cannabisnews.com: Millions of Canadians Inhale Despite Pot Laws Millions of Canadians Inhale Despite Pot Laws Posted by CN Staff on March 04, 2004 at 07:40:25 PT By Richard Foot, CanWest News Service Source: Edmonton Journal By the end of the year, three million of us, according to a recent study by the Senate, will have smoked, eaten or otherwise inhaled almost 770,000 kilograms of the stuff -- impressive numbers considering that marijuana use is a federal crime.It is also a crime to cultivate the weed. Yet, police and industry insiders estimate about 215,000 growers across the country produce more than 2.6 million kilograms of cannabis each year. In British Columbia alone, the pot-growing industry is believed to generate up to $6 billion in annual sales, making it one of the West Coast's biggest industries after forestry and tourism.With so many Canadians smoking and growing marijuana, questions are being asked about why the federal government maintains its prohibition of the drug, and how, if the prohibition is sound public policy, police can ever be expected to properly enforce the law."Why doesn't the government stop dragging its feet and implement a fully legal regulatory regime for marijuana for everybody?" says Jody Pressman, a marijuana advocate in Ottawa.Says Dana Larsen, editor of Vancouver-based Cannabis Culture magazine, which sells 85,000 copies every month in Canada and the U.S., "Under a fully legalized system people could grow marijuana commercially and sell it in stores licensed by the government. It could be subject to health controls, quality controls and taxes. It wouldn't have to be more expensive than any other fruit or vegetable."Note: Canadians will consume roughly 2,100 kilograms of marijuana today. Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/despite.htmSource: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)Author: Richard Foot, CanWest News Service Published: Thursday, March 04, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Edmonton JournalContact: letters thejournal.canwest.comWebsite: http://www.edmontonjournal.comRelated Articles & Web Site:Cannabis Culture Magazinehttp://www.cannabisculture.com/Grow Your Own? It's a Bummer http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18165.shtmlLighten Up on Pot Growers, Canada's on a Roll http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18161.shtmlA 'Growing Like Weeds', Indeed!http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18152.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #5 posted by FoM on March 05, 2004 at 08:16:55 PT Here's The Murphy Article It takes me so much longer because of having to snip it but here it is!http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread18448.shtml [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by afterburner on March 05, 2004 at 08:03:57 PT: Here's Kap's Root of Canadian Cannabis Prohibition Murphy campaigned against 'marijuana menace' http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=0d324e3d-d95a-4b90-850f-64e29655d389Today's Edmonton Journal. Newshawk: kaptinemo. I just connected the dots. "Pot Prohibition" cited in Canadian media. The walls of lies are failing. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on March 04, 2004 at 10:32:51 PT: I can't WAIT until Friday! If you haven't read the full article, I strongly suggest you follow the link to the page FoM has generously provided. Because at the bottom is a blurb for the next article.Why is it important? Because it promises to point out *how* cannabis prohibtion in Canada came about. This is FAR more important than many might think at first. The ugly racist history of cannabis prohibition in both the US and Canada is well known...to us cannabist activists. But it remains completely unknown territory to the average non-consumer. The Canadian Senate report under the direction of Senator Nolin (Vive la belle Quebec! Someday, I'll get back to Montreal, after I've polished up mon Francais) made it quite plain how it was Emily Murphy, first Canadian female judge, who also wrote under the pseudonym "Janey Canuck" the racist anti-drug diatribe "The Black Candle" which had so much influence in driving the ill-conceived legislation that saddled Canux with the mess they've lived with for so long. While the average Canadian may have had little or no interest in their Senate's report, they'll see in their newspapers the whole sordid story tomorrow. Just in time for this idiotic 'Green Tide' summit the antis are having this weekend. What a bombshell to drop, and on the heads those individuals and organizations who are for continuing those same racism-related policies. What a sense of timing!What an opportunity for interpid newsies to stick mikes and cameras in the face of said antis and ask them why they support something that was crafted by a bigot? And if they display (or feign) ignorance, as they probably will, the newsies can educate them on the spot.If they have the figurative and (in the case of males) literal 'stones' for it.It's *still* not Spring yet, and it's getting warmer all the time. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by afterburner on March 04, 2004 at 08:09:05 PT: The Green Tide Shadow Summit Canadians for Safe Access presents: Green Truth - The Green Tide Shadow Summit: Voices of Reason - Exploring Alternatives to the Drug War http://www.greentide.ca/When? Thursday March 4 2004 12:00 noon Where? Sutton Place Hotel (Bay and Wellesley) Room TBAMap to Sutton Place Hotel (Bay and Wellesley) http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=search&countryid=41&addtohistory=&country=CA&address=955+Bay+Street&city=Toronto&state=on&zipcode=&submit=Get+Map [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on March 04, 2004 at 07:43:03 PT Great one Another article that would be heresy in an American newspaper. You'd NEVER see anything like this in the US mainstream media. It would go against all the brainwashing the big corporations and government have worked so hard at!We probably consume 10 times as weed herb as Canada. *Ignore the man behind the curtain* *do not look at the main behind the curtain* [ Post Comment ] Post Comment