Who profits from the 'war on drugs' ... ?
Government wants to leave Pot in hands of organized crime.
TORONTO - For a while it looked like we were poised to reform our draconian and ineffective Marijuana "laws", activists toking up outside police stations with impunity and government had plans to make marijuana available to the chronically ill.
That pipedream has apparently now gone up in smoke, but the ongoing debate over the natural herb's place in Canadian society -- whether for medicine or for private consensual pleasure -- promises to grow more heated in the coming year.
Canadians have found good reason to voice their opinions on the contentious topic.
For example, an Ipsos-Reid poll of 1,001 Canadians [in May/03] suggested 55 per cent of respondents did not believe smoking marijuana should in any way be a criminal offence.
Those advocating "decriminalization" say it doesn't make sense to saddle people with criminal records for a non-breach of the peace. They also say it will reduce traffic in an already congested court system, and take the money out of the organized crime bud for coke trade, estimated to be worth nearly 6 billion per year.
Things have even been complicated by the federal government's cautious steps toward providing cannabis to the terminally or seriously ill. Proponents say marijuana stimulates the appetite, relieves pain and reduces stress -- although the medical community is not unanimous in supporting all those claims.
The decriminalization movement burst into the forefront this year when an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled in May that possessing less than 30 grams of marijuana was "no longer" against the law in the province.
A lawyer had successfully argued that since there was no effective program for sick people to possess medical marijuana without breaking the law, then the law didn't prohibit possession.
Police organizations in Ontario subsequently said they wouldn't lay charges for simple possession until the laws were clarified, then quickly organized to support increased fines and jail terms for people wishing to use the herb.
B.C. cannabis guru Marc Emery, who publishes Cannabis Culture magazine and sells marijuana seeds online, went on a coast-to-coast tour this summer, holding rallies and lighting up outside police stations in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Moncton, N.B., Halifax, Charlottetown and St. John's, Nfld., practically daring the cops to arrest him -- which they sometimes did [ Cops not often prone to discretion, let alone a definition of what a "peace officers" role in a free society is].
The Canada wide case of "reefer madness" was apparently contagious.
Former prime minister Jean Chretien, who tried unsuccessfully to fast-track a so-called "decriminalization bill" before leaving office this month, seemed to amuse the country when he suggested in an October interview that he might "puff on pot one day".
"Perhaps I will try it when it will no longer be criminal," Chretien mused. "I will have my money for my fine and a joint in the other hand."
Chretien had argued for fines instead of jail sentences for simple possession, citing the government intent to turn law into an instrument of plunder and added that growers and traffickers would face stiffer penalties, which helps make the sale of the drug more lucrative to organized crime. Although the bill was expected to pass this fall, Chretien officially ended his last legislative session in mid-November, leaving it in limbo.
The news got worse for pot smokers when, incredibly, an Ontario court made "simple possession illegal" yet again in October, while firming up the rules on how medical users could obtain their cannabis supply.
"In terms of decriminalization, it was a huge setback," said Alan Young, a Toronto lawyer and law professor.
"We lost a lot of momentum at the end of this year on decriminalization by having the October court case not consider invalidation of the criminal prohibition as a response."
Then, just two days before Christmas, the Supreme Court of Canada amazed everyone when it ruled to uphold a federal law prohibiting possession of small amounts of marijuana.
A key question was whether Parliament has the constitutional right to punish harmless personal marijuana possession, given the total lack of proven harms from its use.
Another was whether federal law violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms by imposing criminal penalties for possession, when no breach of the public peace is at issue.
The Supreme Court did conclude that "it is within Parliament's legislative jurisdiction to criminalize the possession of marijuana, should it choose to do so," said the 82-page ruling.
[Perhaps someone from the Court could point out just where that jurisdiction and authority comes from? Is it because the legislature has a gold coated "royal" mace, or some mysterious constitutional clause that nobody has seen that gives them dictatorial power? About the only authority the legislature can claim is that found in the Magna Carta since it was agreed to by (in theory) all parties. The BNA Act (a license to set up a separate colonial parliament) was superseded (made null and void) in 1931 by the Statute of Westminster, and the "Canada Act" grants NO legislative power (see section 31) AND was furthermore rejected by a majority of the people of Canada.
It is also worth noting, to those that believe democracy is what we have, and that it is a good way to ensure our liberty, that the majority want marijuana decriminalized - yet the government repeatedly ignores this. While on the other hand, only a tiny minority wanted increased spending on "preventing terrorism", yet the government has now spent well over 10 billion specifically on this, and passed laws that are clearly unconstitutional, and therefore beyond their authority (ultra vires).
So who do they represent? Members of parliament only...]
"Equally, it is open to Parliament to decriminalize or otherwise modify any
aspect of the marijuana laws that it no longer considers to be good public
policy."
The ruling didn't sit well with pot activists.
"I was dreaming of a green Christmas but they Grinched out on us," said David
Malmo-Levine, a self-styled pot freedom crusader in Vancouver. "Their hearts are
two sizes too small."
Prime Minister Paul Martin has said he supports decriminalization "in principle"
and that he will reintroduce the legislation in the new year -- but likely
with amendments to make it tougher. Again, these "tougher" measures are
mainly designed to increase the market value of home grown marijuana to those
criminal gangs selling the herb in the US, to switch it for cocaine, which is
brought back into Canada for sale to people on the street.
Furthermore, Ottawa's efforts to supply medical users have proved inept as the
government-sanctioned marijuana first made available in August has been widely
criticized for its inferior quality.
Some users demanded refunds, calling the weed "disgusting" and "unsuitable for
human consumption." Others said it was too weak to be effective. One man even
said it made him vomit, suggesting the use of chemical agents in its growth or
processing. One frustrated user found the quality so poor that he rejected the
government shipments and applied for a growing "licence" instead.
Philippe Lucas, director of Canadians for Safe Access, a Victoria-based
patients' rights group pressing for a safe, effective supply of marijuana, said
independent lab analyses of the government cannabis showed high concentrations
of toxic lead and arsenic. Such poisons are not produced by the plant itself, so
suggestions that the government was trying to sabotage the medical marijuana
program have persisted.
"I've tried the government cannabis, and I can attest to its incredibly poor
quality," said Lucas, who is allowed to use marijuana to deal with the
side-effects of hepatitis C.
"Not only is it of poor quality, but it's a potentially dangerous product. When
you're talking about giving something to people with critical or chronic
illnesses, I find that to be really inexcusable."
Despite the confirmed toxins mysteriously found in the government grown pot,
Health Canada maintains it tested the cannabis extensively before allowing it to
be distributed to medical users, but added "it was never tested on people".
Spokeswoman Catherine Saunders said Health Canada isn't planning to make changes
to the product despite the complaints of some users.
"In terms of recreational use, I have no confidence the government will
return to their proposal.... I do see a bit of a backlash in the initial months
as public officials reassert their authority in this area." Young stated.
That means no more smoking up outside police stations, unless you want to be
beaten, arrested and have your possession [not just your pot] stolen by the
local "peace officers".
"One will have to be a bit more discreet and careful in terms of the use of
marijuana as a recreational substance," Young advised.
Robert Polton - BC Revolution
_____________
Marijuana Consumption Drops in U.K. Despite Liberalized Laws
Join Together | October 17 2006
Use of marijuana in England and Wales has fallen in the three years since penalties on the drug were eased, the Independent reported Oct. 14. The trend defied predictions that use of the drug would rise as a result of the change.
Marijuana was downgraded from a Class B drug to a Class C drug in 2004. Britain's Home Office reported that use of most Class A drugs has remained flat since then, but that cocaine use has risen.
In 2006, 8.7 percent of residents of England and Wales were marijuana users, the Home Office reported, the lowest level in 10 years...
____________
"I'm very happy the Supreme Court had the good sense to give me a trial, because I do want a trial by my peers," Grant Krieger said in an interview Thursday.
The top court ruled that the Alberta judge who ordered a jury to convict Krieger went too far and violated his rights.
In a 7-0 judgment Thursday, the court overturned the conviction, in effect sending the case back for a new trial - if the Crown chooses to proceed.
How insane are the people that write these marijuana laws? Well, insane enough to put someone (Marc Emery) in jail for a longer period than someone who stabs you with a knife - all for selling *seeds* to consenting adult buyers.
B.C. pot smuggler faces long U.S. prison term - Canwest News Service, April 17, 2008
SEATTLE -- A 26-year-old Chilliwack man is facing as many as 40 years in a U.S. prison after being convicted in Seattle of smuggling more than $1 million of marijuana over the U.S. border.
Judge tosses evidence against prison guard - Albany, NY, USA by BOB GARDINIER, March 14/08
A judge has ruled that a loaded assault rifle and 69 bags of marijuana found in a correction officer's car cannot be used at his upcoming trial because Hoosick police had no probable cause to search his vehicle.
Ever wonder why the press completely stopped covering pot burning by the RCMP?
Seized marijuana no longer going up in smoke in New Brunswick.
Canadian Press
MONCTON - New Brunswick RCMP are no longer burning the
marijuana they seize at grow operations around the province.
They've instead decided to bury the stuff, but they're not saying where.
[Gee, wonder why? Keep in mind folks, the RCMP are the ones W5 busted for selling illegal passports to well known drug lords and organized crime bosses in Hong Kong, and nothing has been done to stop the practice. So you figure out where the pot is going, alright? For info on the RCMP Passport Scandal click HERE]
"We've been looking at this issue for years," Sgt. Gary
Cameron said Friday of the decision to stop incinerating confiscated marijuana.
"It's an environmental thing. Anything that you burn, it goes into the
environment."
Besides the pollution, police have been forced to find a suitable incinerating
device each time they made a major haul, something happening with greater
frequency around the province in recent summers.
The pot was often trucked to a paper mill or other industrial site suitable for
burning large quantities of the bushy, leafy plants.
Not only did police have to find such a suitable place, but they also had to
ensure the security of the plants while they were trucked, including always
having at least two RCMP officers at each burning operation.
[Yeah, hauling the stuff "in secret" to remote
locations, digging massive holes, and spraying it with chemicals, is so much
more cost efficient than burning it in an industrial incinerator. Shame
they couldn't trust anyone from the media to confirm it.]
It's easier and just as effective to bury it after sprinkling the plants with a
special chemical that ensures they're of no good to anyone after just a few
hours underground, Cameron said.
[Well that is odd: If the pot is "no good to anyone after just a few hours", why is it necessary to keep the location so secret? Can't we at least see some old digs? Or are you guys in fact selling the dope back to the people you gave the illegal passports too? That would certainly explain your persistence in keeping a drug "illegal" that is safer than the alcohol you RCMP types often drink after a good beating.]
"All we need is a farm tractor to dig a large hole and
bury it at a certain depth. (The chemical application) destroys the marijuana
very quickly, and it is environmentally friendly," Cameron said.
There have been cases of police forces in other parts of Canada burying
marijuana in city dumps, only to find local citizens pawing through mounds of
trash under cover of darkness, trying to recover it.
[Anyone have a URL for these "cases", because nobody
seems to know what he's talking about?]
Just this week, police in northern New Brunswick seized 924 marijuana plants of
various sizes in Val D'Amour, Mckendrick, St-Arthur and St-Quentin.
[I know I feel safer now - how about you?]
http://www.herald.ca/stories/2004/08/28/fCanada200.raw.html [link now dead] hmm..
Additional comments by Robert Polton and James Martin of BC Revolution.
UPDATE: You may note that the link to the above story has been removed after only a few weeks. Apparently the RCMP are worried about this strange "new" policy being made available in the media, and we received email indicating this paper was warned by the police to remove this story. You have to ask WHY, don't you?
This website is the only remaining website where this story still exists... Perhaps the police will try to shut us down by other means...?? Keep checking our site to see if this happens.... We will try our best to give you access to the truth.
Have a look at this link to see how this all plays into the government/police plans.
On other pages of this website, we have shown that the RCMP now work with special
'black ops' military units of the Canadian military in "harvesting" marijuana.
Did you also notice that they always 'just happen' to find outdoor grow ops at full
maturity? Its just as easy to spot a crop before bud production has finished, as the plants
reach their maximum size well BEFORE flowering. The plant has to radically reduce plant
growth in order to focus its plant energy on making flowers and seeds before its life cycle
finishes some time after the first frost.
You can call this a coincidence if you like, but if you don't harvest a mature plant, there
is no product, and therefore no suspicion. Combined with the revelation disclosed by
CTV W5 clearly showing the RCMP is actively working with criminal drug syndicates from
Hong Kong (and elsewhere) to sell highly toxic and addictive methamphetamine, is it really
that big a stretch to believe they are controlling the distribution of large amounts of
marijuana?
Another trend that seems to be becoming a consistent pattern of operation is to
associate every grow of marijuana with "gun running" and/or organized crime. This
flies in the face of other statements by police that the overwhelming majority of "grow
ops" are by private homeowners trying to supplement their income, and grow produce
that is obviously in high demand - thanks to government aggression and interference
in this otherwise peaceful enterprise.
Still another bizarre approach is to associate indoor marijuana growing with dangerous
mold growth, that is therefore a 'threat to children'. Anyone familiar with indoor growing
of marijuana knows that the increased temperatures created by the grow lamps reduces
the humidity and furthermore, plants produce more resin* in dry arid conditions, such
as exist where these plants grow naturally (I.E. high mountain and/or arid areas). Growers
therefore routinely install ventilation systems, in an effort to maintain a comfortable temperature
(around 75 to 85 Fahrenheit) as well as humidity levels between 40 and 60 percent - well
below levels that cause mold growth.
Now have a look at this below article, and you will see the police are now even claiming
that OUTDOOR growing of marijuana is a hazard.... Surely the police were stoned when
they came up with this one? Oh, and note the cute media spin as indicated by the headline
of the article...
This article also confirms our discloser of the fact that special military units are helping
the police move this marijuana under a cloak of secrecy.
[*One of the reasons marijuana plants produce resin is to prevent drying out of the seed producing
calyxes (seed pods) and leaves. Therefore drier conditions produce more resin, which is the part
of the plant that produces the THC that is so prized by knowledgeable growers.]
Police going green with pot eradication program - August 22, 2007
Matthew Gauk Times Colonist
Police are going green with this year's helicopter-aided marijuana eradication operation, which began across Vancouver Island yesterday.
Illicit backwoods grow-ops damage the environment, said Cpl. Greg Cox, Island District RCMP communications officer.
For example, streams are often diverted to the grow-ops to provide for convenient watering, he said. Native plants get trampled by people carving trails in and out of the sites.
"But it's also the chemicals used in the production of these operations," said Cox. "There are growth-enhancing chemicals [and] pesticides being introduced into pristine lands. Then, there's the garbage at the post-production sites, the empty or half-used bags of fertilizer and garbage bags, all that sort of thing, the stuff that's left over after they're done harvesting."
[Outdoor grow ops are not significantly damaged by insects, as the plants sticky resin protects the valuable buds from insects.... The greatest threat to outdoor marijuana are deer and police controlled crime syndicates. Of course the other point here is that there would be no incentive to grow these plants in these areas if the police stopped harassing people growing on their private property.]
The Wilderness Committee weighed in on the issue, too, with Victoria campaign director Ken Wu pointing out that his organization is always concerned about non-native species such as scotch broom, holly and purple loosestrife.
"Marijuana is not a native species to Vancouver Island and B.C. forests," Wu said with a laugh.
"Now, they're not knocking down whole tracts of forest, like they do in pure agriculture, to grow marijuana. My understanding is when it's grown outdoors, it's grown in patches in the forest, in which case you'd eliminate the understory and the native plants and the animals that live on those native plants in those areas," said Wu.
[Indeed! Private outdoor growers endlessly strive for concealment from the air and common trails.... The only people who would be "knocking down whole tracts of forest" would be those working for the police, and are not concerned with being easily spotted from the air.]
Cox said that the size and location of the grow-ops varies greatly but that some sites are "quite sizable." In 2004, a police, RCMP and military task force on marijuana found a grow-op near Port Hardy that was about the size of two football fields, according to officers.
[HAHAHAHAHA.. Now that's funny folks.... The police want you to believe that large armies of common people are carving out hundreds of acres of dense forest to grow marijuana... Who do you think would do that? Someone very concerned with their crop being found, or someone certain to have access to large military helicopters, which would be needed to harvest thousands of pounds of ripe BC bud? "Task force", is another name for specially selected <wink wink> members who are deemed able to keep secrets, and are granted special bonuses for their loyalty. Other names for such special groups often contain the phrase 'integrated']
This week, the Integrated Marijuana Eradication Team will move on outdoor grow-ops, which are often deep in the bush on Crown land, using intelligence collected beforehand.
[Intelligence collected beforehand = translation: the map they made when they planted]
The team, which consists of members of the Saanich and Victoria police departments, Island District RCMP and the Canadian Forces, uses military and police helicopters from Comox. The military contribution helps them get to grow-ops in otherwise inaccessible locations, Cox said.
Last summer, the team found and destroyed 16,500 plants from more than 200 sites.
["Found and destroyed plants" - not to be confused with found and destroyed marijuana.... in other words, the plants were "destroyed" or "cut down" during the process of harvesting the ripe mature buds for market.]
Cox said the team's work won't be limited to Vancouver Island and could include some of the Gulf Islands.
He added that the operation will continue as long as is necessary to eradicate all of the grow-ops they know about or come across.
[For more on police and government involvement in the drug trade, please go here......]
Million-Dollar Grow Op Busted In Cowichan Valley [Just before peak harvest of course! Note date!]
by Rob Shaw, Times Colonist, (22 Sep 2006) Victoria Times-Colonist British ColumbiaFrom the air, it looked like a beautiful field of lilacs. But something just wasn't right. And when Lake Cowichan RCMP constables directed their helicopter to take a closer look during a routine reconnaissance flight earlier this week, they found out why.
Their sharp eyes had spotted an outdoor marijuana grow operation valued at more than $1 million.
It is the most valuable pot bust in Lake Cowichan RCMP's history, said Cpl. Brian Brown.
"This is the biggest one we've ever seen," he said. "It has completely filled a 23-foot moving van from floor to ceiling."
As many as 562 mature marijuana plants were growing on government-owned park land in Skutz Falls, between Lake Cowichan and Duncan, said Brown.
They were already mature and ready for harvest by the time police spotted them Tuesday.
But officers faced a conundrum. Should they set up surveillance to catch the growers, or use their limited resources on a different case to try and recover seven missing handguns they suspected were in a residence on the other side of town?
"Time was of the essence, and we decided the plants should never make it to the street," said Brown, of the decision to gather the plants and then deal with the handguns. Four officers, and one RCMP auxiliary member, cut down the plants and hauled them into a truck on a cold and wet Wednesday, said Brown. They were scheduled to be destroyed yesterday.
Unfortunately, no media were allowed to
witness the so-called "destruction" of this valuable crop. A crop so
valuable, they took a back seat to recovery of "missing" [as opposed to
stolen?] handguns. Now you see the priority the harvest of pot has to the
RCMP.
RCMP went on to recover a motorcycle, electric guitars, and the seven
handguns after executing a search warrant on the other side of town
Wednesday.
"These guns were bound for the street, so we've definitely struck
a blow," he said. "We had word these were bound for either Vancouver or
the [Cowichan] Valley."
Well this clears up a few things.... This
"missing" handguns were "clearly bound for the street" yet the RCMP
thought it more important to harvest their crop first.
They also found cocaine, said Brown. Another motorcycle, stolen from
Victoria, was recovered.
Charges are pending against a 34-year-old woman, but she was merely the
person home at the time, said Brown. Police are still looking for other
suspects.
____
Then of course there is the deliberate tainting of a case for their drug importing lackeys, for the
bonus purpose [in this case] of discrediting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which claims to
be a constitution, when in fact it was a mere act of parliament. Lawyers, politicians and police were
in the news in the weeks following, trying to amend the constitution to allow for warrant-less
searches. See how this all works?
This is not the first time they played this card either...... please read.
Big pot case against five falls apart
Boat raid: Prosecutors see little likelihood of conviction after massive marijuana bust
Richard Watts - Times Colonist, Saturday, December 23, 2006
All charges have been dropped against five men arrested aboard a fishing boat RCMP said was attempting to import $6.5 million worth of marijuana to B.C.
When police arrested the five and seized the 47-metre MV Baku in Ucluelet May 22, they laid out marijuana on the dock that had been discovered inside the vessel -- 1,630 kilograms of it (3,600 pounds).
News photographers were invited to take pictures of the marijuana bales.
Police made statements linking the event to organized crime.
But now, Crown prosecutors say they have entered stays on all the charges laid against the five men because there is little likelihood of a conviction.
Robert Prior, regional director of the federal office of public prosecutions, said in a telephone interview from Vancouver the opinion of his office is the evidence seized would not be admissible in court. Without evidence, there is little reason to proceed to trial.
Jim Heller, a Victoria defence lawyer representing one of the five, said he believes legal issues arose over the original search of the vessel.
For example, Heller said police sent in people from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans instead of police officers to conduct the first search. Doubts also existed over whether police compiled sufficient evidence to justify a search in the first place.
All charges of importing a controlled substance have been dropped against Phil Stirling, 52, a registered owner of the Baku, formerly of Metchosin but more recently living near Chase.
Similar charges were also dropped against Sean Michael Cochrane, 36, of Alberta; Ralph Ross Harris, 66, of Ladysmith; John Edward Corbin, 46, of Chase; and Walberto Armenta-Ruelas, 40, of Sonora, Mexico.
This isn't the first time that Stirling, Corbin and Cochrane were involved with a vessel that was seized. In 2001, Stirling was owner of a boat called the Western Wind. Corbin was engineer and Cochrane was also aboard. The Western Wind was seized in the Juan de Fuca Strait with 2.5 tonnes of cocaine worth an estimated $250 million hidden in the bow. No charges were ever laid in connection with the Western Wind seizure.
Since the Baku boarding, all crew members have been long released on bail conditions except for Armenta-Ruelas.
Heller, the lawyer now representing Armenta-Ruelas, said his client remains in custody under immigration regulations.
This detention, he said, is despite the fact his client possesses legal seaman's papers showing him to be what he has always maintained, a deckhand hired in Mexico.
Meanwhile, John Green, the Victoria lawyer representing Stirling, said his client and his family are all breathing huge sighs of relief. It's especially gratifying, given the time of year, he said.
"It was a great Christmas present for him and his family," said Green.
He said his client has reclaimed the Baku, but the 47-metre vessel is in sad shape, with flooding in the engine room and other problems.
When police searched the Baku they removed about 10 tonnes of rotten fish and then went at the vessel with fire axes, drills, and even a jackhammer.
According to officers at the time, cameras were inserted into false bulkheads and partitions to locate the marijuana hidden away in disguised compartments and false rooms.
Police also said they had been tracking the Baku from October 2005. The vessel left Halifax in December 2005, headed down the coast, through the Panama Canal and up the West Coast to Vancouver Island.
Now here is the topper folks! Seems that old habits die hard, and the marijuana that the
government sells for <wink wink> "medicinal purposes", is marked up to the price one
pays for pot on the street. Hmmmmmmmm.....
Must be hard for them to take a hit on their profit margins on their street sales?
Health Canada markup on medical marijuana: 1,500%
Dean Beeby Canadian Press - Monday, April 16, 2007
OTTAWA (CP) - The federal government charges patients 15 times more for certified medical
marijuana than it pays to buy the weed in bulk from its official supplier, newly released
documents show.
Critics say it's unconscionable to charge that high a markup to some of the country's sickest
citizens, who have little income and are often cut off from their medical marijuana supply when
they can't pay their government dope bills.
Records obtained under the Access to Information Act show that Health Canada pays $328.75
for each kilogram of bulk medical marijuana produced by Prairie Plant Systems Inc.
The company currently has a $10.3-million contract with Health Canada, which expires at the
end of September, to grow standardized medical marijuana in an abandoned mine shaft in Flin
Flon, Man.
Health Canada, in turn, sells the marijuana to a small group of authorized users for $150 - plus
GST - for each 30-gram bag of ground-up flowering tops, with a strength of up to 14 per cent
THC, the main active ingredient. That works out to $5,000 for each kilogram, or a markup
of more than 1,500 per cent.
"It's impossible for a person on disability," said Ron Lawrence, 38, a burn victim in Windsor,
Ont., who needs medical marijuana to control severe pain. "The sickest people are the ones
that need it the most . . . they're the ones who don't work."
Adds Scott McCluskey, 48, in Westbank, B.C., who suffers spinal-cord pain that is eased by
marijuana: "They're selling it for criminal street prices. . . . I don't think anybody, especially
seriously ill people . . . should have to pay this type of money for medicine."
Health Canada has become a reluctant marijuana supplier, forced into the role by a series of
court decisions that have accepted scientific research indicating cannabis can relieve pain when
other medications fail. The courts have also said patients should not be forced into the black
market to purchase their medicine.
Currently, 1,742 patients are authorized by Health Canada to possess dried marijuana as a
medication. Of these, 1,040 are licensed to grow their own, and another 167 people are l
icensed to grow marijuana for the exclusive use of licensed patients.
But patients can also order marijuana through Health Canada's official supplier, Prairie Plant
Systems, which typically delivers the product by Purolater courier.
Currently, 149 patients are officially in arrears - almost a third of the 514 patients who order
government-certified dope - collectively owing Health Canada $143,611 in outstanding
payments. Many have been cut off from their supplies, though Health Canada was not able to
indicate the number.
"At a time when medical cannabis users all too often have to choose between buying groceries
and their medicine, it is unconscionable that Health Canada . . . should be marking up this
product 1,500 per cent," said Philippe Lucas of Victoria-based Canadians for Safe Access,
which promotes ready access to medical marijuana.
A spokesman for the department, Jason Bouzanis, said the quoted price of $328.75 a
kilogram for bulk marijuana does not include other Health Canada costs.
"The price for individuals authorized to possess marijuana for medical purposes is based on
the actual cost of production and an estimate of costs associated with the distribution of the
product," he said, "These costs are subject to change."
Contract records show Health Canada also pays the supplier a packaging fee of $9.06 for
each 30-gram package, to cover labour and materials, as well as courier fees that are
dependent on shipping volumes.
Although patients currently can grow it themselves or have someone else grow it for them,
Health Canada plans to phase out these production licences sometime after 2007. That would
force patients to order from Prairie Plant Systems, or take their chances with street dealers or
so-called compassion clubs, which are technically illegal.
Street prices for marijuana are about $10 a gram for small quantities, or about twice Health
Canada's price, though bulk street purchases with few middlemen can match or better the
government price. Compassion clubs charge as low as $5 a gram, the same price as
government dope.
Because medical marijuana is not a recognized drug, with its own drug identification number,
insurance companies and government drug programs do not reimburse patients for costs, as
they do for other pain medication.
Many patients say they are unhappy with the quality of the Prairie Plant System product.
"It's garbage," said Tom MacMullen, 43, of Prospect Bay, N.S., who uses marijuana for leg and
back pain. "It's just so awful-tasting."
MacMullen has twice been cut off from his government supply, and currently owes $517 in
arrears. With a disability pension of $653 a month and two children, he has few resources to
buy dope and now relies on the charity of friends.
Bouzanis said Health Canada is tightening its rules beginning May 1, so that those who are 30
days or more in arrears can receive one more shipment before they are cut off. Previously,
patients were given a 180-day grace period.
Meanwhile, the Victoria-based Vancouver Island Compassion Society is planning a
constitutional challenge to the federal medical cannabis program, set to be heard in the
British Columbia Supreme Court May 9-18.
TORIES TO LAUNCH CRACKDOWN ON GROW-OPS, DRUG DEALERS
The Harper government's new anti-drug strategy is expected to take a tough approach to illicit drugs, including cracking down on grow-ops and pushers and retreating from "harm reduction" measures such as safe injection sites for addicts.
Pot not a police priority, deputy chief testifies at trial - August 10/2007
In fact, it was the RCMP, not Victoria police, who in May 2004 raided the house near Sooke used by the Vancouver Island Compassion Society to grow marijuana for its 600-odd members. Compassion club is the name commonly given to groups organized by citizens to supply marijuana as medicine.
Why is a grow-op no longer an inherent danger if you have the right papers?
The above video is proof that no credible evidence could be presented in a federal court to substantiate the claim that 'grow-ops' are an inherent danger.... Clearly it is the fact they are deemed illegal, by criminal elements in government, that attributes to any magnified and/or fabricated danger.
No doubt the government will try to reverse this decision, but their lies are exposed none-the-less.
One of the other benefits of their "war on drugs" program is their confiscation of hard assets. Its now spreading to other areas, and now that the precedent has been set, you may soon face confiscation of your home or car for not filing taxes, or having outstanding parking tickets.
Forfeiture Law Is BC's Quiet New Crime-Fighter - Nov 24/08
Using the fake threat of "grow-ops" to harass peaceful BC homeowners..
http://cannabislink.ca/papers/cda2002review.htm
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MP supported drug smuggler - Canwest News Service, September 10, 2008
VANCOUVER -- Surrey Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal wrote to a U.S. District Court judge in support of convicted international drug trafficker Ranjit Singh Cheema, Canwest News Service has learned. Cheema was sentenced to five years in jail in California this week after pleading guilty to conspiring to smuggle 200 kilograms of heroin from Pakistan to North America in 1998.
Dhaliwal met drug dealer a few times but "would not call him a friend" - Sept 10/08
Federal Election 2008: Liberal MP tells "the Now" that he knew about Cheema's shady past when he wrote letter of support to U.S. judge
MP defends letter in support of convicted drug trafficker - Sept 11/08
Just take a deep breath... clear your mind of any biases... then soberly ask yourself why any MP would write a personal "letter of recommendation" to a US Judge (much less a Canadian judge) in support of a known high volume heroin dealer??? Note too, that this MP admits to "meeting him [drug dealer] a few times".....
Would you have believed any of this to be true if the letter had not been discovered by the media?
Why do some people still believe 'it is not possible' that the federal government along with the police and military, are directing and controlling the majority of narcotic traffic into Canada and the United States?
From our absurdity of the year award club comes the following below nominee, from our UK police state section.
Police mistake widow's tomato plants for cannabis factory. UK Telegraph - Nov 27/08
When does harmless and natural poppy tea become pure heroin? When it is grown in a police state, and reported by their media toadies...
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