By. Jeremiah Vandermeer, Cannabis Culture
Stephen Harper and the Conservatives have secured their coveted majority government in a stunning election-day sweep. Dark days are undoubtedly ahead for Canada's cannabis culture, but the fight is not over.
As the smoke cleared on the evening of May 2, it was all too evident that our worst fears had been realized: Harper and his marijuana-hating Conservative Party had won more than enough seats – 167 of the 308 in Parliament – to form a strong majority. Add that up with a stacked Senate, a quickly-changing judicial landscape, and a cowardly, ineffectual media and you have – in essence – a Conservative dictatorship.
Harper, an Evangelical Christian who harbors religion-inspired hostilities toward marijuana, has promised to pass all of his party's dangerous law-and-order bills together within the first hundred days of his majority rule. This includes legislation that would enact mandatory minimum prison sentences for non-violent marijuana offences, like growing just a few plants in your own home or sharing baked cannabis treats. The enforcement of new laws is sure to lead to a massive and expensive expansion of the prison system, with Conservative-friendly corporations there to build, maintain, and make big profits – with no regard for the pain and suffering of non-violent Canadians. Read more »
Canada is escalating its war on cannabis and the casualties are piling up on several fronts across the nation.
The state-funded California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research announced that its studies have shown marijuana to have therapeutic value in a report released on February 17.
