Former Vancouver mayors call for legalizing Marijuana

[eyeball]

I doubt there will be any change, the cops just do not have much heart for enforcement when so many ordinary citizens simply refuse to obey the law. IMO, we just saw an example of it with enforcement of gun registration.

Regarding grow ops, think back to the pre-hydro, pre-BC bud days when the best smokeables were brought at great risk from all over the world. Higher cost and poorer quality then made no difference to the growth in people smoking regularly. As long as two factors exist: profit and demand- the product will be available. There is no way to put this genie back in the bottle. The simple reality is that far too many people from too many successive generations like to smoke, and that includes a fair few cops, prosecutors and judges, not to mention legislators.

Being frightened off growing your own does not mean they will be scared off smoking now and then.

Do you think the whole omnibus crime-bill is likewise for show? They seem so earnest, it's hard to believe they're not serious about giving this crackin' down business at least one good college try especially after putting so much effort into talking about it.

It all just seems so lame.

[MiddleClassCentrist]

Legalize it. Heavily tax it.

Why are we wasting so many tax dollars trying to stop it?

Edited November 25, 2011 by MiddleClassCentrist

[eyeball]

Heavily tax it.

It's as hard to imagine any real self-respecting conservative getting behind that as prohibition, a mealy mouthed Conservative sure but not the real McCoy.

[eyeball]

Why are we wasting so many tax dollars trying to stop it?

If we're to believe it's all just for show they're probably not going to spend any money at all. The whole drug warrior facade is apparently just for the sake of getting elected.

[cybercoma]

Heavily taxing it is stupid. People can grow the stuff easily themselves. Heavily taxing it will just keep it underground. No one's going to pay for it if the pricing is way out of whack.

[fellowtraveller]

Do you think the whole omnibus crime-bill is likewise for show?

I am commenting on the marijuana issue. It doesn't matter what the law is or will be, many ordinary people smoke it regularly, and many more people smoke it occasionally. Any law is unenforceable. We have already watched this movie.

It's as hard to imagine any real self-respecting conservative getting behind that as prohibition, a mealy mouthed Conservative sure but not the real McCoy.

Large numbers or real and faux conservatives smokie the devil weed too.

My advice: smoke a joint. Calm yourself.

[olp1fan]

Heavily taxing it is stupid. People can grow the stuff easily themselves. Heavily taxing it will just keep it underground. No one's going to pay for it if the pricing is way out of whack.

Californians had a vote on legalizing and taxing marijuana and majority voted no cause they disagreed with taxing it

[Guest Manny]

I am commenting on the marijuana issue. It doesn't matter what the law is or will be, many ordinary people smoke it regularly, and many more people smoke it occasionally. Any law is unenforceable. We have already watched this movie.

They are planning to imprison thousands of more people, who live in society now and smoke pot now, and don't do anything bad. It proves that the marijuana is not a bad drug. But this government refuse to see that, and they want to build nigger jails to put all these thousands of people in. They are trying to pass those kind of laws.

Once they do, for people like you it might seem like a movie. But once they get a criminal record, it never ends. They'll never get a decent job again, because those kind of criminal records stay with you for life.

[Guest Manny]

and they want to build nigger jails to put all these thousands of people in. They are trying to pass those kind of laws.

I meant BIGGER jails!, Sorry. Somebody told me this

[olp1fan]

I meant BIGGER jails!, Sorry. Somebody told me this

lol, don't sweat it, we barely have any black people in Canada, the jails will be filled with whites and native americans

[fellowtraveller]

They are planning to imprison thousands of more people, who live in society now and smoke pot now, and don't do anything bad

Really? I thought the new laws provide for harsher penalties for traffickers and large growers.

Show me where ordinary smokers are going to jail, post a link. And please, do not link to any paranoid stoners collective blog, something coherent and credible. Ta.

[eyeball]

Really? I thought the new laws provide for harsher penalties for traffickers and large growers.

Show me where ordinary smokers are going to jail, post a link. And please, do not link to any paranoid stoners collective blog, something coherent and credible. Ta.

Most indoor growers take clones from plants before flowering them. Many thousands of ordinary smokers who are simply growing their own small amounts will routinely have 6 to 12 plants growing at a time.

Seed growers may easily have to grow 10 or more just to get 5 female plants.

Like the law a plant is a plant is a plant whether its a plant in full bloom, a seedling or a clone.

Edited November 30, 2011 by eyeball

[Guest Doossypag]

i dont like it, i dont smoke it but im all for legalizing it. Weed being illegal is one of the most ridiculous shit that government keeps clinging on. Also you have it lucky over there. Here they dont event want to decriminalize that shit.

[Guest Manny]

Really? I thought the new laws provide for harsher penalties for traffickers and large growers.

Show me where ordinary smokers are going to jail, post a link. And please, do not link to any paranoid stoners collective blog, something coherent and credible. Ta.

Sure, that's not hard to do. It only takes a few seconds in google to read about the proposed bill S-10.

Allow me to highlight one section for you.

Clause 2 of Bill S-10 amends section 5(3)(a) of the CDSA to provide in certain circumstances for mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment for the offence of trafficking in a substance included in Schedule I or in Schedule II if the amount of the Schedule II substance exceeds the amount for that substance set out in Schedule VII. There will be a minimum punishment of imprisonment for one year if certain aggravating factors apply: the offence was committed for a criminal organization, as that term is defined in section 467.1(1) of the Criminal Code (a group of three or more people whose purpose is to commit serious offences for material benefit); there was the use or threat of the use of violence in the commission of the offence; a weapon was carried, used or threatened to be used in the commission of the offence; or the offender had been convicted of a designated substance offence, or had served a term of imprisonment for such an offence, within the previous 10 years. A “designated substance offence” is defined in section 2 of the CDSA to mean any of the offences in sections 4 to 10 of the CDSA, except the offence of possession of a substance found in Schedule I, II, or III to the Act, as set out in subsection 4(1).

Now you can go look up the schedule, and fine out what drugs they are talking about. They are talking about if you had a previous conviction for things like possession of a very small amount of hashise, for instance. Or 30 grams of marihuana. That's not alot. My cousin Alfredo smokes more than that...

[Guest Manny]

Oh, and here are some links, lazy boy.

http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/Parliament/LegislativeSummaries/bills_ls.asp?Language=E&ls=s10&Parl=40&Ses=3&source=library_prb#a14

http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-38.8/

ta ta... heheh

[eyeball]

...30 grams of marihuana. That's not alot.

Where the numbers and amounts etc that Harper's crew legislated had to come from somewhere, I assume someone in the government must have advised them.

I talked with someone I know who has a federal licence to grow pot for his own medicinal use. His doctor's prescription is for 7 grams a day. He's allowed to have 35 plants and 3 lbs of dried buds in his possession. His licence allows him to drive around with a 1/4 lb in his car. I read recently that Health Canada has recommended a 4 hour wait between using pot and driving. Does Transport Canada have any input into this?

How does one square the difference between a federal licence to grow 35 plants plus have three lbs of dried pot for a bad back, against a federal sentence of 6 months in jail for growing enough to unwind with at the end of a hard day's work?

[Guest Manny]

How does one square the difference between a federal licence to grow 35 plants plus have three lbs of dried pot for a bad back, against a federal sentence of 6 months in jail for growing enough to unwind with at the end of a hard day's work?

This is what I am wondering. Those recommendations such as waiting 4 hours, not driving, those are only guidelines. There is no law restricting the activities of people who smoke the medical marihanna. They can go to work, be in a public place, even operate machinery. They grow, possess, and smoke a lot of the drug. Thousands of people have such a license and are doing this, yet what has happened? Nothing.

None of them went ballistic on a shooting spree, or harrassed children in the street, while high. None of them drove their cars through a bank fron window. If they do, we would hear about that for sure. But fact is they are not a problem, and these regulations are loosely worded to reflect that. There is no strict limit on how much they should smoke. 7 grams a day, that's about 14 cigarettes. So they can be high all day, if they want to. They just light up whenever they feel pain, there is no strict doseage.

The reason I am saying all this is, why does people think that pot smokers are crazy or dangerous, and should be locked up? Here are thousands of them already, they walk amongst us in the streets, legally, and we don't know or notice any problem.

The absurdity of our situation is we are ignoring these facts, while maintaining our biased beliefs. It's ironic that one person can be licensed to do this, while another one must go to jail, the only difference being he doesn't have cancer!

[Archanfel]

This is what I am wondering. Those recommendations such as waiting 4 hours, not driving, those are only guidelines. There is no law restricting the activities of people who smoke the medical marihanna. They can go to work, be in a public place, even operate machinery. They grow, possess, and smoke a lot of the drug. Thousands of people have such a license and are doing this, yet what has happened? Nothing.

None of them went ballistic on a shooting spree, or harrassed children in the street, while high. None of them drove their cars through a bank fron window. If they do, we would hear about that for sure. But fact is they are not a problem, and these regulations are loosely worded to reflect that. There is no strict limit on how much they should smoke. 7 grams a day, that's about 14 cigarettes. So they can be high all day, if they want to. They just light up whenever they feel pain, there is no strict doseage.

The reason I am saying all this is, why does people think that pot smokers are crazy or dangerous, and should be locked up? Here are thousands of them already, they walk amongst us in the streets, legally, and we don't know or notice any problem.

The absurdity of our situation is we are ignoring these facts, while maintaining our biased beliefs. It's ironic that one person can be licensed to do this, while another one must go to jail, the only difference being he doesn't have cancer!

Are you sure that driving under the influence does not cover Marijuana usage?

Do you have any statistics showing that people using medical Marijuana are not a problem? Are you sure they do not incur costs on our public health system? Are they good taxpayers that contribute their fair share into our society? You can understand why I am a little skeptical when a bus driver in possession of marijuana just killed a bunch of people in Toronto.

I am not against legalizing marijuana, but I am not willing to say it's harmless without some solid evidences.

[Guest Manny]

I'm pretty sure. Habeus corpus? In other words, where are the bodies.

I know one thing, if it was a problem at all there would be studies and statistics confirming it, and the prohibitionists would be all over that like smell on a goat. But they're not. So, silence speaks to the evidence.

Conversely, those who are given a license for medical marihanna are not given specific direction on restriction of their activities. Again silence speaks to the evidence.

There must e thousands of licensed smokers in Canada. Where is the aberrant social behaviour, where are the accidents, the crimes.

Summer of 2003, pot laws suspended in Ontario. People smoking openly in the streets of Toronto. Where are the crime statistics, how much violence, how many fights, how many people assailed by raving dopers in the streets? Not even a blip on the graph. The silence speaks to the evidence.

Now consider the same thing with alcohol. We as a society seem to accept the violence associated with that. And death... if not because of drunk driving or other fatalities caused by immediate drunkeness, the stuff is poison in itself. Drink enough at one time, and you will die. Long term, liver damage and cancer. This is PROVEN.

[cybercoma]

Unless you consider sitting on your couch compulsively eating Doritos and playing video games as a violent threat, pot smoking is pretty harmless.

[Guest Manny]

Unless you consider sitting on your couch compulsively eating Doritos and playing video games as a violent threat, pot smoking is pretty harmless.

Yeah well, you might die from complacency. So off to jail you go instead! Bester