kirk tousaw

Will California's Prop 19 'Supersede' Medical Marijuana Laws? Don't Believe the Hype

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Sat, 08/28/2010 - 1:53pm
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By. Kirk Tousaw
 
Much of the article "California's Proposition 19 will supersede or amend its medical marijuana laws" from The Examiner (which appears to be a blending of other posts including one written by an anti-prop 19 advocate and published in the Sacramento Bee newspaper per the link at the bottom) proceeds from the assumption that Prop 19 supersedes Prop 215. But that assumption is far from certain.
 
One thing is certain: Prop 19, if it passes, will lead to litigation just like Prop 215 has been the subject of litigation since it passed more than a decade ago. The end result of that litigation will tell the tale. Another thing is certain: if Prop 19 does not pass the headlines the day after the vote will be "California says no to marijuana legalization" not "California medical marijuana users saved".
 
Let's examine the primary assumption: That Prop 19 supersedes Prop 215. Note that anything said on this topic is a personal opinion, not a legal opinion upon which any individual person may or should rely. I am not licensed in California, and the following should not be taken as legal advice. Read more »

BREAKING NEWS: Quebec Police RAID all Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Quebec

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Thu, 06/03/2010 - 11:37am
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Beyond Prohibition Foundation
June 3, 2010
 
Quebec Police today conducted raids every medical marijuana dispensary in Quebec. Confirmation of police raids from Montreal Compassion Centre, the oldest dispensary in Quebec, as well as the other 2 clubs, Montreal Compassion Club and Quebec (City) Compassion Centre. This followed last months police raids of medical marijuana dispensaries in Toronto and Guelph. Legitimate Dispensaries in Canada use the same strict protocols to ensure only legitimate medical marijuana users access their services.
 
"These are sick and dying people, patients, whose only relief is from medical marijuana. Why on earth would Quebec police act so callously?" said Jacob Hunter, Policy Director of the Beyond Prohibition Foundation, "Courts have ruled these patients have a right to access medical marijuana, a right Health Canada ignores for hundreds of thousands of Canadians. These Dispensaries serve the thousands of patients unable to access Health Canada's byzantine system, and most importantly, the courts have acknowledged this fact" Read more »

Bill C-15 nails tenants growing medicinal marijuana

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Wed, 12/23/2009 - 11:04am
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By Matthew Burrows, Georgia Straight
About one-third of the 24 cultivators contracted to grow medicinal marijuana exclusively for the B.C. Compassion Club Society will be affected if the minority Conservative government’s Bill C-15 becomes law. The bill is seeking mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders.

Jacob Hunter, policy director of the Beyond Prohibition Foundation, told the Georgia Straight by phone that as a result of Senate amendments, growers who own homes can cultivate up to 200 plants and not face a mandatory minimum. “If they are renting, however, and even if they are a medicinal grower, one plant is a nine-month mandatory minimum,” he said.

Jeet-Kei Leung, communications coordinator at the society’s Commercial Drive cannabis dispensary, told the Straight “there are a dozen different ways in which this is bad news.”

Leung dismissed the Conservatives for being “stuck in the 1950s”. However, he didn’t spare the federal Liberals, who have almost unanimously followed the governing party through three readings of Bill C-15 in the House of Commons. If the House approves Senate amendments, only royal assent separates the bill from becoming law.

Read more »

Egocentrism or me in the media

Submitted by Kirk Tousaw on Mon, 11/23/2009 - 1:10pm
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MAPIf you don't know of MAPinc, you need to.  It is an online news and LTE (letter to the editor) aggregator.  You can do a lot of remarkable things with it including various searches.  For example, here is the search for me and what turns up:
 
 

RE Jon Ferry, Province Aug 7

Submitted by Kirk Tousaw on Fri, 08/07/2009 - 7:54am
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Jon:

You are right that ad hominem attacks are not exactly the most convincing form of argumentation. That said, Health Canada deserves every bit of the scorn heaped on it by Mr. Emery. Its medical cannabis program is a nightmare of bureaucratic inefficiency and callousness, marked by hysterical and unfounded fears and an intentional refusal to make the program workable. I work for many medical cannabis users and the nightmare stories I hear on an almost daily basis cause me to agree, mostly, with Mr. Emery description of that particular government institution.

I have read the study, scientific jargon and all, and I must say that the conclusions actually reached do not fully match the headlines and descriptions used in the press. Of course, that is a common failing of journalism - call it the flip side of ad hominem - making sensational copy at the expense of actual facts. Read more »

Nicholson slammed in Vancouver Sun

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 9:36am
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I was startled to read that federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson had slammed the Senate for not pushing through legislation implementing mandatory jail terms for drug producers. Kim Bolan's article quoted him as saying he had been calling on Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff to "do something this summer about the holdup we have in the Canadian Senate." The implication, of course, is that the Liberals in the Senate have somehow delayed passage of this bill.

It would be useful for the minister to know the facts. Bill C-15 was introduced in the House of Commons Feb. 27. It passed the House on third reading June 8. Incidentally, the Liberals supported it.

Clearly, the minister was in no great hurry to have it passed and, indeed, a previous iteration of this bill, C-26, died on the order paper with the calling of the last election. Read more »

Second chance to tell Parliament to Vote No on Bill C-15

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Fri, 03/13/2009 - 3:08pm
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Click here to email Members of Parliament! WhyProhibition.ca now has a form emailer for Members of Parliament! Check out the link above to send an email to members of parliament opposing C-15, which is now headed back to the House of Commons having been amended, very slightly, by the Senate. Simply scroll down to the bottom of the letter, fill in the fields and click send! It's that simple! If your account info is up to date, the form is automatically filled in for you! We need everyone to send emails to our Members of Parliament if we are going to defeat C-15! Email your members of Parliament today! Read more »

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