The Canadian cannabis community has always had distinctly different, some say very divided, types of cannabis consumers generally labelled as recreational, medical, activist and advocate.
Rabid prohibitionist Pamela McColl breaks the law with her efforts to force police to punish people involved in cannabis community activities. When her relentless complaints to Vancouver Police Department about non profit medical cannabis organizations selling medical cannabis products in Vancouver BC were ignored she branch out to the RCMP and even other provinces. Medical cannabis organizations in Edmonton, Saskatoon, Halifax, Nanaimo, Vernon and likely others have been raided by the RCMP to close down these organizations.
Dec. 3 quote and letter from attorney Kirk Tousaw to rabid prohibitionist Pamela McColl from Smart Approaches to Marijuana Canada
Kirk Tousaw criminal defence lawyer, B.A., LL.B., wrote
“My letter of today’s date to Ms. Pamela McColl regarding Duncan Dabfest.”
Liberal Party of Canada Justin Trudeau
will be the 23 PM in Canada leading with a majority government!
Finally legalization!
So much destruction for so long can now come to an end!
The oldest Canadian cannabis drug policy reform organization (1978) NORML Canada with people volunteering like President John Conroy QC, Vice President Alan Young LLB (Osgoode) & LLM, Executive Director Craig Jones PhD, along with other dedicated volunteers will continue to encourage the Liberals to ensure reasonable access for all adults and for children with health care recommendation for medical access.
Similar to the current beer and wine regulations. Adults are now allowed to produce beer or wine at home and share freely with adult family, friends and neighbours. Any adult can currently open a beer or wine producing business and many do compete successfully even with big corporations as competition.
NORML Canada President John Conroy QC October 20, 2015 statement.
I write to advise that yesterday the citizens of Canada elected the Liberal Party of Canada and gave them a whopping majority government of over 180 seats in Parliament. As part of their election campaign they promised to “legalize” cannabis and to do it right away.
The NDP is the third-party and it obtained 40 seats. “Decriminalization” was part of its campaign and right away.
The Conservatives were defeated, but will form the opposition with about 100 seats.
In other words, we have about 230 votes or more(out of a total of about 338) in favor of legalization or decriminalization in the current Parliament so this time, it should happen.
Stay tuned!!
John W. Conroy QC
Conroy & Company Barrister & Solicitor www.johnconroy.com
Justin Trudeau said. “And our worries are that the current hypercontrolled approach around medical marijuana that actually removes from individuals the capacity to grow their own is not going in the right direction. It neither respects freedom or the kind of care that people need.”
Liberal Party of Canada legalize marijuana petition
Keep marijuana out of our kids’ hands
FACT: Kids have easy access to pot. It’s time to regulate and legalize marijuana.
Sign the petition here if you agree.
Keith
Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ)
Interview with Dr. Sheryl Spithoff, addiction medicine specialist and family physician at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto. In a CMAJ analysis article, Dr. Spithoff and colleagues look at policies in jurisdictions where cannabis has already been legalized. A Canadian government formed after October 2015 may move away from prohibitionist policies and create a legal framework for cannabis. If so, public health promotion and protection must be the primary goals.
SoundCloud audio interview with Dr. Sheryl Spithoff here
Full article (subscription required): www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.150657
CBC News – Marijuana prohibition can do more harm than good, doctors tell federal parties
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Federal election 2015 – elections.ca
More on vote and election topics.
The Council of Canadians – Youth pledge: I will vote!
Proportional Representation – fairvote.ca
Scientists speak out against false cannabis claims
Leading international scientific body reviews thirteen oft-repeated claims on cannabis use and regulation, finds that none are strongly supported by scientific evidence
ICSDP reviews thirteen oft-repeated claims on cannabis use and regulation and finds that none are strongly supported by scientific evidence
Dr. Dan Werb wins inaugural $1.5 million Avenir Award from US National Institute on Drug Abuse and is named Director of the ICSDP
At the United Nations in New York, the ICSDP shares scientific evidence suggesting that prohibition has been ineffective at protecting youth
CTVNEWS.CA – Fact check: Harper’s statements on illegal drugs
Today decriminalize is nothing more then a net widening effect for the police. The decriminalize option might have been better received in 1972 when the Le Dain Commission Report was released in 1972.
Since 1972 there has been a larger number of real evidence based drug policy studies found prohibition type drug policies have failed miserable and to end prohibition drug polices which will reduce the harms created by decades of failed prohibition based drug policies.
September 2002 Senate Report on Cannabis: Our Position for a Canadian Public Policy http://norml.ca/senate-report/ and more recently in October 2014 Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) released yet a another evidence based study called Cannabis Framework Policy. http://camh.ca/en/hospital/about_camh/influencing_public_policy/Documents/CAMHCannabisPolicyFramework.pdf
The CAMH study like so many other past evidence based drug policy studies(1) conclusions lead to prohibition of cannabis is a seriously flawed drug control policy. Legalizing cannabis will not only greatly reduce harm to our families and communities but will allow for a much safer way to actually have some control with regulations.
No need to reinvent the wheel either. Copy the beer and wine regulations. Selling on a commercial level the products provided are regulated the same as beer and wine are now. The regulations allow people to produce their own beer and wine while also providing for private for profit businesses to sell regulated products produced in a regulated commercial facility.
Advertising in the media shouldn’t be allowed. Stop allowing alcohol advertising would also help reduce the harm caused from irresponsible use of alcohol products.
Hyper over regulation and or taxation is not the answer either if we really want to gain more control. Avoiding over regulation and or taxation will help reduce the violent criminal gangs current complete control of the cannabis market.
Educate with only evidence based facts starting with cannabis is a safer recreational drug then alcohol, coffee and many other currently legal substances.
Then use the huge amount of law enforcement resources that would become available to be more proactive in stopping crimes then just reactive after people have become victims of harm from another. Colorado has shown huge increase of tax revenue, a reduction in crime and law enforcement costs.
(1)
Canadian Drug Policy Coalition Getting To Tomorrow: A Report on Canadian Drug Policy – 2013 http://drugpolicy.ca/progress/getting-to-tomorrow/
The report of the RSA Commission on Illegal Drugs, Communities and Public Policy. Final report: Drugs facing facts – March 2007
http://www.rsadrugscommission.org/
Canadian Public Health Association 2007 Resolutions
http://www.cpha.ca/uploads/resolutions/2007_e.pdf
The Fraser Institute – Vancouver B.C. Marijuana Growth in British Columbia – May 2004
http://www.fraserinstitute.org/commerce.web/product_files/Marijuana.pdf
Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs – 2002
http://norml.ca/senate-report/
The Le Dain Commission Report 1972
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/ledain/ldctoc.html
Nixon’s Shaffer Commission report March 1970
http://www.druglibrary.org/Schaffer/Library/studies/nc/ncmenu.htm
The La Guardia Committee Report – 1944
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/lag/lagmenu.htm
Media stories:
Marijuana should be legalized with strict controls to curb its use and social harms, the Toronto-based Centre for Addiction and Mental Health says.
CBC News October 9, 2014
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/camh-calls-for-legalization-of-marijuana-1.2793460
The Inside Agenda Blog
CAMH Backs Legalized Marijuana
Sandra Gionas, October 9, 2014
http://theagenda.tvo.org/blog/agenda-blogs/camh-backs-legalized-marijuana
THC limited to only 3%! CBD, CBN and other compounds no limits!
What evidence does Health Canada use to make this the best decision for the safety of Canadian’s health?
Health Canada Statement
news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?mthd=tp&crtr.page=1&nid=997359&crtr.tp1D=980
CTV
ctvnews.ca/health/cannabis-oil-fresh-marijuana-now-available-in-wake-of-top-court-decision-1.2459526
CBC
cbc.ca/news/politics/medical-marijuana-producers-ok-d-to-produce-sell-oil-and-fresh-buds-1.3143105
In a unanimous Supreme Court of Canada R. v. Smith decision released Thursday, June 11, 2015. The current rules prevent people with a legitimate need for medical marijuana from choosing a method of ingestion that avoids the potential harms of smoking it.
He was the bold, independent Conservative Senator who chaired the important 2002 Senate Report on Cannabis.
CANNABIS:
OUR POSITION FOR A CANADIAN PUBLIC POLICY
REPORT OF THE SENATE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ILLEGAL DRUGS
Chairman: Pierre Claude Nolin
Deputy Chairman: Colin Kenny
SEPTEMBER 2002
http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/371/ille/rep/summary-e.htm
Quotes from the 2002 Canadian Senate report
“Cannabis: Our Position for a Canadian Public Policy”
On Users and Uses:
• Close to 30% of the population has used cannabis at least once.
• Cannabis itself is not a cause of other drug use.
• Cannabis use can be a gateway because it is illegal, which puts users in contact with other substances.
• Cannabis itself is not a cause of delinquency and crime.
• Cannabis is not a cause of violence.
On Effects and Consequences:
• The Committee concludes that the state of knowledge supports the belief that, for the vast majority of recreational users, cannabis use presents no harmful consequences for physical, psychological or social well- being in either the short or the long term.
On the Historical Context of Prohibition:
• Early legislation was largely based on a moral panic, racist sentiment and a notorious absence of debate.
• When cannabis was included in the international conventions in 1925, there was no knowledge of its effects.
• The international classifications of drugs are arbitrary and do not reflect the level of danger those substances represent to health or to society.
• Canada should inform the international community of the conclusions of our report and officially request the declassification of cannabis and its derivatives.
On Medical Marijuana and the Federal Government:
• The MMAR (Medical Marijuana Access Regulations) are not providing a compassionate framework for access to marijuana for therapeutic purposes and are unduly restricting the availability of marijuana to patients who may receive health benefits from its use.
On Police Practices:
• Annual costs for drug enforcement in Canada can be estimated at between $700 million and $1 billion.
• Cannabis was involved in 70% of the approximately 50,000 charges in 1999. In 43% of cases (21,381), the charge was for possession of cannabis.
• The uneven application of the law is of great concern and may lead to discriminatory enforcement, alienation of certain groups within society, and creation of an atmosphere of disrespect for the law; in general, it raises the issue of fairness and justice.
On Prevention:
• Prevention strategies in schools should not be led by police services or delivered by police officers.
• The RCMP should reconsider its choice of the DARE program.
• Harm reduction strategies related to cannabis should be developed in coordination with educators and the social services sector.
On Treatment:
• Physical dependency on cannabis is virtually non-existent.
• Psychological dependency is moderate and is certainly lower than that for nicotine or alcohol.
• Most regular users of cannabis are able to diverge from a trajectory of dependency without requiring treatment.
• As a rule, treatment is more effective and less costly than a prison sentence.
On Current Practices:
• We estimate the cost of enforcing the drug laws to be closer to $1-1.5 billion per annum.
• The principal public policy cost relative to cannabis is law enforcement and the justice system; we estimate this to represent a total of $300-$500 million per annum.
• The costs of externalities attributable to cannabis are probably minimal (no deaths, few hospitalizations, and very little loss of productivity).
• The costs of public policy on cannabis are disproportionately high given the drug’s social and health consequences.