Jacob Hunter's blog

Stop S-10 Petition

Whereas crime in Canada is at a 30-year low;
 
Whereas more than half of Canadians want marijuana legalized;
 
Whereas harm reduction measures have been more effective at curbing social harms from drug use than criminal penalties;
 
Whereas the Drug War has failed to achieve any of it's goals despite more than $1 Trillion spent;
 
Whereas Mandatory Minimum Sentences have failed to curb drug use or availability in any jurisdiction which has implemented them;
 
Whereas the Conservative Government was unable to provide any evidence that S-10 or it's predecessors would achieve their stated goal of decreasing crime;
 
Whereas all expert opinion oppose S-10;
 
Whereas all newspaper editorials oppose S-10;
 
We the undersigned demand our Representatives in the House of Commons stand up against this unconscionable Conservative agenda and Vote NO on Bill S-10. Read more »

C-15 Has Returned - Now Called S-10

Rob Nicholson today reintroduced C-15 as Bill S-10, the bill is slightly different, with mandatory minimum sentences kicking in at 6 plants, not 1. So, to say again, the bill no longer has a mandatory minimum sentence for 1 marijuana plant.
 
That being said, the bill is a disaster for Canada. S-10 will imprison thousands of Canadians for victimless crimes, send people to jail for growing 6 marijuana plants, making any hashish (or baked goods) and a host of other offences.
 
There is no evidence that S-10 will work, indeed, every scientific study says it will fail. We know that prohibition has never worked, and we know that mandatory minimum sentences only increase the violence in our society.
 
Please contact your Member of Parliament (Login to WhyProhibition.ca, your MP will display in the top Right of the page) and let them know you oppose S-10 or any mandatory minimum sentence for marijuana.
 
Additionally, please, call (866) 808-8407 to let the Conservative Party of Canada know you oppose their harmful and dangerous so called "tough on crime" strategy. The evidence is clear, S-10 will do nothing but harm our society and cost billions of dollars. Read more »

Get Involved! Help Defeat Prohibition

We need to get a lot of work done to legalize marijuana, here's some ways to help!
 
Get active helping build activism in Canada!
 
May 7, 2011 is the Global Marijuana March, and of course there is always 4/20 (April 20) and Cannabis Day, July 1. We need organizers working across Canada on these and other events.
 
Send that link out over Facebook and Twitter, encourage your friends to sign up! WhyProhibition.ca will is the basis for a number of important campaigns, including a new BC referendum to legalize Marijuana. We need people to register so they can find out about upcoming protests, rallies, and laws.
 
We need bloggers, researchers, newshawks, and activists to get posting! You can use the userblogs section to post blogs, news, upload files (especially pamphlets, we're looking to host as many drug policy pamphlets as we can find!)
 
One of the most important things you can do is get involved in your local community. Join other activist groups, volunteer at soup kitchens, march in local parades. When we get involved, not only do we reach out to potential allies, but we also represent the best of our community to people who may be unfamiliar with it. If you're unsure about a group, attend some meetings and see if they're amenable to drug policy reform.
  Read more »

Medical marijuana still elusive in Alberta

By. CBC News
 
Smoking marijuana might ease some types of pain, as a new scientific study has found, but that's only if you can manage to get some of it.
 
Simonne LeBlanc, executive director of AIDS Calgary, said that while a number of her clients find marijuana to be an effective treatment for the pain and nausea associated with HIV, it's tough to come by legally in Alberta.
 
"It's really difficult to find a physician that will prescribe it," LeBlanc told CBC News on Tuesday. Read more »

Fifteenth Anniversary of Hempology 101

By. Hempology
 
Hundreds of cannabis-lovers will be marching the streets of Victoria, B.C. on Sept 1 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the International Hempology 101 Society.
 
Starting at Centennial Square at 7pm, costumed characters, lead by our mascot Herb, will take the group to the legislature for our annual postcard picture.
 
Throughout the years the International Hempology 101 Society has organized about 1,800 rallies, lectures, conventions, gameshows, press conferences, Team 420 games and parties, as well as meetings of the board of directors and various committees. Recently we turned our newsletter into a newspaper, the Cannabis Digest, giving us the ability to inform the public about various legal and medical issues while building a network of cannabis-friendly, small businesses. Read more »

Our drug priorities need to change

By MINDELLE JACOBS, QMI Agency
 
The federal government has it half right. We have a drug problem. But it’s not marijuana, which has never killed anyone. It’s the abuse of prescription drugs which kills hundreds of Canadians annually.
 
Whether it’s because of ongoing pain, depression or the urge to get high, more and more people are heading to their doctors — not the neighbourhood pusher — for a fix.
 
As the International Narcotics Control Board noted in its 2009 annual report, the abuse of prescription drugs in North America is second only to the abuse of cannabis.
 
We love our pills. North America has the world’s highest consumption of prescription opioids, such as OxyContin, and we’re gobbling them up faster than ever. Read more »

Wealthy marijuana backer returns to Oregon politics

By. Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian
 
Peter Lewis, the billionaire chairman of Progressive Auto Insurance, is back dabbling in Oregon politics. He recently gave $12,800 for the November ballot measure allowing medical marijuana dispensaries in Oregon.
 
Given his past enthusiasm for pro-marijuana causes, it wouldn't be surprising if this isn't a down-payment for the Measure 74 campaign. Lewis and two of his fellow billionaires - currency trader George Soros and Phoenix University founder John Sterling - bankrolled the 1998 ballot measure allowing medicinal marijuana use.
 
In fact, that was just one of four medical marijuana measures passed that year thanks to the financial backing from the trio through their group, Americans for Medical Rights.
 
Lewis was also a big supporter of the Marijuana Policy Project, which sought to legalize the drug. If you can believe celebstoner.com (I confess a lack of familiarity with this segment of the news media), Lewis contributed some $40 million to the group over the course of a decade before having a falling-out with the organization earlier this year. Read more »

U of Alabama Equalizes Marijuana and Alcohol Penalties

By. Robert Boyd
 
New this fall The University of Arkansas has decided to equalize penalties when it comes to marijuana and alcohol possession on campus.
 
Last year a misdemeanor pot possession, which consists of an ounce or less, resulted in a mental health evaluation, 50 hours community service, suspended parking privileges for one year, one year probation and a $200 fine.
 
Students for Sensible Drug Policy have been working for the past year to reduce that penalty to the same as a misdemeanor alcohol offense, which is a drug education class, 15 hours community service and a $50 fine.
 
"There is a lot of people who are in power that are isolated from the rest of the public so we get the word out there to the students, and the lower level and inform the public," said Rob Pfountz. Read more »

Martinez has high hopes for repeal of medical marijuana

By Trip Jennings, New Mexico Independent
 
Republican Susana Martinez has said she would work to repeal New Mexico’s medical marijuana program if she’s elected governor. But undoing the state’s three-year-old medical marijuana law would represent a major undertaking. There are only two routes — through the Legislature or voter referendum — and neither would be easy.
 
Repealing the law through the Legislature is unlikely
 
Collecting enough votes among state lawmakers to overturn the law is a long shot. The New Mexico State Senate approved the 2007 bill by a vote of 32- 3. And although state Sen. Vernon Asbill, R-Carlsbad, one of those three “no” votes, said Monday he’d vote for repeal, he also said it didn’t seem likely to happen. Read more »

FOX40 Airs Nation's First Medical Marijuana Advertisement

cannacare sporting the cannabis canada flagBy Matthew Keys, Fox 40 News
 
Sacramento's FOX affiliate KTXL "FOX40" has been known for delivering many firsts to the Sacramento area. The station was first with a satellite news truck, first on social media websites Twitter and Facebook, and first with local, national and global breaking news. Monday morning will see another first -- the first paid advertisement for a medical marijuana dispensary, thought to be the first time an ad for marijuana has ever aired on mainstream television.
 
The thirty-second ad, paid for by Sacramento-based "CannaCare" and produced by KTXL, shows various people delivering testimonials on the benefits of marijuana when used for medicinal purposes. Text at the bottom of the advertisement indicates that marijuana can be used in the relief of many diseases and illnesses, including diabetes, HIV, Hepatitis C and hypertension among others. Read more »
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