jacob hunter

Dear friends,

I write to you today with a heavy heart. Jack Layton, leader of the New Democratic Party, has passed away. Jack was one of Canada's greatest leaders, and a man who advanced the cause of social justice, sustainability and civil rights like no other. Jack was a great friend to our community, and will be deeply missed.

I wanted to share with you my fondest memory of Jack:

Dana Larsen, Nicole Seguin and I were in Gatineau Quebec for the NDP Quebec convention last fall. The event was small, perhaps 200 people but full of camaraderie and optimism. It's hard to explain the feeling of being a marijuana activist at events such as this. Needless to say, our presence is well noted, and many are not sure what to say or do with us. People are always polite, but one gets the sense that people are afraid to be seen with us. Not Jack Layton. I think perhaps he must have noticed this behaviour from others as well. On the final evening of the convention, everyone was invited to a celebration at a local Gatineau brewery. Dana, Nicole and I along with some of our Quebec friends, had smoked a joint prior to entering the Brewery and found a table in the back corner of the room. We no doubt smelled strongly of marijuana, certainly the looks from others indicated this to be so. Read more »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 17, 2011
PROPOSED CHANGES TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA RULES NOT GOOD ENOUGH

The Beyond Prohibition Foundation, a federal non-profit that advocates for sensible marijuana policy, is calling Health Canada's proposed changes to the federal medical marijuana program “too little, too late.”

“We applaud the belated recognition that the government's medical marijuana program needs substantial reform.  This program has failed patients, producers and distributors of medical cannabis for a decade and needed to scrapped.  Unfortunately, the new proposals miss the mark and will fail to address many of the existing issues with the program,” explained Kirk Tousaw, the Foundation's Executive Director and a lawyer that is responsible for groundbreaking Charter challenges in the area of access to medical marijuana.

Health Canada's plan includes physician approval of patient use followed by supply from an unspecified number of licensed producer/distributors.  Physicians would no longer need to identify particular symptoms and conditions and the requirement that some patients consult a specialist would be eliminated.  It is unclear how many producers would be licensed and what criteria would apply.  It is also unclear how a lawful consumer would prove that to law enforcement authorities. Read more »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 10, 2011

In the midst of discriminatory attempts to pass bylaws outlawing medical marijuana dispensaries in the District of North Vancouver, the Re-Leaf Dispensary Society is opening its doors. The non-profit society will begin serving members on Saturday June 11, 2011. The planned dispensary attracted public attention last week and the District quickly scheduled public hearings on a new proposed bylaw that would essentially force North Vancouver's critically and chronically ill to the black market for their medicine. Because of the pressing need for safe access to high-quality medical cannabis for qualified patients, Re-Leaf decided to open its doors earlier than expected.

"There is a tremendous need in this community for safe access to this vital medicine ," explained Ken Starr, the Society's founder and a member of its Board of Directors. "The Re-Leaf Dispensary Society plans to work with the local community to address any issues that may arise, though we don't expect any problems at all. Residents of the District who need medical marijuana are now forced to either get it from local street dealers or to travel long distances to visit other compassion clubs in Vancouver, Maple Ridge and elsewhere. For many, particularly seniors and those with mobility issues, this is just impossible and therefore they live in pain and distress unnecessarily." Read more »

By. Jacob Hunter, WhyProhibition.ca

It has been three weeks since the election that brought Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party a majority government in Canada. This was a devastating result for our community that we all fought hard to prevent. I have been relatively silent since that fateful day. That is because this result changed everything for us strategically and I wanted to have a clear idea of where to go from here before moving forward.

The basic outline of our strategy going forward is as follows:

1. Join the NDP or Liberal Party and get active within those parties;
2. Build local WhyProhibition.ca activism groups;
3. Join local non-profits and get active within the community; and
4. Engage in strategic litigation to end prohibition through the courts.

In short, our goal is to build bridges with other groups in society, especially at the local level. We need to reach out to other groups, work with them and learn from them. There exists a higher level of support for marijuana legalization than for most other issues but we are missing the organizational strengths of other groups. Read more »