legalize – Dopechef Media

What Do The Marijuana Laws Mean?

Dopechef — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 04:31:06 +0000

POT TV – Criminal lawyer Chris Lavier of the Saskatoon Criminal Defence Lawyers Association joins CTV in Saskatchewan to help explain Canada’s current marijuana laws.

See more marijuana-related reports from the mainstream media on Pot TV.

Video source Pot TV

Cannabis Throne Speech

Dopechef — Sun, 13 Dec 2015 00:02:24 +0000

Canada Commits to Legal Cannabis in Throne Speech

Canada’s new Liberal government committed to cannabis legalisation in its speech from the throne delivered by Gov. Gen. David Johnston Friday

Video by CannabiFile

The throne Of Canada : will move ahead with marijuana legalization and regulation in Canada.

Speech from the throne confirms Liberal government will move ahead with marijuana legalization and regulation in Canada.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdsTVo8rqJg

Canada to Legalize Marijuana Under Justin Trudeau

Canada has pledged to legalize marijuana in a speech delivered to parliament by governor general David Johnston, which reiterated prime minister Justin Trudeau’s plan to legalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. Would legalizing marijuana fix a “failed system” and help remove the “criminal element” linked to the drug? Watch it on the Lip News with Nik Zecevic and Margaret Howell.

Video by The Lip TV

Trudeau’s Pot Plan “Legalize, Regulate and Restrict Access”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3lXfByH7as

Canada’s true head of state, the Governor General breifly explains Canada’s marijuana legalization plan.

Liberal CFO could rake in marijuana money with legalization
http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/10/28/l…

Video source Terry Wilson

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet makes it clear he still plans on legalizing marijuana in Canada.

Video by Newsy

Le cannabis bientôt légalisé au Canada

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsnL8DSIQr4

Video by BFMTV

Liberal government’s throne speech promises to legalize, regulate, restrict pot

A police officer holds a handful of seized marijuana during a presentation to journalists at a police station in Cali, Colombia. (AP / Carlos Julio Martinez)

Bruce Cheadle, The Canadian Press
Published Saturday, December 5, 2015 11:47AM EST

OTTAWA — It has taken more than 40 years but the government of Canada is finally formally committing to legalizing marijuana.

Gov. Gen. David Johnston delivered the governing priorities of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals in the speech from the throne Friday, including a pledge to “legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana.”

The Liberals promised to legalize pot more than a year ago, prompting a months-long barrage of Conservative attack ads in multiple languages that asserted the move would make marijuana readily available to children through sales at corner stores.

The scare tactics failed to avert a Liberal majority government when Canadians went to the polls on Oct. 19.

Yet amid a flood of priorities from the highly activist Liberals, no one seemed absolutely certain marijuana legalization would make the cut.

But there it was Friday, in a section of the throne speech headlined “Security and Opportunity” — some 43 years after a federal inquiry headed by Gerald Le Dain recommended in 1972 that Canada stop prosecuting people for simple possession and cultivation of cannabis.

“The actual perception of harm of cannabis is now so different from that which the law would suggest, that any change in the law could only be recognized as a belated recognition of the facts,” the commission reported — four decades ago.

Donald MacPherson, the director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition at Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addictions, called Friday’s throne speech “a groundbreaking day.”

Decriminalization or legalization is being discussed “in virtually every country where cannabis is being used,” MacPherson said in an interview from Kelowna, B.C., adding Canada’s policy move has been called for by public health practitioners and is long overdue.

He said pot usage rates by Canadian youth are “through the roof” and a policy of smart regulation to restrict access is worth a try.

“We can’t do worse than we’re doing now.”

Lawyer Alan Young, a longtime advocate of legalizing marijuana, said the most compelling argument against legalization was the potentially harsh reaction by Canada’s biggest trading partner, the United States, but American public opinion and policy have moved so far in the past decade that caution is no longer needed.

Canada’s pot prohibition has been “imposing an enormous burden on a criminal justice system that is already over-extended,” said the Osgoode Hall law professor.

Young has been advocating a policy shift for more than 30 years and says he’s been let down by governments before, but believes this time the law will change, having discussed the matter directly with Trudeau when the Liberals were first formulating their policy.

“But I don’t want to paint Justin Trudeau as a hero, because he’s come in at an easy point when the U.S. has backed off” on its war on drugs, said Young.

Pot activist Jody Emery called the throne speech a “fantastic” acknowledgment of the failure of prohibition.

But she said the heavy regulatory approach that seems to be emphasized in the Liberal approach is unnecessary and counterproductive.

She and her husband Marc Emery, Canada’s self-styled Prince of Pot, will be calling on Trudeau to announce a moratorium on marijuana arrests while they develop the details of their legalized pot policy.

Article by CTV News

Logistics of legalized marijuana

Dopechef — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 16:52:52 +0000

CTV Toronto Logistics of legalized marijuana

John Musselman reports on what the federal government’s promise to legalize marijuana could mean for Toronto.

Video source Pot TV

Video source CTV News Toronto

LCBO should have marijuana monopoly, too: Union

Government-run weed stores are not necessary, reply marijuana advocates, after OPSEU boss suggests keeping it in state hands following legalization.

By: Torstar News Service Published on Tue Nov 24 2015

Stocking weed alongside wine at the LCBO is the best way to protect public health, say addiction experts. But for marijuana advocates it’s more of the same prohibition.

In a statement released Monday, the union representing LCBO workers said the provincially owned stores are the ideal place to sell marijuana, should the federal government legalize it.

“If they do legalize it, then it’s a drug,” Warren (Smokey) Thomas told Torstar. “So we think that, like alcohol, it should be controlled.”

Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, said secure warehouses and staff trained to check ages are some of the reasons the LCBO should be the sole source of legal pot in the province, as it is with most alcohol.

The scheme would also generate revenue for the government to combat the potential social costs. But marijuana advocates say those social costs and the spectre of public danger are overblown, and government-run sales would continue a prohibitionist regulatory approach.

“Our view of course has always been that marijuana is one of the safest drugs. It’s not any worse, slightly better, than coffee,” said Blair Longley, the leader of the federal Marijuana Party.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals won this fall’s election with an campaign platform promising to “legalize, regulate, and restrict access to marijuana.” However, Longley maintains the drug should be proportionately restricted based on its danger. So ideally, he said, anyone should be free to grow and use the plant how she wishes with the informed consent as to any danger.

Hugo St-Onge, leader of Quebec’s Bloc Pot party agrees that government stores are not the way forward.

“We need to stop comparing marijuana to alcohol,” he said. “Marijuana should have its own model, its own system.”

He prefers a food-model regulatory system, with sales done in a similar fashion to Amsterdam’s cafés.

Dr. Benedikt Fischer is a senior scientist in the social and epidemiological research department at CAMH. The organization released a legalization framework in 2014 that called for a government monopoly on marijuana sales and distribution.

“We believe that it’s the safest and most predictable system that will work toward the interests of public health,” Fischer told the Star.

He added government control is needed to keep private interests at bay.

When it comes to alcohol sales, commercialization associated with private sales “is associated with increases in levels of use” according to Rebecca Jesseman with the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA).

“Cannabis is not a benign substance,” said Jesseman, a senior policy adviser. “We want to make sure any regulatory approach we take is evidence-based and is implemented in such a way as to reduce the risks and harms associated with use.”

Thomas conceded there’s “a million questions to answer” about legalizing marijuana and he’d like to see all experts at the table. “I’ll make sure our union is part of that debate, because I think we’ve got something to offer.”

Provincial Finance Minister Charles Sousa told reporters Monday that with the feds just starting the process, the discussion was premature at Queen’s Park. “But we are of course willing to participate in those discussions moving forward,” Sousa said.

For its part, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario said in an emailed statement that any decisions would follow an official decision from both levels of government and it is not making any pitch on its own accord.

“Nonmedicinal marijuana is not currently legally sold and it would be up to federal authorities to decriminalize recreational marijuana. Should that occur LCBO would take direction from the provincial government as to any role for LCBO in the retailing of such,” said LCBO spokesperson Keeley Rogers.

Article source Metro Toronto

Amnesty for Pot Convicts

Dopechef — Thu, 28 May 2015 03:19:45 +0000

#WWJVD: Amnesty for Pot Convicts | Jesse Ventura Off The Grid – Ora TV

This week on Off the Grid, Jesse Ventura discusses why pot convicts should be granted amnesty. Tune in to this all new segment of #WWJVD to find out just how many people have been locked up for marijuana related incidents. The numbers are outrageous. Do you agree with the Governor?

LIKE “Jesse Ventura” on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/jesseventura

FOLLOW Jesse Ventura on Twitter & Comment on the show using #OffTheGrid
https://twitter.com/GovJVentura

Video source Off the Grid – Ora TV

How to introduce people to legal pot

Dopechef — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 05:23:34 +0000

Thom Hartmann talks with Dr. Malik Burnett, MD, Policy Manager, Office of National Affairs-Drug Policy Alliance, Website: www.drugpolicy.org, about marijuana legalization in Washington, DC and the positive health benefits of cannabis.

Video source Thom Hartmann show

Pot is the Gateway to Prison?

Thom Hartmann interviews Dr. Malik Burnett, MD, Policy Manager, Office of National Affairs-Drug Policy Alliance
Website: www.drugpolicy.org

Washington D.C. legalized weed

Dopechef — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 15:54:40 +0000

Marijuana Officially Legal in Washington, D.C. (For Now)

D.C. residents can now be in possession of two ounces of weed while city officials and Congress still haggle over the word “enact”

By Daniel Kreps | February 26, 2015

As of Midnight Thursday, marijuana is now legal in Washington, D.C. However, how long weed stays decriminalized in the nation’s capital remains to be seen. After Washington D.C. residents voted in support of legal pot this past Election Day, Congress attempted to block the bill by attaching preventative measures in an unrelated $1.1 trillion spending deal. However, the definition of the word “enact” gave D.C. officials a loophole in their pursuit to decriminalize weed, and as of 12:01 a.m., pot is legal there unless Congress steps up efforts to stop it.

While other states with legalized weed only allow citizens to be in possession of an ounce of weed, Washington, D.C. doubles that amount with a two-ounce max. Anything over that quantity will result in a $1,000 fine and a potential jail sentence. D.C. residents can also own up to six marijuana plants, but to discourage selling, only three can be budding. Like Alaska, Colorado and Washington, residents can also gift an ounce of weed to a fellow resident, but selling it is still illegal. Like the other pro-pot states, driving under the influence of marijuana and smoking pot in public are against the law, ABC News reports.

As the Washington Post writes, officials in Washington, D.C. argue that Congress’ actions didn’t stop their marijuana bill from passing. Instead, because of Congress’ demand that no money be spent attempting to “enact” the pot bill, all Congress did was prevent city officials from working on a plan for the sale and taxation of the legal marijuana, a process that took over a year in dispensary-happy states like Washington and Colorado. (The Post adds that city officials could face jail time by simply discussing a pot plan during office hours.) As of now, marijuana is simply legal in Washington, D.C. without any plan to cultivate its economic stimulus.

From Congress’ point of view, the decriminalized weed in Washington, D.C. is in strict opposition to the language they tacked on to the spending bill and therefore still illegal in the District of Columbia. Unfortunately for Congress, D.C. Metro police answer only to city officials, who have said that marijuana is legal in the capital.

Article source Rolling Stone

Pot Debate: 2 Chainz vs. Nancy Grace

Dopechef — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 20:06:32 +0000

Nancy Grace Battles 2 Chainz over Pot: Think of the Children

On Nancy Grace‘s show tonight, the rapper 2 Chainz made some very sensible arguments about legalizing marijuana and how it would be less of a burden on the economy and the criminal justice system. Grace’s response was to shout at him about the children. HLN’s Nancy Grace talks to hip-hop artist 2 Chainz about the legalization of marijuana.

Video source HLN/CNN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeZKQYz0wjQ

Infographic: Legal weed’s consequences

Dopechef — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 13:18:56 +0000

Infographic: Legal weed’s consequences

Six months later, how have recreational pot shops affected Colorado?

Sam Bollier and Sam Koebrich

Viewing this from your mobile? Click here

Article source Al Jazeera

Superbowl of Legalized Cannabis

Dopechef — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 22:13:06 +0000

A Superior Superbowl

CANNABIS CULTURE – As the “Pack a Bowl” pits Washington against Colorado on the gridiron, people still think marijuana legalization will weaken the US workforce.By Ellen Komp, Cannabis Culture – Monday, January 20 2014

Even as Northern Californians were rooting for the San Francisco 49ers in their playoff game against Seattle on Sunday, a few were secretly hoping that this year’s Super Bowl match-up would be from the two states that have legalized marijuana: Washington and Colorado. Stoners got their wish when the Denver Broncos defeated the Patriots and Seattle’s Seahawks bested the 49ers.

The great irony is that even as excellence and liberalism demonstrably can co-exist, politicians and pundits are hand-wringing over pot legalization and what it will mean for the US workforce.

First, the newly Americanized woman who takes down every magazine she works for – Tina Brown – tweeted, “legal weed contributes to us being a fatter, dumber, sleepier nation even less able to compete with the Chinese.”

Then, California Governor Jerry Brown told the Washington Post, “I do think America’s under a certain amount of competitive pressure. … So I think we have to stay alert and heads up. I don’t know if everybody’s going to pot that that’s going to be a positive path forward.”

But is that true? A recent article in Time magazine asked, “China makes everything. Why can’t it create anything?” pointing out, “Many of the products China manufactures today aren’t really Chinese at all. Apple iPads might be exported from assembly lines based in China, but the Chinese themselves do little more than piece them together.”

Walter Isaacson’s authorized biography of Apple founder Steve Jobs, published in 2011, documents Jobs’s use of marijuana and LSD in his youth. Isaacson, who also wrote biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein, called Jobs “a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing. … In August 2011, right before he stepped down as CEO, the enterprise he started in his parents’ garage became the world’s most valuable company.”

Isaacson adds, “At a time when the United States is seeking ways to sustain its innovative edge, and when societies around the world are trying to build creative digital-age economies, Jobs stands as the ultimate icon of inventiveness, imagination, and sustained innovation. He knew that the best way to create value in the twenty-first century was to connect creativity with technology, so he built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with remarkable feats of engineering. He and his colleagues at Apple were able to think differently.”

Bill Gates also indulged in pot and LSD, and Silicon Valley remains high on pot, and innovation. When our other pot-friendly and productive industry, based in Hollywood, took on Jobs, the actor chosen to play him was Aston Kutcher, the stoner/jock from “That 70s Show.”

Meanwhile, prosecutor-turned-TV-host Nancy Grace has practically been foaming at the mouth over the issue, so much so that Saturday Night Lives poofed her this weekend. Grace called cannabis consumers “lethargic, sitting on the sofa eating chips. Pot, it makes you fat and lazy.” She recounted a story of a stockbroker she’d seen in court who “got addicted to pot” and lost her job, home and family.

Meanwhile on Wall Street, Merrill Lynch circulated a memo recommending junior staffers take off at least four weekend days a month, a move that was necessary because young people are working nonstop (even as 22% of 18-24-year-old men report they’ve smoked pot on the job in the past week). The sad part about Leonardo’s post-Gatsby movie The Wolf of Wall Street is that he had to tell people it’s meant to criticize, not glorify. Maybe that’s because the fictional Gatsby is punished for his excesses that lead to Black Friday and the great depression, but today’s Wolfs are still on the loose.

When LeBron James admitted is his 2009 autobiography that he’d tried marijuana, he completed the triumvirate of MVPs (football, baseball, and basketball) who told all they’d toked that year, the same one top-Olympian-ever Michael Phelps admitted he’d hit the bong too. The world’s fastest man on land, Usain Bolt, also smoked pot in his youth.

Conservative Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker asks us to “Give marijuana smokers a little leeway,” writing, “let’s stop pretending that pot consumers are nefarious denizens of the underworld. Among those who enjoy a recreational smoke are the folks selling you a house, golfing on the ninth hole and probably an editor or two here and there.”

Add to that, innovators, business scions, and sports champions.

Ellen Komp is Deputy Director of California NORML and a regular contributor toCannabis Culture. She manages the website VeryImportantPotheads.comand blogs at Tokin Woman.

Article source CannabisCulture.com

First Bong Bowl? Matchup highlights NFL’s pot stance

20 states have legalized medical marijuana. But NFL players who live there can’t use pot.

Jolie Lee, USA TODAY Network // 12:20 p.m. EST January 20, 2014

Bong Bowl. Reefer Bowl. Stoner Bowl. These names are emerging leading up to this year’s Super Bowl matchup between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks.

Colorado and Washington are the only two states with legalized recreational marijuana in the country.

Despite marijuana’s growing legalization — medical marijuana is legal in 20 states, plus D.C. — the National Football League bans marijuana use for all its players, even if they live in those states.

TIMELINE: Marijuana, tobacco policy: How times have changed

MAP: Which states have legalized medical marijuana?

Marijuana falls under the league’s substance abuse policy, which is collectively bargained with the NFL Players Association.

“If our medical advisers informed us that medical marijuana may be used, then it’s something we would discuss with the NFLPA. Advisers are not telling us that now,” said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, in an e-mail to USA TODAY Network.

The Marijuana Policy Project, a group advocating marijuana legalization, has been pushing the NFL to allow players to use marijuana.

In September, MPP posted a billboard for a month outside the Denver Broncos stadium encouraging the NFL not to punish players who use marijuana.

“Players can consume as much alcohol as they want without fear of punishment by the league. If they prefer to use marijuana, they risk losing their livelihood,” said Mason Tvert, spokesman for MPP, in a phone interview with USA TODAY Network.

MPP also created an online petition on Change.org, calling on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to change the league’s marijuana policy. The petition, now closed, received more than 11,800 signatures.

Last week, in response to a question about allowing marijuana use in the NFL, Goodell said, “I do not know what is going to develop in medicine as the next opportunity, to evolve either to help with pain or help with injuries. But we will continually support the evolution of medicine because we believe it is important to our players,” according to ESPN.

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick recognized the temptation of legalized marijuana to his players. He warned them not to “be stupid” about using marijuana before Sundays’ American Football Conference Championship game in Denver.

Despite the ban on marijuana, two former NFL players point to marijuana use in the league. Former NFL offensive tackle Lomas Brown told The Detroit News in 2012 that at least 50% of NFL players likely smoke pot. Former Broncos tight end Nate Jackson wrote in his book Slow Getting Up about his personal use of marijuana to manage pain. Jackson wrote pain is a “big problem” in the NFL.

Regardless of the trending names like #BongBowl and #WeedBowl on Twitter, don’t expect fans to smoke up at the actual game — it’s taking place in New Jersey.

Follow @JolieLeeDC on Twitter.

Article Source USA Today

Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks Set Up 420 Super Bowl

Ed Krayewski|Jan. 19, 2014 10:51 pm

The Seattle Seahawks came from behind in the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers in tonight’s NFC championship game, joining the Denver Broncos, who defeated the New England Patriots in the earlier AFC championship game, in heading to the Super Bowl. Both teams hail from states, Washington and Colorado, that legalized marijuana at the ballot box in 2012. Recreational marijuana went on sale at government-licensed shops in Colorado at the start of this year. But you won’t be able to light up at the Super Bowl, being held in two weeks in New Jersey (with an assist from the NYPD), where recreational marijuana remains prohibited and the implementation of medical marijuana is going on at a snail’s pace. Players with the Seahawks and the Broncos won’t be able to light up, either. Their contracts with the NFL prohibit the use of marijuana, irrespective of its legal status where they live. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, meanwhile, is only at the stage of contemplating letting players use medical marijuana, much like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

And here’s a Reason TV video on how football fleeces taxpayers:

Denver Council moves to decriminalize Marijuana for Minors

Dopechef — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 23:01:54 +0000

Denver Council Makes Move To Decriminalize Marijuana For Minors

December 16, 2013 9:44 PM

(credit: CBS)

DENVER (CBS4) – The Denver City Council has made a move to try and make sure minors who are caught with pot aren’t punished too harshly.

A law voters passed last year decriminalized marijuana possession for adults but it didn’t consider the legal repercussions for a minor.

People under 21 with pot were left open to criminal charges that would stay on their permanent record.

Denver city councilors want it to become a civil charge still enforced by a petty fine but with no lasting legal consequences.

“We do not want this age group to be to have their legs cut off before they get started in life,” said City Council Member Albus Brooks.

Brooks sponsored the city’s newest marijuana regulation, calling it in the spirit of the new law.

The city council is also considering a law banning the marijuana industry businesses within 1,000 feet of a school.

It is the latest in a series of marijuana laws to go on the books before the new year when the legal sale of marijuana goes into effect.

“All of the priorities that we’ve had have taken a backseat because we are the first city in the world to put this regulatory framework the way we’re doing it,” said Brooks.

A final vote is expected to pass unanimously on Dec 23.

ARTICLE Source: CBS Local Denver

Cover-photo source: Townhall.com

Uruguay Legalizes Cannabis

Dopechef — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 00:59:40 +0000

In a historic moment the nation of Uruguay became the first country on Earth to legalize and regulate the sale and distribution of marijuana for adult citizens. The movement ‘Legalizar Uruguay 2013’ was supported by the President Jose Mujica and the Broad Front majority, with funding from billionaire philanthropists George Soros and David Rockefeller. Over the next 4 months the state’s drug control agency will take control of all aspects of cannabis production and consumption.

The following are some articles from the net on this history making story:

Uruguay legalizes sale and production of marijuana

Published time: December 11, 2013 00:37 // Edited time: December 11, 2013 07:22

https://dopechef.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/RTvideo_uruguay.mp4

Uruguay has become the first country in the world to legalize both the sale and production of marijuana. President Jose Mujica has championed the measure as a way of combatting the illegal drug industry that has decimated parts of Uruguay.

The country’s parliament passed the bill by a vote of 16 to 13 on Tuesday evening. Senator Alberto Couriel, a member of the ruling Broad Front left-wing coalition, called the passing of the bill “a historic day” for Uruguay.

Under the new legislation, the price of marijuana will be set at one dollar per gram, aiming to undercut the current price of $1.40 on the illegal market. The sale and production of the drug will be regulated by a specially-set-up government body which will administer a database of adult citizens registered to consume marijuana.

“This is an attempt to bring an end to the illegal drugs trade by identifying the market and bringing it into the light of day,” said President Mujica in a statement. Mujica added that the law does not promote the consumption of the drug; it merely identifies the consumer so that authorities may “intervene if [the consumer] overdoes it.”

Before the new legislation was passed, the consumption of marijuana in Uruguay was not penalized, but the sale and production of the drug was considered a criminal offense.

People march for the legalization of marijuana towards the Legislative Palace in Montevideo, on December 10, 2013, as the Senate discuss a law on the legalization of marijuana’s cultivation and consumption. (AFP Photo/Pablo Porciuncula)

A number of conditions will govern the sale and production of the drug. Registered Uruguayans over the age of 18 will have the right to buy up to 40 grams of marijuana from pharmacies every month and cultivate a maximum of six plants on their property. The legislation will also allow for the creation of so-called cannabis clubs, composed of up to 45 members who will be able to grow a maximum of 100 plants.

Uruguayan Senator Lucia Topolansky (C) votes to approve a law legalizing marijuana in the Legislative Palace in Montevideo, on December 10, 2013 (AFP Photo/Miguel Rojo)

Uruguay’s National Drug Board estimates that there are around 120,000 marijuana users in Uruguay from a population of 3.3 million. Consumer groups estimate a higher figure, putting the number of users at around 200,000.

The bill has triggered debate in Latin America over the issue of the illegal drugs trade and the problems it creates.

“I think it is unrealistic,” Paraguay’s National Anti-drug Minister, Luis Rojas, told Spanish news agency Efe earlier this year. Despite the new law, Rojas said he believes Uruguay will continue to receive marijuana grown in Paraguay.

Moreover, president of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, Eduardo Alves, said that Brazil was not ready for the legalization of marijuana in neighboring Uruguay. According to police figures, around 80 percent of the marijuana cultivated in Paraguay is exported to Brazil where it feeds the illegal drug trade. Brazil is concerned that the legalization of the drug could lead to a similar system in Uruguay.

ARTICLE SOURCE: RT.com

Uruguay becomes first country to legalize and fully regulate production, sale and distribution of marijuana

Leonardo Haberkorn And Michael Warren, Associated Press | 10/12/13 | Last Updated:10/12/13 8:34 PM ET

PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP/Getty ImagesPeople march for the legalization of marijuana towards the Legislative Palace in Montevideo, on December 10, 2013, as the Senate discuss a law on the legalization of marijuana’s cultivation and consumption.

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — Uruguay’s Senate approved the world’s first national marketplace for legal marijuana Tuesday, an audacious and risky experiment that puts the government in charge of growing, selling and using a drug that is illegal almost everywhere else.

The vote was 16 to 13, with the governing Broad Front majority united in favour. The plan now awaits the signature of President Jose Mujica, who wants the market to begin operating next year.

Two-thirds of Uruguayans oppose a government-run marijuana industry, according to opinion polls. But Mujica said he’s convinced the global drug war is a failure and feels bureaucrats can do a better job of containing addictions and beating organized crime than police, soldiers and prison guards.

“Today is an historic day. Many countries of Latin America, and many governments, will take this law as an example,” cheered Sen. Constanza Moreira, voting with the Broad Front majority.

Uruguay’s drug control agency will have 120 days, until mid-April, to draft regulations imposing state control over the entire market for marijuana, from seed to smoke.

Everyone involved must be licensed and registered, with government monitors enforcing limits such as the 40 grams a month any adult will be able to buy at pharmacies for any reason or the six marijuana plants that license-holders will be allowed to grow at home.

Congress’ lower house approved the bill in late July, and senators rejected all proposed amendments, enforcing party discipline before Tuesday’s debate to assure the outcome.

Former Health Minister Alfredo Solari, a Colorado Party senator, warned Tuesday that children and adolescents will more easily get their hands on pot and that “the effects of this policy on public health will be terrible.”

But Sen. Roberto Conde, a former deputy foreign minister with the Broad Front, said marijuana “is already established in Uruguay. It’s a drug that is already seen as very low risk and enormously easy to get.”

Mujica, a 78-year-old former leftist guerrilla who spent years in jail while many others experimented with marijuana, said the goal is to reduce drug use. A government ad campaign launched Friday makes the same point, warning of pot smoking’s dangers to human health.

“This is not liberalization of marijuana. It can be consumed within certain parameters established by law. I think it will reduce consumption,” Sen. Luis Gallo, a retired doctor who favoured the bill, told The Associated Press.

The government got help from a national TV campaign and other lobbying efforts supporting by billionaire currency speculator and philanthropist George Soros and his Open Society Foundation and Drug Policy Alliance. In September, Mujica met with Soros and billionaire David Rockefeller in New York to explain his “experiment.”

These deep-pocketed connections drew criticism from Mujica’s opponents.

“I would say to Mr. Soros, to Mr. Rockefeller, and to the president of the republic that you don’t experiment with the Uruguayans. We are not guinea pigs,” Colorado Party Sen. Pedro Bordaberry said Tuesday.

Hannah Hetzer, a lobbyist for the Alliance who moved to Montevideo for the campaign, watched closely from the Senate gallery.

“Uruguay is seeking an alternative to a failed model. I think that this is the beginning of the end of a prohibitionist model and the beginning of a more intelligent focus,” she said.

ARTICLE SOURCE National Post

Cannabus stalked by RCMP

Dopechef — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 17:30:11 +0000

Cannabus stalked by RCMP

Posted on 11/12/2013 by xtofury

Just A warning to those whom might be considering signing the Sensible BC petition (or even looking at their campaign in person). The RCMP is targeting individuals that associate with the campaign in hopes of increasing drug busts. Here’s a video from the sensible BC campaign:

The cops pretend like they are innocent, but they are obviously lying, and coming up with plausible deniability relative to their stalking of the sensible BC campaign. I am glad to have stumbled upon this in my email yesterday, because the word needs to get out that the system here in BC works very much in this way. Here in BC the cops hold a lot of power, and they indeed do engage in political targeting of individuals in addition to what they have done here, and it is not just RCMP but also municipal cops as well.

It is important to remember that the police are public servants, they are here to serve YOU. They are not here to be meter maids, that is only a modern day corruption to their duties to maintain the peace in the commons, and anything beyond that is tyranny. It is unlikely that the police would ever charge themselves for the crime they are committing here. It should be clear that these cops, as nice as some of them can be, are not trustworthy and frequently defy the public trust instilled upon them.

The solution should be clear. These police need to wear cameras. Those cameras should not have an off button to them either. Anything short of this would not sufficiently weed out the corruption. I suspect even though they have been essentially caught, that there’ll be plenty of excuses to try and coax the victim into not pursuing a complaint against those cops. Even if a complaint gets made to professional services, that would result in other cops who would investigate until they have enough of an excuse to let their “buddies” off. That is how policing typically works in this country.

If you do get pulled over — be sure to record the police on video (using your cell phone for example). Be certain to exercise your right to remain silent. Do not consent to searches. Demand to know why you are being pestered by them, try to catch their BS excuses like, “suspicious vehicle reported”, etc. Exercise your rights, and if it is immediately after associating with Sensible BC, be sure to mention to the cop that you do not appreciate the politically motivated intimidation and that you’ll be reporting it to the campaign. Give the campaign the video footage so that they can compile records of evidence of their behaviour.

ARTICLE SOURCE Dissembling.org