What the Hell were you Thinking?
I was appalled to read in a recent response to a
letter (CC #5) that you are for the legalization of all drugs. What the
hell were you thinking?
I agree with the legalization of marijuana, as the
field I am in (nursing) could probably use it. I am curious why you would
say such a thing.
- Concerned Nurse
The harm associated with the use of "hard" drugs
like cocaine and heroin has more to do with the fact that they are illegal
than it does with their actual effects. As a nurse you must know that heroin
from a clean and reliable source is a safe and benign substance.
The fact that we require permission from a state-approved
doctor before being able to consume certain medicines is ludicrous. Much
as the Catholic church claimed that the only way to God was through a sanctioned
priest, so modern medicine dictates that the only way to our own bodies
and minds is through a sanctioned doctor. Both prohibition and prescriptions
are simply a means of maintaining outside control over people's bodies
and minds.
-DL
Degrading Americans
I am very impressed with your mag, except for the
fact that you can be very degrading to Americans. I feel this is a very
wrong thing to do, because we are all brothers and sisters, and we are
all in this fight together.
You should be helping to unite Americans and Canadians,
not pitting them against each other. This is the only "bad vibe" I get
from CC, I hope this will change in the future.
Apathy is a disease.
- Ryan in Indiana
Isolated and Alone in the
USA
You guys in Canada don't know how much better off
you are than us here in the USA.
You speak of rallies and initiatives in government
for decriminalization or reform. Yet here in Connecticut I am not able
to find any organization dealing with the issue.
I feel alone and isolated. I can't find anybody
interested or unafraid enough to speak to.
Do you have any suggestions?
- Dan in Connecticut
Move to Canada
I live in Texas, a very conservative state (concealed
weapons with a permit are legal again), and the news from Canada never
ceases to amaze me.
It may seem normal to you for your legislature to
be considering decriminalization and making piss tests illegal, and it
may seem hideously abnormal for the legislature to make drug possession
punishments higher, going against common sense and testimony, but in the
US it's quite the opposite. It's almost enough to make me move to Canada.
A friend's company was bought out a couple of years
ago and the new owners were appalled that there was no drug testing program.
They started one, and now they say they were very happy and proud to fire
their top two employees after the first drug testing results came back.
Keep up the fight! Maybe if Canada were to decriminalize
and realize the hypocrisies created by the 'fight' against drugs, then
more Americans would stop blindly following the press and the politicians
and think about the millions in prison and the billions of dollars spent
putting them there.
- Ted in Texas
CC is not anti-American, but we are anti-America.
The USA is the driving force behind world-wide prohibition, and since you
live there you have an added responsibility to get to work and end your
nation's vicious world-war against banned herbs and medicines like marijuana.
If there is no activist organization in your
area, start one yourself. Buy a computer and get onto the internet where
you can get advice and news from activists around the world. Send money
to organizations you support, write letters to your elected officials,
educate your friends and family. Read the article on being an activist
in this issue, and apply it to your hometown.
There's plenty you can do to end prohibition,
no matter where you live, but sitting at home feeling isolated and afraid
isn't going to do anyone any good.
-DL
Ottawa Wake-Up Call
I am so encouraged to read that people are finally
beginning to stand up to this systematic assault by the state on a lifestyle
I have practiced, with the consequences of state determined criminality,
for more than thirty years.
This has increased my appreciation for Canada. If
only those in Ottawa, who have financially ruined the nation and brought
it to the brink of destruction, while rendering countless hundreds of thousands
of innocent hempsters "criminal", only woke up, instead of lying continually
to their citizens while gold plating their pals and business associates.
Cana-dians smoke Canna-bis.
- Michael Le Clair, PEI
A Silent Victory?
Thanks for putting Canada's new Controlled Drugs
and Substances Act in your last issue (CC#7). It is important that marijuana
consumers and providers are aware of the new "gestapo" tactics.
However, there is a small but silent victory in
the new law! Under the Narcotic Control Act marijuana is classified as
being the same as cocaine and heroin. Yet now the government has rescheduled
marijuana as a Schedule 2 narcotic. This is a clear admission (for the
first time ever) that marijuana is not as dangerous as heroin and cocaine.
Now will they remove my "narcotic" conviction for
marijuana? I doubt it, but this is still a powerful victory for Canada's
Cannabis Culture.
- James Hardy, Ontario
The rescheduling of marijuana from schedule 1
to schedule 2 is not a victory, it is a government maneuver to deceive
Canadians. They want to make it appear as if they are treating marijuana
less strictly, when in fact they are preparing to imprison more marijuana
users than ever before.
The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act reduces
the penalties for marijuana just enough to avoid constitutional requirements
for jury trials. In this way, they will be able to quickly incarcerate
a greater number of pot smokers, without the same drain on the judicial
system.
The Law Union of Ontario testified before the
Senate about this, and said that "all the reductions in penalties for marijuana
are related to conveniencing the prosecution. They are not there because
they are taking marijuana less seriously."
Sorry James, it's not a silent victory, it's a scam.
-DL
Old Testament Cannabis Revival
This letter is in response to Rick Barnaby's letter
about my Kaneh Bosm article in CC#5.
Although Mr Barnaby may or may not have given the Bible a good read,
he certainly didn't give my article in CC a good going over. If the evidence
of cannabis use in the Old Testament had been limited to the symbolism
of the burning bush, it would have been a weak argument indeed. But the
backbone of evidence for the use of cannabis by shaman leaders like Moses
and other Biblical figures is based upon clear etymological evidence that
has been validated by a number of scholars. (Sula Benet 1936 and 1975,
Weston La Barre 1980, The Hebrew University of Israel 1980, Bennet, Osburn
& Osburn 1995.)
The most complete piece of research concerning the
use of cannabis and other substances in the Bible can be found in the forthcoming
Sex, Drugs, Violence & the Bible, which is authored by myself and Neil
McQueen and is due for publication in summer 1997.
Mr Barnaby's explanation of the burning bush episode
was far more unbelievable than the explanation of cannabis shamanism given
in the article. That the omni-potent God of Moses instructed him how to
sacrifice animals properly, how to put people to death for disobeying absurd
tribal rules, and to violently invade the inhabited land of Canaan and
slaughter its innocent inhabitants is all downright scary.
That people still try to fit this archaic belief
system and its tribal rules into their twentieth century reality and knowledge,
and further inflict its stupid doctrine of original sin onto the minds
of innocent babes, now that is downright horrific.
Hey Rick, join the evolution revolution, renounce your religion and
restore your humanity.
- Chris Bennet, British Columbia
A Good Example
I respect your journalism and appreciate your contributions to Cannabis
Canada.
Thank you,
- John "All Natural"
The fine fellow who wrote the note above left
it at Hemp BC for the CC crew, along with a mighty spliff of high-quality
herb.
This kind gesture is appreciated by everyone
here at CC, and we strongly encourage any and all other readers who feel
compelled to reward us for our journalistic integrity to forward us a joint,
or some buds or hash, or anything else that you think we might enjoy. You
can drop it off at our office if you're in town, or just send it through
the wonders of Canada Post.
Rest assured that we can use anything that comes
our way, and that all contributions are accepted, appreciated, and avidly
consumed.
-DL
