works and has for some time.
it’s based on small businesses. cannabis stores .
I see that choice as an opportunity for many young Canadian entrepreneurs to create thousands of financially stable businesses nation wide.
My view of the convention
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUpfqbPuhYc&feature=share
There are a few problems with the thinking on this resolution. The first is that Canada has a vast underground economy growing and distributing cannabis. Some of it is organized crime which should be put out of business. A large amount of the cannabis trade is small individual growers and sellers who should be grandfathered under any regulated industry. It makes no sense to hand the business off to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco or some other conglomerate. Otherwise, it’s about time.
I believe we are in the “Step 1″ phase of my comment below..
a) – help build a positive national momentum toward cannabis law reform
b) – highlight the stark contrast between the *logic* of ending cannabis prohibition and the regressive, *ideological* drug policies of the Conservative Party (i.e. Bill C-10).
[Step 2] Later, once that momentum for CLR exists, then debates about what legalization would look like, in practical terms, would be more timely and more able to be heard/understood by the public.
no one sad it would be easy… but the public will is there
The value of Liberal Legalization Resolution + Bill C-10 “Write a Senator” campaign
——————————————————————–
Liberal legalization resolution: Building momentum
What does Resolution #117 do for cannabis law reformer in Canada?
The *practical* value of the Liberal legalization resolution is as an OPPORTUNITY to:
1- help build a positive national momentum toward cannabis law reform
2- highlight the stark contrast between the *logic* of ending cannabis prohibition and the regressive, *ideological* drug policies of the Conservative Party (i.e. Bill C-10).
The Big picture:
[Step 1] Build a positive national momentum toward the idea of cannabis law reform (CLR), in general.
[Step 2] Later, once that momentum for CLR exists, then debates about what legalization would look like, in practical terms, would be more timely and more able to be heard/understood by the public.
At this point in time, the important thing is to get more of the country talking about CLR and expressing their opinions (step 1), especially people who aren’t already in “the choir.”
***The legalization resolution offers a reason to casually bring up the topic as a current news story.
Start discussions with friends, family, co-workers, etc. Ask others what they think of cannabis law reform.
You might even find that you don’t have to do much talking yourself, since others might overhear the topic of discussion and chime-in to explain why they support legalization.
——————————————————————–
Don’t forget about Bill C-10 !
Also very important, are efforts to educate about the imminent threat of the Conservatives’ Bill C-10 (omnibus crime bill) and the mandatory sentences it will impose on growers of 6 or more plants; how it represents a stark contrast to Harper’s regressive drug offences.
What can YOU do about Bill C-10?
Write a letter to a Senator… especially those Conservative Senators who are members of the committee that will be studying Bill C-10 in this upcoming session of Parliament. We need to appeal to their consciences, asking that they study the evidence with an open mind and when they vote on the bill that they are voting for what is in Canada’s best interest.
Senators’ contact information and a sample letter…Visit the NORML Canada website for Senators’ contact information and a sample letter that you can easily print and send. http://norml.ca
Thank you,
- michael
—
Cannabis Facts for Canadians
“Essential information for an informed debate about cannabis policy.”
http://CannabisFacts.ca
Stand in Canada’s corner and speak out against the Conservatives’ expensive, couter-productive mandatory minimums legislation. Do your part as a concerned citizen. Participate in the NORML Canada “Write a Senator” campaign! ( http://norml.ca )
If anything PLEASE !!
Put them in the proper TIME LINE
And then watch our party GROW !!
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oooopsy….. did not see the “← Older Comments” link…
To whom ever is running these pages
Please do not make the same mistake the greens and the ndp made
DO NOT NOW HIDE ALL THE COMMENTS !!!!
As I see is starting to be done
Stand proud of how we got here or watch the cynicism come back
There is nothing to hide here
If its my comments that are the problem I can prove every last one and we will hurt ourselves by looking cowardly now
Please consider that it is the comments that are also growing our support
Thank you
DO NOT NOW HIDE ALL THE COMMENTS !!!!
here we go…. wobble…wobble…wobble…
sigh… you are missing a huge unrepresented block of voters…
Big mistake…
We are NOT “disconnected” form the world as Justin Trudeau suggest…
sigh… lets have some backbone here!
oooopsy….. did not see the “← Older Comments” link…
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