September 4, 2002

9:06 AM

Recommendationsfrom a Canadian Special Senate Committee that cannabis should be from here on in legal and of restricted use. Legal pot in Canada, about time.
posted by Leonard (24 comments total)

It's aboot time, eh?
posted by uftheory at 9:10 AM on September 4, 2002

I would like to be the first to say here that moving to Canada is becoming more appealing by the day.
posted by cowboy at 9:12 AM on September 4, 2002

Things to remember: 1. The Senate is (largely) irrelevant in Canadian public life; it's a sweet paddock for the ol' warhorses of the Liberal Party of Canada. 2. This recommendation has no effect on gov't policy. 3. The Canadian Justice minister, Anne McClelland, is a by-the-books lawyer who has largely shuttered Canada's first steps towards medicinal marijuana. 4. The outgoing PM likely does not want "decriminalized marijuana" on his political legacy. 5. The chance we'll decrim marijuana is highly unlikely, given the peccadilloes of our friends to the south... or is there a different reason increasing numbers of DEA agents walk among us?
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 9:12 AM on September 4, 2002

I would like to be the first to say here that moving to Canada is becoming more appealing by the day.

Damn straight. I would like to be the first to bow to our new Canadian overlords. You hoser.
posted by adampsyche at 9:13 AM on September 4, 2002

Summary of the report ... PDF. Go to page 53.

A. General aims of the bill
· To reduce the injurious effects of the criminalization of the use and possession of cannabis and its derivatives;
· To permit persons over the age of 16 to procure cannabis and its derivatives at duly licensed distribution centres; and
· To recognize that cannabis and its derivatives are psychoactive substances that may present risks to physical and mental health and, to this end, to regulate the use and trade of these substances in order to prevent at-risk use and excessive use.

B. Licence to distribute [snipped]

C. Licence to produce [snipped]

D. Production for personal use
Amend the Act to create an exemption to the criminal offences provided in the CDSA in order to permit the personal production of cannabis so long as it is not sold for consideration or exchange in kind or other and not advertised or promoted in any other way. In addition, quantities shall be limited to ensure production is truly for personal consumption.

E. Consumption in public
Consumption in public places frequented by young people under 16 years of age shall be prohibited.

F. International trade [snipped]

G. Other proposals [snipped]
posted by five fresh fish at 9:19 AM on September 4, 2002

These are pretty much the same conclusions Nixon's committee came up with, and he didn't like the answer, so pitched them in favor of his own. I wouldn't doubt this would be an different.
posted by benjh at 9:29 AM on September 4, 2002

Except Nixon's reasons for rejecting the committee's report had to do with that he felt it was some conspiracy by Jewish doctors, communists and homosexuals to destabilize the country. I hope politicians are a little saner nowadays.
posted by bobo123 at 9:51 AM on September 4, 2002

This debate has gone into overdrive in the last year, and it seems as if public support for legalization is pretty strong up here.

Personally, I think the PM wouldn't mind having this as part of his legacy. He's a crochety old Bush-hater who probably loves the idea of tossing a big ole monkeywrench into the US's drug war.
posted by Polo Mr. Polo at 9:53 AM on September 4, 2002

The US will never allow it. They're scared that 'border shops' will open up on the Canadian side offering vacuum sealed bags of the good stuff to cross border shoppers. My question is: what sort of taxes would you pay on top of the GST?
posted by batboy at 9:54 AM on September 4, 2002

Oops. I meant "crotchety". Although for all I know, he's a big needlework buff.
posted by Polo Mr. Polo at 9:55 AM on September 4, 2002

Where I sit in Canada, there are a multitude of dope couriers who could have a bag of the finest hydroponic at my door within the hour at reasonable market rates.

Do we really want the government to mess with that?
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 10:04 AM on September 4, 2002

This will result in the US - Canada border being shut down even worse than the US - Mexico border is; incredibly long lines at the drive-through points, at airport customs, etc. Although it will be nice (in a certain sense) that the principal goal will be to tag smelly hippies looking to get high, rather than small brown men looking to make an honest dollar.
posted by MattD at 10:20 AM on September 4, 2002

I hope politicians are a little saner nowadays.

You are so naive.
posted by Dirjy at 10:31 AM on September 4, 2002

Legal pot in Canada, about time.

I wouldn't jump the gun here. We've been getting ready to legalize marijuana here since at least the Ledain commission, which was thirty years ago. It hasn't happened yet.

Trudeau used to muse publicly about legalization before every election but somehow never got around to actually doing it.
posted by timeistight at 10:36 AM on September 4, 2002

I think the reason it's so hard to get pot legalized is the same reason we in the US can't get outdated laws like sodomy and blue laws off the books: nobody wants to be the politician that's for sodomy, or for more alcohol on Sundays, or for pot legalization, even if they do personally think the laws are silly or even cruel.
posted by callmejay at 10:38 AM on September 4, 2002

If nothing else hopefully this will make it an election issue in 18 months.
posted by Leonard at 10:49 AM on September 4, 2002

nobody wants to be the politician that's for sodomy, or for more alcohol on Sundays, or for pot legalization

Good point. In Canada judges are more powerful and can overturn laws if they feel they are unconstitutional. This is what happened with the ruling allowing women to go topless in Ontario, no politician would have legalized it and no politician really wanted to outlaw it so they just let the judges decision stay. It wouldn't surprise me if something like that happened with marijuana laws.
posted by bobo123 at 11:09 AM on September 4, 2002

Actually, lupus-yonderboy, Anne McLelland is the former Minister of Justice. The current Minister of Justice, Martin Cauchon, is the same individual who recently said he smoked cannibas when he was younger and didn't have a problem with it.

Still, while Cretin is in power, there will most likely be no change in the law (that's not a typo).
posted by joshshmenge at 11:15 AM on September 4, 2002

I wonder if the DEA is contemplating kidnapping these Canadian senators (which would not violate US law), and charging them with being "terrorist supporters", so it could hold them indefinitely without a lawyer or a trial, until they "saw the light" that DRUGS ARE BAD AND WILL DESTROY FREEDOM.
posted by kablam at 11:37 AM on September 4, 2002

nobody wants to be the politician that's for sodomy

In Minnesota a while back, one of our erstwhile legislators tried to get the sodomy law repealed. Turned out, though, that it was that particular statute that also forbade things like sex with dead people. Being the politician for sodomy is one thing; it seems being for necrophilia is very different. She ended up coming back the following year with a less scattershot approach to modernizing things.
posted by nickmark at 11:45 AM on September 4, 2002

True, nobody wants to be the pro-sodomy pol, but don't forget -- Chretien is on the way out, so all bets are off!

As I said earlier, he might actually go through with this, if only to prove to Canadians that he doesn't cave to pressure from the States. His surprisingly insightful -- and shockingly unpolitical -- berating of the States over farm subsidies proves that he's willing to annoy powerful countries in order to shore up his take-no-bullshit-from-nobody image at home.

After all, America-baiting is our national hobby. Never underestimate how far a lame duck Canuck will go to pee in a Yankee's eye.
posted by Polo Mr. Polo at 12:19 PM on September 4, 2002

Actually, lupus-yonderboy, Anne McLelland is the former Minister of Justice.

Oops. That's what I get for sleeping through Chretien's mid-summer cabinet-shuffle-alooza.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 12:25 PM on September 4, 2002

Ouch.
posted by cowboy at 1:14 PM on September 4, 2002

Ashcroft praised Canada for its post-9/11 co-operation, but cautions much more needs to be done. One major concern he cited is Canada's weird law that requires U.S. police officers to check their guns at the border when entering this country. American law officials "need a seamless border" to facilitate entry into Canada in hot pursuit of terrorists and drug traffickers.


I thought you guys made your hiway patrols stop at the state line? will you allow the Mounties to have equal privileges in the statss?
posted by dash_slot- at 2:50 PM on September 4, 2002