cannabisnews.com: Canada's Pot Plan Has Area Officials Burning 





Canada's Pot Plan Has Area Officials Burning 
Posted by CN Staff on May 31, 2003 at 08:58:22 PT
By Stephen Frye of The Oakland Press
Source: Oakland Press
A proposal in Canada to reduce the penalties for possession of marijuana would set a bad example in Michigan, local law enforcement officials said. The plan, which is sometimes described as a decriminalization of marijuana possession, is being considered in the Canadian Parliament. It was introduced this week. "They are taking a very liberal stand on their position of drug use," said Farmington Hills Police Chief William Dwyer. "They are going to experience an increase of drug addiction, starting with marijuana." 
Marijuana would not be legal under the new law, but the criminal aspect would be removed for some cases. Under the proposal, the possession of 15 grams of marijuana or less would no longer result in an arrest or a criminal record, though $100-$400 fines would be levied. The law would increase penalties for distribution or the growing of marijuana, said Dennis Moore, public affairs officer for the Consulate General of Canada in downtown Detroit. Local police say it would send the wrong message to users and young people. Both Dwyer and Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said marijuana, while not as dangerous or addictive as harder drugs, is a gateway drug that leads some users into experimentation with other narcotics, such as cocaine or heroin. "It's not this harmless drug that people talk about," Bouchard said. "Most people are unaware of the difference between marijuana of today and the marijuana of yesteryear. The marijuana of yesteryear that many people have in their mind is not at all the same." He said the tetrahydrocannabinol content, the mind-altering chemical in the drug known as THC, is at times about 100 times stronger than the stuff puffed in the 1960s and 1970s. Both Bouchard and Dwyer see potential problems for the United States. "I envision young people from the U.S. traveling to Canada for purchases of marijuana and, in some cases, attempting to smuggle it into the U.S.," said Dwyer, who is the immediate past president of the Michigan Association of Police Chiefs.That concern has caused some grumbling from the Bush administration that drug searches by Customs officers hinder the flow of trade across the border and interfere with security concerns.Increased border patrols and inspections following the 9/11 terrorist attacks have resulted in more drug seizures at the Canadian border. According to a Canadian lawmaker quoted in an Associated Press account, seizures of marijuana at the border rose from 814 pounds in 1998 to 2,650 pounds in 2001 to 20,893 pounds last year. "Since 9/11, we have hired additional inspectors along the northern border," said Cherise Miles, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman based in Chicago. More than 6,000 trucks cross the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit each day, and both the bridge and the Windsor Tunnel see about 7,000 cars cross into the United States each day, said Kevin Weeks, director of Field Operations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Detroit. The other two crossings in Michigan are the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron and the International Bridge at Sault Ste. Marie.Moore said that the decriminalization will not result in hash bars or the open selling of pot. In fact, the law would stiffen sentences for selling or growing pot, and it sets aside money for education to discourage young people from getting high. Intoxicated motorists also face larger fines. "A pot stand is not going to be next to the hot dog vendor in Windsor," Moore said. He said part of the purpose of the law is to make a more uniform system for the enforcement of drug laws. Arrests for possession of small amounts vary throughout Canada, with police in urban areas less likely to arrest an offender. In Oakland County, possession of small amounts of marijuana is a misdemeanor offense, said Beth Hand of the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office. According to state law, possession is a possible one-year misdemeanor, but local county ordinances give it a possible 90-day sentence. Hand, who heads the narcotics division, said jail is rare if possession is the only charge for a first-time offender. Often though, people arrested for other offenses - such as drunken driving, domestic violence or shoplifting - are also charged with possession. Also in Michigan, a judge is allowed to sentence such offenders to a program that allows for no criminal record if probation is completed successfully. Hand does not favor the Canadian plan because it takes away one of the steps - criminal action - to control the use. She said that would lead to more abuse because "if you legalize it, then you legitimize its use." Another problem would be people who go over to use marijuana then cause problems, such as impaired drivers getting into accidents, after returning to the United States. Bouchard said 19- and 20-year-olds already are crossing the border to drink in Canada, where the minimum drinking age is 19. "We've seen a number of instances when they've come back and found trouble here," Bouchard said. The sheriff said he doesn't like the idea of first-time and young offenders ending up in jail or with a "ruined life," as proponents of the Canadian plan have said of the criminal record. But Bouchard favors a diversion program, such as boot camp or drug courts, where treatment and probation are emphasized. He said a drug lifestyle makes it more likely for a person to end up in prison for other offenses, while a clean lifestyle encourages success. "The tone of (the legislation) is that it's no big deal," Bouchard said of marijuana use. This change, if it is approved, could even be the start of something, but Dwyer doesn't see that change crossing the border. "I see it toward a movement in a later time to legalize other drugs in Canada," Dwyer said. "I don't see the U.S. following the Canadian trend. "I just think it sends the wrong message out to young people and to those who use illegal drugs." Source: Oakland Press, The (MI)Author: Stephen Frye of The Oakland PressPublished: May 31, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Oakland PressContact: john.cusumano oakpress.comWebsite: http://www.theoaklandpress.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmPot Spat - Detroit Free Presshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16453.shtmlWindsor Leads Way On Legal Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16353.shtmlPot Bill Could Bog Down Borderhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16230.shtml
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Comment #7 posted by The GCW on May 31, 2003 at 16:11:07 PT
Not always, but usually when police talk about 
 CANNABIS, there is a Biblical level separation of Truth.It is part of the reason that cops ARE NOT TO BE TRUSTED.But then, We as a society, should not be forcing police to uphold mans laws over the words of Christ God Our Father.When We force police to uphold mans laws, over the Ecologician's, they are no longer able to receive the communication system that Christ sent in the Holy Spirit of Truth as mentioned in John 14-16, and in 1 John & 2 John, which only is available to those who obey Christ.You can not love YOur brother and cage Him for using cannabis. I believe Christ used cannabis, does that mean the M.F.in' cops would cage My Man?Most folks that go church have no clue about this communication system, because of failed clergy.Friends and family, realize what You want is not available in a temple. In Revelation 21:22, indicates about, “The New Jerusalem”, “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ...and its lamp IS the Lamb. Cannabis IS the tree of life. Cannabis GIVES LIGHT. Rev. 21:27 indicates, nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. Rev. 22:3, THE TREE OF LIFE), the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it,...Rev. 22:14, Blessed are those who wash their robes (get clean & obey Christ), so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.We know what is in the gates, We know how cannabis equates to the truth, so what is NOT in there, what is not allowed to be in there? Rev. 22:15, indicates: Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
 
Rev. 22:19, says: and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. (So don’t try to take away the word of this book, and that includes the very 1st page where We’re told all the green is good.The Green Collar WorkerThere are 2 kinds of Christians: those who obey Christ and those who disobey. It is those Christians who disobey Christ that are responsible for all the killings in war and cagings of people using cannabis.The peace plant used in conjunction with the peace pipe helps end that. If Sadam and Georgie were to smoke the pipe instead of people, they’re actions would be less catastrophic, and the Bible indicates that: Rev. again: “The nations will walk by its light,” & “they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it;” & “and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations”.The Green Collar Worker2 Timothy 2:12, ...If We deny Him, He also will deny Us;2 Thessalonians 2: 13, ... because God has chosen You FROM THE BEGINNING for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.2 Tim. 2:19, ...”Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.”2 Tim. 2:26, ...come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord…with thee will I establish MY COVENANT …and take thou unto thee ALL FOOD THAT IS EATEN …and it shall be for FOOD.” 
--Genesis 6:8-22The Green Collar WorkerIt makes Me think, that like cannabis doesn’t fit the description of marijuana and so leads Me to think marijuana is an imposter to cannabis (or more rightly, cannabis is an imposter to marijuana). That is one kills and the other lives. Now related to Christians, there ARE only 2 kinds. The obedient Christians and the disobedient Christians and they are imposters to each other. Disobedient Christians are and imposter. To say You are Christian has many meanings and intrinsically, it means You are saying You walk a certain way, as defined by Christ, that means You walk in Truth and love Your brother. If You say You are Christian but don’t walk in it, You are an imposter. Do not kill, indicates how to walk in it. Kill and You are not walking in the path that leads to the HOST. Rationalize killing and You are an imposter, for that was not the way Christ walked. With out the HOST, You will not know the Truth. Our country is being run by an imposter. You can not have it both ways... You are either one or the other. Either obedient or disobedient.If this president claims to be Christian: then The President is an imposter.Heed: Prov. 15:17 Better is a dish of vegetables (including cannabis?) where love is Than a fattened ox served with hatred.James 1:16-17, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” 
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Comment #6 posted by Lehder on May 31, 2003 at 12:53:02 PT
pot stand
>>"It's not this harmless drug that people talk about," Bouchard said. "Most people are
   unaware of the difference between marijuana of today and the marijuana of yesteryear.
   The marijuana of yesteryear that many people have in their mind is not at all the same." Where did the cop get this information? It's hard to imagine. I'll skip the more blatant misstatements of fact and only note that the cop implies that the "marijuana of yesteryear" was a "harmless drug." But as I remember, "yesteryear's marijuana" was the marijuana responsible for genetic damage, male breasts and insanity, and its possession was more vigorously prosecuted. There is absolutely no reliable information in this article. From the cop Brouchard we hear only a drone, the dirge tone of the uneducated class of workers that is comprised largely of public officials, from its knuckle-dragging enforcement layer to its semi-literate generalship. It will continue for decades, and we'll be hearing it long after all prosecutions for marijuana have ended. At the end of the seventeenth century and even beyond, when witch burnings had largely ended, judges and advocates felt obligated nevertheless to express their belief in sorcery, out of tradition and as befitting their great and conservative dignities. So it will be with marijuana. Great value is placed on odd beliefs, and they are recited long beyond their application, even in Canada.The general social enlightenment, once science has established the truth, is a process that seems to take about a hundred years. Television does not help, nor do journalists like Stephen Frye who would consult a cop about chemistry.(EJ would discuss these points better than I.)I disagree again with the next official, the public affairs officer, Moore: "A pot stand is not going to be next to the hot dog vendor in Windsor," Moore said. It's perfectly appropriate that one should be able to buy a reefer along with a hot dog, and eventually it will be unremarkable. I'll smoke mine with relish, Mr. Moore.
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Comment #5 posted by ekim on May 31, 2003 at 12:24:22 PT
Canada has never said that of Ann Arbors law
Both Bouchard and Dwyer see potential problems for the United States. "I envision young people from the U.S. traveling to Canada for purchases of marijuana and, in some cases, attempting to smuggle it into the U.S.," said Dwyer, who is the immediate past president of the Michigan Association of Police Chiefs.I have never heard Canada wimper like this. Ann Arbor has had a ticket law on the books for over 30 years and it is listed as one of the coolest citys in Michigan for that matter all of the USA. Get a grip if anything we should be promoting more Cool Citys in Michigan. All that is needed is to do a cost benefit analysis of the cost to police and to the taxpayer also the benefit to those ticketed. Come on Gov. Granholm make the figures known once and for all. 
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Comment #4 posted by Virgil on May 31, 2003 at 11:42:30 PT
A stray paragraph that needs presenting
This comes from comment50 in the SmokingBackRoom at freerepublic- http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-backroom/918409/posts?q=1&&page=1 - Marinol is a weird drug. It is not medical pot at all. It is manufactured from an obscure compound called terpene olivitol. Unimed,LLC purchases the compound from Hoffman-LaRoche. Unimed takes the compound and runs it through a process called liquid chromatography. They basically shove the oil through a silica column resulting in a product resembling THC, an active ingredient in medical pot. It's then mixed with sesame oil and packaged into little round gelatin capsules.
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Comment #3 posted by lombar on May 31, 2003 at 11:28:41 PT
How stupid can they get?
"if you legalize it, then you legitimize its use." Like 'legalising' the use of stormtroopers to cage/hunt/kill people for using a plant?
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Comment #2 posted by Ethan Russo MD on May 31, 2003 at 10:43:07 PT:
New Benchmark!
Spread the amazing news!:"He said the tetrahydrocannabinol content, the mind-altering chemical in the drug known as THC, is at times about 100 times stronger than the stuff puffed in the 1960s and 1970s."It is generally believed that cannabis of 1% of less THC produces no effect. Now it's 100%? We've achieved a new benchmark of the absurd!
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on May 31, 2003 at 10:24:08 PT
Well, that sure sucked
It is like it came from Prohibitionist Cental Command. PCC we call it. There is no alternative view to even pretend balance and no mention of the insanity for 14 years in prison for something that is going to get thrown out with all the cannabis prohibition laws in Canada."They are taking a very liberal stand on their position of drug use,"Here we have the overworked L word. Is it even accurate to use? When the conservative view as espoused by the Cato Institute calls for repeal of the CSA of 1970 and dismantling the DEA, couldn't you say this is moving in a truly conservative direction? Or is it that liberals and conservatives alike that are in the know recognize the insanity of imposing the exreme opposite of freedom on someone already denied their rightful freedom?Liberal also appears in another article now up from last night and I am about overloaded with the meaninglessness of the use of the L word - http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread16466.shtml
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