Ok I agree, I sound so insincere when I say "evah" I promise not to use it again. But seriously folks check this out. It is by far the best Halloween costume I have seen. The guy deserves a prize for that one. Kudos to the person who made that costume, now if his date went as a bong it would be just a match made in heaven.
Ok everyone knows I am pro legalization of marijuana. So why then am I writing an article that slams the Marijuana Party, simply put they can never and will never achieve their goals, at best they will assist others in achieving it.
Most critics of the marijuana party claim they are a one trick pony and have no platform other than the legalization of marijuana, and while this may be true in some ridings, for the most part this is not true. I have spoken with various candidates for the marijuana party, they are always intelligent, articulate, and politically aware beyond just the marijuana issue. Really they should be the the ones to take the fight to Ottawa, but they won't, not as long as they are members of the Marijuana Party. As long as the Marijauna party remains as it is they will never become a political player, and unfortunately thats the way the party seems to want it. They think its a good thing that the are a party they are decentralized, it is not.
In order for a party to bring forward marijuana two things must occur, they must be centralized, organized, and act like a political party, and the second thing (oh so simple) have a name that does not pick on any one specific issue.
Beyond the Marijuana party being a disorganized brood of smaller political riding association based parties the very name takes the power out of the party. People see the name and think of the Marijuana party and its members as a one trick pony, they want legalization of marijuana and nothing else. It doesn't matter how wonderfully written the platform of an individual candidate is, the party will drag that candidate down.
What Canada needs is more political activists that actually get involved in politics. We need people to join parties, change views become candidates and work the system within. We need serious candidates in serious parties to bring forth the matter of legalizing marijuana and changing all the laws in Canada that have no logical purpose. What Canada needs is for Canadians to give a damn about politics again, what Canada needs is a charismatic political leader with the power to inspire change. Who can this leader be? Its not Layton, its not Ignatieff, its certainly not Harper, so who is it? Is it you?
Prohibition of Alcohol is a thing most people agree was a dismal failure. It is widely agreed that Prohibition of alcohol in the United States spurred on gang violence and was a gross violation of personal freedoms. Despite this wide held belief almost all politicians and a good chunk of society still feels that prohibition of drugs is a good thing. Lets compare prohibition to prohibition and think very carefully about the differences.
Alcohol Prohibition
This is an interesting article that really seems contradictory. In it pot growers are BLAMED for increasing property values, bringing industry and an economic boom to this small town. And when I say blamed, I mean they are actually blamed. The article portrays marijuana growers as evil while pointing out that land value in the small town has increased tenfold, and businesses are profiting from the growers buying local. So where is the problem? Oh ya kids are openly talking about growing marijuana might be a viable career choice after high school, which I think is better than there options before growing became a growth industry here, which was they had not options other than leave.
Marijuana growers upend hard-luck California town -- latimes.com
Federal Eye - DEA identifies 3 agents killed in Afghanistan
Ok I am not going to say that these DEA agents had it coming or anything extremist like that, but I do have to wonder what these guys were doing in Afghanistan. DEA is a police agency, they have no rights to be in other countries period. It bothers me when I hear about DEA offices in countries other than the USofA, especially here in Canada. DEA stay on your own turf, get out of the business of trying to police the world, you have no rights to do so.
Son leads police to father's marijuana operation - WHIO Local News on newstalkradiowhio.com
Ouch, that hurts, ratted out by your own kid. Well he was dumb enough to grow pot with such a young kid in the home while the law is still so strict, I guess he had it coming.
And no I don't believe this guy really had it coming. I don't think people should be arrested for such things, but as long as it is illegal people have to be careful.
Study Downplays Marijuana's Link To Schizophrenia | AHN
Wow I saw this article in my inbox and thought "great more cannon fodder to blow away the schizoid link", while it does somewhat do this, it doesn't do a very good job of it, and whats worse is the author makes a statement like "preventing young people from smoking marijuana is important for reasons like curbing tobacco use and drug dependence, and improving scholastic performance".
While the study might be a good thing, taking further steps away from the often debunked "schizophrenia link", its still full of fear mongering falsehoods.
The Economics of Legal Marijuana
This is an excellent article on how taxing and regulating marijuana would do wonders to stop the violence in Mexico. bring a seriously needed cash infusion into government coffers., and LOWER the cost of marijuana.
The article quotes from a Fraser Institute study saying:
The study estimates that the average price of 0.5 grams (a unit) of marijuana was $8.60 on the street, while its cost of production was only $1.70. In a free market, a $6.90 profit for a unit of marijuana would not last for long. Entrepreneurs noticing the great profits to be made in the marijuana market would start their own growing operations, increasing the supply of marijuana on the street, which would cause the street price of the drug to fall to a level much closer to the cost of production. Of course, this doesn't happen because the product is illegal; the prospect of jail time deters many entrepreneurs and the occasional drug bust ensures that the supply stays relatively low. We can consider much of this $6.90 per unit of marijuana profit a risk premium for participating in the underground economy. Unfortunately, this risk premium is making a lot of criminals, many of them with ties to organized crime, very wealthy.Its a very interesting article with some very interesting points. None that haven't been brought up time and time again on this blog and by many other pro marijuana supporters.
“If we substitute a tax on marijuana cigarettes equal to the difference between the local production cost and the street price people currently pay--that is, transfer the revenue from the current producers and marketers (many of whom work with organized crime) to the government, leaving all other marketing and transportation issues aside we would have revenue of (say) $7 per [unit]. If you could collect on every cigarette and ignore the transportation, marketing, and advertising costs, this comes to over $2 billion on Canadian sales and substantially more from an export tax, and you forego the costs of enforcement and deploy your policing assets elsewhere.”
Legalized Marijuana? We May Already Be on the Way - ABC News
ABC is reporting that Obama appears to be headed towards legalization of marijuana. While I wish it were true, because any step in this direction will free up Canada to do the same (once we oust W. Bush Jr aka Harper from his throne), I highly doubt it.
Sure Obama is refusing to attack people who are using it medically, but come on, is refusing to prosecute sick people for using medicine that has been proven effective really the same thing as legalizing the medicine for anyone to use. The whole thing is a farce. Obama has no interest in legalizing marijuana, and is just as anti-drug crazy as any other american politician.
The Prince of Pot is set to appear in BC Supreme Court to be taken into custody to serve his time in US prison. This miscarriage of justice is being carried out despite attempts by supporters to get the Canadian government to intervene on Emery's behalf.
The internets are alive with chatter about Emery today, some say he is a villain and others a martyr. Personally I think he's a Jack Ass that made some very poor choices and doesn't know when to shut up. That being said he should not be going to jail, especially not in the states. Stupidity is not a crime, nor is Jack Assery. The government should have charged Emery the second they got the "request" from the DEA to arrest Emery. That way Emery could not be extradited since under extradition treaties Canadian citizens cannot be charged for crimes they have already been punished here for. Charge him here, give him the traditional fine and slap on the wrist and tell the DEA to go take a flying leap off the nearest bridge.
Now that I am in full rant mode, I have to ask (AGAIN) why the hell does the DEA have offices on our soil. How does a foriegn police agency have ANY right to be here investigating US crimes and arresting Canadians. Sure they call the RCMP in to help out, but really come on, we should stop giving them permission to act as a police agency on our soil... where is our soverignty?
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