Remember when Obama held an Internet 'town hall' meeting last March (previously)? Well Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, decided to participate in a decidedly similar "Internet town hall"-esque interview, with a public system for posting and voting on questions. The response was surprisingly similar both in terms of votes, and in terms of Harper's response (skip to 35:40) to the voters' primary concern. [more inside]
posted by tybeet on Mar 25, 2010 - 61 comments

Overgrow.com --one of the largest and most comprehensive sites written by and for cannabis growers about cannabis cultivation, complete with user forums and immense photo galleries--along with Heaven's Stairway Seeds (hempqc.com), Cannabisworld.com, and Eurohemp.com have all been shut down, their owners arrested in Canada, and the servers seized. The story hasn't yet made the Canadian news, but it raises many questions about free speech online.
posted by fandango_matt on Feb 5, 2006 - 45 comments

"The loss of four police officers is unprecedented in recent history in Canada" - 4 Royal Canadian Mounted Police guarding a property suspected of running a grow-op were slain in Alberta. This man was known "[to have] hated the RCMP and blamed them for everything wrong with his life". Already there are calls to revisit Canada's stance on marijuana and grow-ops. [.]
posted by phyrewerx on Mar 4, 2005 - 58 comments

Let's Roll! [may be a teensy bit NSFW]
posted by Johnny Assay on Jun 3, 2004 - 8 comments

Marijuana meets Socialism. Health Canada's government-approved marijuana is apparently not up to snuff, acording to it's first 'patients'. [more inside]
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood on Sep 16, 2003 - 48 comments

Marijuana possession law 'erased' Possessing less than 30 grams of marijuana is no longer against the law in Ontario, a Windsor judge says in a ruling released yesterday that compounds the chaos over Canada's pot laws. And it's a long weekend too. (btw, Ontario is a province in Canada that includes Toronto).
posted by bobo123 on May 17, 2003 - 23 comments

The times, they are etcetera-ing. Jean Chrétien drew applause and a few whoops of joy at a fundraising dinner Tuesday night when he said that legislation decriminalizing possession of marijuana in Canada would soon be announced. "Don't start to smoke yet," he quickly cautioned the celebrants in the audience. Meanwhile, across the border, there are more than 236,000 drug offenders in state prisons. Hands up who's heading north.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken on Apr 30, 2003 - 94 comments

Toke off Hoser! If it was just a bunch of hippie pinkos, no one would care. But when 69% of the Canadian public at large would prefer relaxed marijuana laws, maybe something might actually happen. And it's not like the government has studied this and suggested the same thing...oh wait, they did.
posted by CrazyJub on Feb 21, 2003 - 17 comments

Drug War Roundup III A 70% increase in the price of cigarettes seems to have dropped the teenage smoking rate by 7%. On May 15 you heard the Drug War Czar say anti-drug ads were a flop. He announced a new campaign the next day. San Franciscan test subjects in a medical marijuana study say they're given "low-potency ditch weed." Subjects in a similiar study in Canada say the weed they're given is way too good. Lastly, Canada is debating whether to decriminalize smoking pot on the heels of a committee conclusion that it doesn't lead to hard drug use, committing more crimes or driving fast.
posted by raaka on May 19, 2002 - 16 comments

Can Renee get political asylum in Canada over drug charges? Over half of those in US federal prisons are in on drug charges, and one in five of those people are there on cannabis-related charges. In a word, this is wrong. It is time for Canada to once again act as the conscience of our neighbors to the south, as we did during the final days of slavery, providing a sanctuary at the end of the Underground Railroad; as we did in the final days of the Vietnam War, providing a haven for its conscientious objectors. Once again it is time to tell America, both firmly and with compassion, "what you are doing is wrong." To do so and to act thus, is a Canadian tradition and an obligation to the world at large.
posted by skallas on May 2, 2002 - 21 comments

If sniffer dogs can detect marijuana on clothing months after exposure, then why was a 15-year-old Ottawa high-school student suspended from school for two days when a sniffer dog apparently smelled pot on his winter coat? No other evidence was found. It seems to me that second-hand exposure ought to have been considered as a possibility here (cf. the Ross Rebagliati defence). The student has hired a high-profile lawyer. (Good for him.) Arbitrary school discipline at its best.
posted by mcwetboy on Mar 28, 2002 - 10 comments

Canada strongly considering decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana
posted by 4midori on Aug 1, 2001 - 20 comments

Marijuana use legal for terminally ill "Canada became the first country in the world on Monday to allow terminally ill patients to grow and smoke their own marijuana, overriding protests from doctors who said the decision could put them in an awkward situation."
posted by sylloge on Jul 30, 2001 - 6 comments

B.C.'s top commodity: marijuana New police statistics suggest marijuana has become one of B.C.'s largest industries -- even bigger than logging -- with annual production valued at $6 billion.

...Imagine 6 billion in lost tax revenues...
posted by cburton on Jul 7, 2001 - 27 comments

Man, I love Ontario. Monday afternoon, an amazingly significant court trial ruled that possession of marijuana being criminal is unconstitutional, and that new laws need to be written.
posted by cCranium on Aug 2, 2000 - 9 comments

The best marijuana is grown in Canada!? I would have never guessed.
posted by schlyer on Apr 26, 2000 - 3 comments