one for the good guys

[Thorgnor]

Canadian Marijuana Surpasses Wheat as Biggest Crop

[timouse]

last spring when niffermouse and i were in bc, we heard of a report by the Fraser Institute that stated that pot production in BC had eclipsed forestry as the biggest dollar cash crop in the province. they went on to examine the fiscal windfall that would occur were pot legalized & taxed.

i figure that if a bunch of right-wingers like the Fraser Institute are willing to come out & say something like that, there is some reason to hope for a change in the law. Given as well the actions of the senate during the summer of '03, this could begin to get interesting. never mind that the source of thorgnor's excellent article is bloomberg news, so even the suit & tie people are beginning to see the light

[Hux]

....yet the people on the right who can actually make some of these reforms happen (or support them politically) - the federal Conservative Party is nowhere near some of those groups, they are still standing in the Commons singing the virutes of mandatory minimum sentences for drug offences.

Mr. Russ Hiebert (South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, Conservative Party of Canada): Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to follow up on a question I asked last fall regarding the government's plans to deal with the crisis in marijuana grow operations that has exploded out of control across Canada in recent years.

Specifically I asked the Minister of Justice about mandatory minimum sentences for those convicted of cultivating marijuana. I noted that the offenders were getting slaps on the wrist even for repeat offences

....etc.etc.

They advocate minimum sentencing for a slew of offences, ignoring the fact that south of the border, and elsewhere, they don't act as a deterrent, and prevent judges from using discretion in levelling sentences appropriate to diffent situations/cases.

Scary.

Refoooooo-rm!!!

[timouse]

....yet the people on the right who can actually make some of these reforms happen (or support them politically) - the federal Conservative Party is nowhere near some of those groups, they are still standing in the Commons singing the virutes of mandatory minimum sentences for drug offences.

Mr. Russ Hiebert (South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, CPC): Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to follow up on a question I asked last fall regarding the government's plans to deal with the crisis in marijuana grow operations that has exploded out of control across Canada in recent years.

Specifically I asked the Minister of Justice about mandatory minimum sentences for those convicted of cultivating marijuana. I noted that the offenders were getting slaps on the wrist even for repeat offences....etc.etc.

They advocate minimum sentencing for a slew of offences, ignoring the fact that south of the border, they don't act as a deterrent, and prevent judges from action with their own discretion in levelling sentences appropriate to diffent situations/cases.

Refoooooo-rm!!!

if they truly looked at the issue objectively, they might notice that grow-ops are as popular as they are becuase of the money involved. if you could sell wheat for $70 a quarter oz, then there would be houses in thornhill full of indoor what fields

if i could grow it legally & claim the income on my taxes, i would happily do so. could i write off the purchase of a new bong? "testing equipment."

[Hux]

...maybe!

Full on legalization/regulation is a ways off, but while it appears the "Cannabis Reform Bill" has become a victim of our Minority Parliament, and may not get passed, I actually like the provisions in it that allow for up to 3 plants being a ticketed offence only (read: decriminalized). I think if everyone who smoked just grew 3 plants, you would take away a lot of the market for the gangs, etc.

A lot of people don't like the Bill as it does have harder (maximum) sentences for grow ops, etc. Fair enough. But as I say....baby steps people!

[timouse]

...maybe!

Full on legalization/regulation is a ways off, but while it appears the "Cannabis Reform Bill" has become a victim of our Minority Parliament, and may not get passed, I actually like the provisions in it that allow for up to 3 plants being a ticketed offence only (read: decriminalized). I think if everyone who smoked just grew 3 plants, you would take away a lot of the market for the gangs, etc.

A lot of people don't like the Bill as it does have harder sentences for grow ops, etc. Fair enough. But as I say....baby steps people!

i agree that decriminalization is the first and appropriate baby step. as far as grow ops go, the reality is that there are many post smokers out there who won't want to or won't be able to grow their own. this is my biggest problem with the way that the cannabis reform act looks at the picture. If they are gong to allow people to smoke, they need to consider where it is going to come from, and if they did this from their usual position of self interest, there is a very obvious revenue up-side...

if quality growers could set up a legitamate business and supply good safe product to a lot of people, then the criminals might be encouraged to go legit.

there was an empty warehouse 2 doors down from my office in mississauga that was busted recently. they had converted the whole building into a great big farm, and produced millions of dollars worth of product before being closed down. i would fully support having them open up as a legit business, and if they put up a storefront as well, i know where me and the guys in the plant would go on their way home from work