Pot decriminalization
Almighty1 @ Thu Jul 22, 2004 11:37 am
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Prime Minister Paul Martin gestures as he addresses the media Wednesday. (CP/Jonathan Hayward)
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OTTAWA -- The federal government is committed to marijuana decriminalization and will reintroduce legislation to make it happen, Prime Minister Paul Martin said in his first statement on the issue since winning re-election.
The Liberal government will bring back a bill that died with the election call and re-table it after Parliament resumes sitting in October, he said Wednesday following a meeting of his new cabinet. "The legislation on marijuana - the decriminalization of minor quantities of marijuana - that legislation will be introduced."
According to the original bill, anyone caught with 15 grams of pot or less would receive a ticket instead of criminal charges. But those caught trafficking more than 15 grams would receive harsher penalties.
Critics say the bill could lead to more cases of intoxicated driving and cause traffic snarls at the Canada-U.S. border while American customs agents intensify their search for drugs.
They also bemoan the 15-gram ceiling for non-criminal use, calculating that it would become legal for someone to carry more than 30 joints at a time.
Detractors have already successfully lobbied the government to drive down the initial maximum amount from 30 grams. Some felt the original limit was so high that it practically made drug-dealing legal.
Wednesday's announcement came on the same day as a study concluded that the number of Canadians who have used marijuana or hashish nearly doubled in 13 years.
In 2002, an estimated 12.2 per cent of Canadians admitted to smoking marijuana - up from 6.5 per cent in 1989, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday.
But Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh, sworn into cabinet just one day earlier, dismissed the suggestion that decriminalization would lead to greater use.
"I'm not so sure whether that argument has any validity. I don't know what the correlation is," he said after attending his first federal cabinet meeting.
"My view is that, if you make something illegal, some people are more attracted to it. . .If you allow people to possess it in small quantities for personal use, the allure kind of disappears for some people."
Martin had also said while campaigning for the June 28 election that he planned to reintroduce the marijuana bill.
© The Canadian Press 2004
othello @ Thu Jul 22, 2004 2:02 pm
Ujjal Dosanjh Ujjal Dosanjh:
"My view is that, if you make something illegal, some people are more attracted to it. . .If you allow people to possess it in small quantities for personal use, the allure kind of disappears for some people."
I guess he forgot that pot would still be illegal. (It's just that its possession would not be a criminal offense. You'll still get fined.)
polemarch1 @ Thu Jul 22, 2004 2:06 pm
Why not just legalize it? It's already accepted by society so why dick around?
Robair @ Thu Jul 22, 2004 5:13 pm
polemarch1 polemarch1:
Why not just legalize it? It's already accepted by society so why dick around?
Because our neighbors (to the south) would shit themselves and we don't wanna have to smell it?
Rev_Blair @ Thu Jul 22, 2004 5:25 pm
All the more reason to legalise it...maybe we can drag them, kicking and screaming, into the 1960's.
AdamNF @ Wed Jul 28, 2004 12:17 pm
To cut down on crime, violence, poverty and death. Legal drugs. Its working in Europe.
karra @ Wed Jul 28, 2004 2:19 pm
$1:
Pot-Filled Parfait?
Girl Reportedly Found Partially Smoked Joint In Yogurt
Jul 27, 2004 2:52 pm US/Central
SAN BENITO, Texas (AP) A Texas family is a little out of joint, after a stop at McDonald's.
Sixteen-year-old Valerie Valle says she found a partially smoked joint in her frozen yogurt parfait.
She and seven other family members stopped at a McDonald's in San Benito after a weeklong vacation on South Padre Island. Valle says she returned the questionable frozen confection and said no thanks to another.
Police took the marijuana cigarette as evidence. But there have been no busts or charges filed.
An official with the McDonald's franchise says they're conducting their own investigation and don't want to jump to any conclusions.
Girl Reportedly Found Partially Smoked Joint In Yogurt
Jul 27, 2004 2:52 pm US/Central
SAN BENITO, Texas (AP) A Texas family is a little out of joint, after a stop at McDonald's.
Sixteen-year-old Valerie Valle says she found a partially smoked joint in her frozen yogurt parfait.
She and seven other family members stopped at a McDonald's in San Benito after a weeklong vacation on South Padre Island. Valle says she returned the questionable frozen confection and said no thanks to another.
Police took the marijuana cigarette as evidence. But there have been no busts or charges filed.
An official with the McDonald's franchise says they're conducting their own investigation and don't want to jump to any conclusions.
Now I ask you . . . . .
McPot
karra @ Wed Jul 28, 2004 2:20 pm
un autre autre oops
karra @ Wed Jul 28, 2004 2:20 pm
oops
karra @ Wed Jul 28, 2004 2:21 pm
oops
AdamNF @ Wed Jul 28, 2004 2:58 pm
What does that have to do with anything?
Rev_Blair @ Wed Jul 28, 2004 3:46 pm
Absolutely nothing, Adam. She could have found a regular cigarette or a half-eaten french fry.
BigDubUSA @ Wed Jul 28, 2004 4:09 pm
We're all about decriminalizing it here in the Pacific Northwest (Washington & Oregon)! If you haven't already, come down and try some of the rainforest bud! I give you hosers credit...You do know a thing or two about good bud!
QBC @ Wed Jul 28, 2004 8:44 pm
If the governmet would legalize dope, can you imagine the tax dollars they would get from it? No more "we have no money for health care" or " we need to close schools". Hell, it would be "university is now free for everyone" and "yes we have to apologize for the long wait for your medical procedure, 15 mininutes is an inconvenience"
The next part is from my local little paper, The Quesnel Observer"
Police weed out grow-op
Quesnel RCMP uncovered a sizeable stash of pot last Friday.
More than 900 marijuana plants were seized from a logged out area on Crown land near Garner Road, south of Quesnel.
Plainclothes and serious crime officers combined efforts with patrol officers to uncover the grow.
“We got information that it was out there,” said Quesnel RCMP Staff Sgt. Keith Hildebrand. “We went out and found it. The plants were removed and burnt.”
The RCMP have an agreement with a local mill that has a low-emission beehive burner that is perfect for incenerating the plants, according to Hildebrand.
He said the investigation was continuing, but added it may prove difficult to come to a result of laying any charges.
“Unless you find someone tending a crop, it’s hard to get a charge (laid),” he explained.
BigDubUSA @ Thu Jul 29, 2004 3:07 pm
Hey QBC,
I know you guys are lenient up there, but how lenient? Can you have a certain amount on you legally or zero tolerance? What about growing one or two in your home? How close is Canada before it may actually become legal?