Canada's spreading cannabis crop

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7519178.stm

BC's marijuana trade is that it has gone beyond the boundaries of traditional organised crime groups (although some are still heavily involved) and entered into the middle classes.

Much of the revenue derived from BC Bud, as the cannabis crop is known, goes on paying college fees, perhaps buying a second car or making that holiday to the Caribbean just a little bit more affordable.

The trade is so large that the police in BC are faced with an impossible task.

best cash crop around... LEGALIZE IT ALREADY..

__________________
----------------------------------------------------------

"When two people agree on everything, one of them is not necessary" - Arliss

BC Bud is not exactly a new phenomenon. Apparently up to 25% THC. Causing some problems in the real estate market as rental houses are turned into neighbourhood grow-ops without the knowledge of absentee landlords.

And no, I don't think it should be legalized. Lock 'em all up, or deport the non-citizens.

__________________
2008 535, 6 MT, M Sport, Premium, Space Grey
2007 X3 3.0si, 6 MT, Premium, White

Retired:
2003 X5 3.0 Steptronic, Premium, Titanium Silver
2002 325xi 5 MT, Steel Grey
2004 Z4 3.0 Premium, Sport, SMG, Maldives Blue

One part of the article made this point.

Over the past decade, Canada has been moving slowly towards a more benign regime of toleration towards marijuana (although the current minority federal government of Stephen Harper vehemently opposes this development). This has placed the trade in the middle of some intense arguments between Canada (and BC in particular) on the one hand and the US and its guardian on drugs orthodoxy, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, on the other.

If BC's marijuana trade ever did force through a change in the legal status of the drug in Canada, the implications for Canadian-US relations would be profound. This will be a crime story well worth watching.

Seems to me that decriminalization (which hasn't happened yet, officially) is different than legalization.

There is a certain level of acceptance of the marijuana trade in parts of BC society, but BC is not necessarily representative of the rest of the country. We tend to be the considered to be out there somewhat.

Going one step further, US relations would be a federal matter, not a provincial one.

Did you follow the story on the discovery of a tunnel under the border? Several years back now, but it highlighted inter-agency cooperation, it seems.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...36/?hub=Canada

Anyone who lives in California can tell you, on a state level, Marijuana is practically legal.

Anyone who gets a doctors note, which is quite easy to get, can then go into a store and buy Marijuana like they were buying a bottle of wine.

And while the Federal Gov't does try to step in, the state has decided not to prosecute anyone who has or uses, small amounts of marijuana.

If you get pulled over with small amounts of Marijuana in your car (assuming of course you are not DUI) and you have a prescription, the police actually have to give the marijuana back to you.

It is, for all intensive purposes, completely legal here, if you are smart enough to get a note. You can also grow it, transport it within the state, etc.

But of course, common sense still applies. You're not supposed to smoke it in public. You can't have massive quantities. You can't DUI.

And you know what? The world has not fallen apart. There is no increase in marijuana related crime. There is not pandaemonium on the street.
The Mayor of West Hollywood has even instructed the entire WeHo Sheriff's dept. to ignore ALL casual uses of marijuana, even if there is no prescription.

And the sky is not falling.

I'm sure you correct about the details. I didn't know that the situation was such a problem and I thought it was an interesting read.

Marijuana: West Hollywood Passes "Lowest Priority" Resolution

By Mikki Norris for the Oaksterdam News

It's official. On June 19, 2006, the West Hollywood City Council passed a resolution that declared it policy that “ the City of West Hollywood does not target marijuana offenses” and directs the public safety commission to review narcotics-related law enforcement statistics annually.

In effect, this policy directs the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which is contracted with the City to handle its policing (it does not have its own police force) to make marijuana laws regarding adult, personal use a “low priority.”

The Council voted yes by 4-0 with one abstention. The ordinance was proposed by Councilmember John Duran to save the city the expense of an election and to gain more control over its language. The West Hollywood Civil Liberties Alliance (WeHoCLA) was engaged in a signature drive for an initiative similar to the current Santa Cruz effort, when Duran approached the group offering to support a city ordinance deprioritizing marijuana offenses. WeHoCLA agreed to pull the plug on their initiative effort to work with Duran's office to come up with an acceptable policy that would save the group the expense of a campaign.

West Hollywood is the first city in California to pass such a resolution regarding non-medical marijuana use since Oakland voters passed Measure Z in 2004 with 65% of the vote, and the 1970s when Berkeley and San Francisco passed resolutions to stop the arrest of marijuana users. This effort is the first success of the California Cities Campaign aimed at passing initiatives and ordinances across California in 2006, to end the waste of tax dollars and police resources criminalizing cannabis consumers, and to enable law enforcement to focus on violent and serious crime instead.

On Nov. 7, 2006 voters in the cities of Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Santa Monica passed lowest-law-enforcement-priority ordinances, and on Nov. 14, 2006, San Francisco County Supervisors adopted a measure similar to that of West Hollywood, with the support of the city's narcotics enforcement office.