Canada Pot Decrim... American views

[JoxterTheMighty]

I am interested in what board members are thinking about the recent legislation in Canada. An Ottowa court recently struck down a marajuana law which has had the effect of making pot legal in that provence. The Canada legislature is also looking at a bill that would decriminalize small amounts but make penaltys even harsher than current laws for growers.

As an American I am keenly interested to see if our neighbors up north can escape the crazy war on drugs, if they can then it will give me hope for our own citizenry.

-Joxter-

More Info (possibly NSFW) (http://www.pot-tv.net/archive/shows/pottvshowse-1987.html)

[Ed]

Originally posted by JoxterTheMighty
I am interested in what board members are thinking about the recent legislation in Canada. An Ottowa court recently struck down a marajuana law which has had the effect of making pot legal in that provence. The Canada legislature is also looking at a bill that would decriminalize small amounts but make penaltys even harsher than current laws for growers.

As an American I am keenly interested to see if our neighbors up north can escape the crazy war on drugs, if they can then it will give me hope for our own citizenry.

-Joxter-

More Info (possibly NSFW) (http://www.pot-tv.net/archive/shows/pottvshowse-1987.html)

Why don't you go to my drug war thread and expound on your views?

[JoxterTheMighty]

Originally posted by Ed


Why don't you go to my drug war thread and expound on your views?

I did :D

i am wanting to get more info on a specific issue though. Canada is getting close to decriminalizing cannibus and I am wanting to know from Americans (or anyone else for that matter) how they think it will effect them. If decrim is sucessful I will be planning a vacation to Vancouver for some nice BC bud as will a large number of Americans. Canada could get a lot more tourist dollars from this as long as they do it right. The current proposal is a bit lopsided and I really dont want it to pass because it decriminalizes small amounts for possesion but doubles the fines for growers. Too much of a mixed signal and I believe bowing to pressures from the American gov.

-Joxter-

[Segnosaur]

I'm not familiar with any court challenge where they ruled Marijuana was legal. Do you have a 'safe for work' reference? I did a little searching and the best I found was some judge who threw out charges for a 16 year old kid on posession, but that was a while ago.

Now, Ottawa did pass a law 'decriminalizing' posession, but they went though great pains to explain that 'decriminialization was not the same as legalization' and people found with small amounts could still be fined.

Now, the government passed that law, but not everyone supported the bill. Not only did some of our opposition parties oppose the bill, many of the government's own members did too. (They saw it as a prime minister trying to force a law to become 'famous' before he leaves politics, knowing he won't be around to defend it in the next election.)

The day the bill was passed, they had an interview with a government member, and an opposition member on the radio. In that type of situation, you'd expect each person to take opposite view points, but strangely enough, both sides agreed the bill was a bad idea. Some notes from the radio (sorry, doing this from memory)...
- The issue of driving while impared was a big concern, since we don't have legally defined tests
- One reason that people like to give for decriminalizing is that they don't want people stuck with a criminal record for something they may have done 'years ago'. But, (and I didn't know this at the time), there was already a 'review' process in place; after a set amount of time, people convicted of possession could apply to have their records cleared so they wouldn't be stuck with a criminal record for the rest of their life

[c0rbin]

As soon as any law like that passes through the books in Canada I am opening a bed and breakfast!

:cool:

[JoxterTheMighty]

Safe for work link (http://www.pot-tv.net/archive/shows/pottvshowse-1972.html)

In a much anticipated ruling, Justice Steve Rogin has today upheld the judgment of an Ontario court judge which dismissed a marihuana possession charge against a 16 year old youth. The Jauary 2, 2003 ruling of Justice Phillips of the Ontario Court of Justice received nationwide attention in finding that there was, effectively, no longer a valid law criminalizing the possession of marihuana. The Crown immediately appealed that decision. Since that time, hundreds of marihuana possession prosecutions in Ontario have been on hold awaiting the outcome of the appeal. Marc talks to Lawyer Brian McCallister who brought the case through the courts.

-Joxter-

[Tony]

You want an american opinion on how we think (hope:)) this will effect us?


Today, canada. Tomorrow, Texas, bring on the legal weed!! :D :D

[KelvinG]

I'm actually thinking that decriminalizing pot could be more harmful than good, at least here in Vancouver.
Possesion of small amounts of pot has been virtually overlooked here for a number of years. I don't think anyone has been arrested in years for possesion. Smoking pot is generally accepted.
However, since decriminalization means pot possesion would no longer be a criminal offense, but would result in a fine, the cops could go for a money grab by fining everyone in sight who is caught smoking pot.
It's a lot easier to fine someone rather than arrest them.
Hopefully nothing will change, and simple possesion will continue to be overlooked.

[Crossbow]

I expect the Canadian Legislature is essentially codifying an long accepted practice.

When I was in Vancouver many years ago I was surprised to see people at bus stops and such openly smoking joints and watching the police cars just roll on by without even slowing down.

I was talking to a couple of American police officers and they said basically the same thing, they really do not care about busting someone for having one or two joints on them, it is just not worth all of the paperwork. Instead, if the see the person smoking in public, they will just confiscate the joint and tell the person something like "Do not let us see you do this sort of thing again." The real message being, if you want to smoke, then smoke in private and you will not be troubled by the cops.

[Frostbite]

This is all a big f*cking joke. The thing is, before the legislation, cops wouldn't do anything else but confiscate a joint or tell you to throw it away. Now, they'll fine you.

[Jon_in_london]

I knew some people in South Africa a long time ago- I was qquite young and still a school boy and they were college students and liked to smoke it up, this was during aparthied when the SA police were not people to be trifled with

Anyway, these students all got arrested by this greenhorn constable who made a really big deal of everything- kept them in jail overnight. Then his superior came in, turfed them all out told them to bugger the hell off while tearing strips out of the junior PC for wasting his time.

My 5 cents.

[Lemastre]

The entire war on drugs is a huge waste of manpower and money and will never do away with drugs and their use. The alternative seems to be to legalize drug possession and use and to regulate production and distribution in a way that discourages criminal elements here and abroad from finding the U.S. trade attractive. Specifically, I see little difference between our situations with marijuana and alcohol.

[Questioninggeller]

I think it is good. If people want to smoke away their brains for an "altered" state of reality let them. It should be taxed if it is solved, which won't matter because people will grow it themselves.