Canada's growing "marijuana problem"

[Great Spirit]

Marijuana has always been and is here to stay!!! They can try all they want to eliminate this natural wonder of God but they will never succeed! It's the same thing as saying "the sun causes cancer! lets block it or destroy it!" If marijuana really caused all the problems prohibitionists say it does...then Amsterdam and Vancouver should be blood baths...but they're not! The people in Canada are just slightly more enlightened and tolerant.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4620272.stm

Frank proudly surveys the large log cabin he constructed himself, on a two-acre plot of aromatic evergreen forest he now owns.
"All this," he says, "was built on marijuana."

Over four years, Frank - not his real name - tended a patch of marijuana plants in a forest clearing about 45 minutes' walk from where his cabin now stands.

He regularly pooled his harvests with those of several other growers in the small British Columbia (BC) town in which he lives, to sell wholesale to young men from just across the border in the US state of Idaho.

Frank says he made hundreds of thousands of Canadian dollars before hurriedly leaving the business when his American buyers were arrested.

But tens of thousands of illegal "grow-ops" remain in Canada. Estimates suggest marijuana may generate up to C$7bn (£3.5bn; US$6.1bn) a year in BC, the sunny province thought to be at the heart of the industry.

Canada's new Conservative government says people like Frank are a menace to society, putting drugs on the streets and fuelling organised crime - and it has vowed to get tough on them.

But critics accuse the government of being wilfully blind to the historic failures of law enforcement, and ignoring public opinion and the findings of expert committees in favour of a policy of demonising marijuana - a policy they liken to the short-lived Prohibition of alcohol in 1920s and 30s America.

Vietnam roots

Growing marijuana in BC's thinly populated and rugged interior, Frank was continuing a tradition - of sorts - said to have arrived with some 50,000 young American men seeking to avoid being drafted to fight in the Vietnam war.

But over the intervening decades, the industry has changed. Most of today's grow-ops are indoors, using artificial light to produce stronger strains of cannabis.

The industry has also grown. The Canadian statistics agency reports that in 2004 there were more than 8,000 cultivation offences recorded - up from 3,400 in 1994.

Experts deduce that the true number of grow-ops is much greater, as even large seizures seem to have little effect on the price of marijuana.

The federal police reported in 2002 that the cultivation industry had reached levels "that could be deemed epidemic in the provinces of BC, Ontario, and Quebec" - and they also warn that almost every large-scale operation these days is linked in varying degrees to organised crime.

"Cannabis is the biggest issue facing law enforcement now," says Inspector Paul Nadeau of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

He says smugglers have access to "transport vehicles, planes, helicopters. The sky's the limit".

He calls for greater deterrents, pointing out that in BC only about 10% of those convicted of growing marijuana face jail terms (the figure is higher in other provinces), with most offenders getting a fine or suspended sentence.

He says judges facing a backlog of cases in the courts "have to be given the means to deal with the problem... We are drowning in the numbers."

In contrast to the previous Liberal administration, which sought unsuccessfully to reduce penalties for possession, the new Conservative government pledged in its election manifesto to steer Canada "off the road to drug legalisation".

It said it would ensure mandatory minimum prison sentences and large fines for serious drug offenders, including growers.

Consumption rises

But critics of tougher law enforcement insist it is doomed to failure - and has failed.

"I don't advocate smoking anything - I think it's bad for you!" says Stephen Easton, professor of economics and a senior scholar at the conservative Fraser Institute think tank, who has studied the industry in detail.

He and other pro-reform experts accept that there is growing evidence of a link between heavy cannabis use and mental health problems in some people.

"But has criminalisation been successful in deterring consumption? The answer is surely no," he says.

In 2004, the Canadian Addiction Survey found 44.5% of Canadians reported using cannabis at least once - up from 23.3% in 1989.

The proportion of respondents who admitted to using cannabis in the previous year was 14.1% - compared with 9.7% of Britons and 10.6% of Americans in equivalent surveys.

Instead of spending half a billion Canadian dollars each year tackling illicit drug use, Professor Easton argues, federal authorities have an alternative: "Tax and trade it like any other normal commodity."

In fact, several government committees tasked with evaluating Canada's drug laws have recommended legalisation of marijuana - from the 1972 Le Dain Commission to the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs which reported in September 2002.

A recent survey suggested 51% of Canadians supported decriminalisation of marijuana.

Prohibition 'empires'

"There have been studies galore in Canada and elsewhere looking at this issue - it's politics that's stopping [a change in drug laws] and not logic," says lawyer Eugene Oscapella, a founding member of the independent Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy.

"It's hypocrisy, it's cowardice," he says - a charge the justice ministry declined to comment on.

Mr Oscapella suggests Canada is fearful of crossing the US government, which he says has threatened to slow bilateral trade worth about US$1bn per day.

Some 85% of marijuana grown in BC is estimated to be exported into the US, though total border seizures of marijuana only amount to about 3% of that discovered entering the US from Mexico.

Mr Oscapella also argues that some sectors have an interest in maintaining what he calls the "Prohibition" on marijuana in Canada.

"You have to look at Prohibition as an industry: the crime-control industry. There are empires built around it - not only organised crime, but government bureaucracies, police departments, privatised prison industries in the US, pharmaceutical and drug-testing companies. These empires thrive on Prohibition."

He says he fears tougher enforcement will lead to a burgeoning prison population, but have little impact on the illicit industry.

Meanwhile, critics charge, the proceeds of the industry continue to feed what a recent editorial in the Vancouver Sun newspaper called the "monster" of organised crime.

As early as 2000, RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli warned this "monster" was threatening to destabilise Canada's parliamentary system.

'Pay the price'

But police insist tougher sentences, not legalisation of cannabis, is what is needed.

This argument is echoed by the new Ottawa government, though it says it will take advice before formulating a detailed drugs policy. It argues any resultant increase in spending on tougher law enforcement will be offset by lower spending on the social problems caused by drug abuse.

"Parents and police officers agree the last thing we need is more drugs on the streets," says the Ministry of Justice's acting communications director Patrick Charette.

"There has been a huge inconsistency in the application of the law - whether you're caught with a joint in a small rural community or downtown Vancouver, you'll get [a different] reaction from the police...

"Rather than simplifying and having a more relaxed approach, we think you need to enforce the law and make sure those caught with drugs and producing drugs pay the price."

Great Spirit Reviewed by Great Spirit on 03-20-2006. Canada's growing "marijuana problem" Marijuana has always been and is here to stay!!! They can try all they want to eliminate this natural wonder of God but they will never succeed! It's the same thing as saying "the sun causes cancer! lets block it or destroy it!" If marijuana really caused all the problems prohibitionists say it does...then Amsterdam and Vancouver should be blood baths...but they're not! The people in Canada are just slightly more enlightened and tolerant. Rating: 5

[mfactor420]

Excellent post, Great Spirit. Not that I am NDP, but if us CDN. smokers want it legalized, we'd better get the Conservatives out and the NDP in. They're our best chance.:thumbsup:

Although, with a minority govt. I wonder just how much the Conservatives can accomplish. I still don't understand why marijuana is so big for RCMP when assholes are running arounmd collecting child porn and getting dick shit for sentences.

[Sinsemilla Jones]

tend to get the least notice on the Cannabis.com Politics board.

I don't suppose it's the fact that the U.S. Democratic and Republican Parties, that most folks around here support, favor the War on People who use the wrong drugs.



Anyway, what the fuck happened to the NDP?!

Why did folks who voted Liberal, not turn to the NDP rather than the Conservatives, when the Liberals proved corrupt?
Wouldn't a pissed off Liberal have more in common with the NDP than the Conservatives?
:question:

Interested Americans would love to know!
:stoned::smokin:imp::rasta:

[mfactor420]

In large part, it is the fault of the media who only report on 2 parties (kind of American, eh?) the Conservatives and Liberals. Then comes the NDP and then the Green Party. The Greens have been fighting for years to get proper recognition in leader debates, etc. So far, unsucessfully.

Unfortunately, corporate sector has too much influence in who gets elected. Right now, corporations want a party that will toe the line with USA admin. Liberals weren't it. Neither is NDP. Think drug war. Greens will never be it with corporations because Greens would radically change our economic system in favour of an environmentally friendly, sustainable economy not mass consumptive economy which we have now. Corporations fear this method because of speculated lost profits.

Well, with the current minority govt. it is only a matter of time (the sooner the better) before the Conservatives suffer a vote of no confidence and a new election must be undertaken. Maybe then we can all consider voting NDP. But I doubt much will change.

[Sinsemilla Jones]

It's discouraging that even with a base in the teens (around 15%, right?), that the media can still play that ignore them except to say they can't win game. Nader was considered a threat down here in 2000 by just breaking into the low single digits, so the media apparently made a pact to ignore him and the other 3rd parties even more in 2004.


But with 50% favoring decrim in Canada, 40% for decrim and 70% for medmj in the US, it's time for voters to grow some balls where their brains are. It's not as if the media and the government are going to follow you into the voting booth and arrest you for not voting for the establishment. Yet.


Marc Emery's willing to serve hard time in the U.S., Loretta Nall's willing to run for Governor of Alabama for the U.S. Marijuana Party, Christopher Seekins is willing to paint a big marijuana leaf on the side of his house!


All we got to do is vote for our own best interests.
How hard is that?

[eg420ne]

We cant do anything about this problem until we can get them damn demopublicans out of CONgress and the CorporateWhiteHouse....And theres still people on this board who beLIEves everything the government tells em. so the governments right- we the people are wrong, just shut up, stop bitchin and heed your governments call and join the army, marines, navy, air force, border patrol, tsa..and if you cant do that then head towards the nearest FEMA camp...........:thumbsup:

[mfactor420]

We cant do anything about this problem until we can get them damn demopublicans out of CONgress and the CorporateWhiteHouse....And theres still people on this board who beLIEves everything the government tells em. so the governments right- we the people are wrong, just shut up, stop bitchin and heed your governments call and join the army, marines, navy, air force, border patrol, tsa..and if you cant do that then head towards the nearest FEMA camp...........:thumbsup:

Hold the phone!! I could have sworn we were talking about Canadian politics here. But, what you say about CorporateWhiteHouse etc. fits Canadians too as we get pulverized by American culture.

[eg420ne]

Yes i know i was talking about us politic since this is were im at and canada's system wont change until the USA change...

[Sinsemilla Jones]

US Fed Law trumps not only Cali but Canada!


So, the U.S. gets Marc Emery, but what does Canada get?

I guess Canada gets to keep on getting our excess imports of cheap cocaine.


Anyway, welcome to the Union!

[Great Spirit]

I am sorry to say, but Canada is effectivly the 51st US state. The US's GDP is over $13 trillion! Canada just has about $1 trillion, but bear in mind that Canada's existence is pretty much dependant on the US as over a billion dollars in trade occurs between both nations every day. They hardly have a military and they are protected by the US, because the US needs their resources too!

However, I view Canada as a North American Europe because they are by far more equated with Europe than the US is. They have French and English cultures. They have a constitutional monarchy which is very ancient and still around. In fact, there has never been a time in Canada's history where there was no monarchy!

But most of all, Canada is peaceful and far more tolerant than its fascist southern neighbors, Amerika. They never complained about not having "freedom". The Amerikans bitched because they didn't want to pay fucken taxes! Shit I would rather pay taxes, than fight a war.

And remember during the war of 1812, Amerika did try to invade Canada, but the British forces which were mostly Canadian militia defeated the Amerikans! So don't say Canada could never beat the US in a war...they already did! If we won, the US would be the largest nation. Maybe in a parallel universe it is like that. Who knows.