Making Money Off of Crime: It's Criminal!

"Shabby Justice"

First, read/watch: Conrad Black: Privatizing Prisons 'A Catastrophic Idea' (VIDEO, PHOTOS) on the Huffington Post.

I replied to "otherguy58" on HuffPo (click to enlarge)

“He can contribute because he *has* been all of those things. Who better to learn from than somebody who has actually served jail time? It would be stupid to not listen to him, I have before and wrote about it: http://nblo.gs/4lIby

If our goal is to "correct" people then we must continually strive to improve our correctional system. We don't call it "Punishment Service of Canada" because the priority is to rehabilitate people while they serve their sentence and before they reintegrate into society. The majority of jailed offenders are not kept in jail forever, don't you believe that we owe it to ourselves to stop recidivism?  I, as a Mother, want people who are released from prison to have been given the tools to never re-offend thus making the country I live in a much safer place for my children.  Don't you?

The worse thing we could EVER do is make our incarceration system private and for profit - this is a public service that our hard earned taxes go to because we like having professionals in Fire and Police Departments, ambulances, jails, hospitals and mental health facilities, public schools etc. These public servants are properly trained to help us live our safest and healthiest lives. The Correctional Service of Canada is a necessary public service with the priority of public safety and therefore should forever be exempt from making profit for privately owned businesses and corporations. Making Money Off of Crime: It's Criminal!”

*****

I know taxes suck but where I don't mind mine going is toward healthcare, public safety, (cops, fireman, court and jail workers, probation officers, mental health workers* etc) education (child and youth programming throughout all communities) public transit and infrastructure (roads, highways bridges) and social services for families and people in need as lower poverty rates translate into less crime.

All of the above aid me, you, and our families every day.  Public servants help to keep us healthy and safe and if something does happen to us they are there.  Their goal is a job well done, not boosting their funds.  All of us benefit when these different service agencies are given support and are at the top of their game.  As professionals in their respective fields they contribute to effective work, policies and positive outcomes. 

Private corporations could care less about the people they contain and spit out, after all, they love it when people come back for another stint.  Their main objective is to make money, every new and returning prisoner raises their stock on Wall St. and taxpayers end up footing the bill.  Canadians deserve to have our safety be a top priority and leaving this task to private companies is just asking for tragedy and economic failure. The Americans have been down this treacherous road, let's be smart and not follow.

*****

Excerpt from: Private prison companies look to Canada as industry faces lawsuits in US

US states are beginning to rely less on privately run prisons, but Canada may be a land of opportunity for the two biggest firms

"US private prison firms are targeting Canada for fresh opportunities as pressure builds at home on the troubled multi-billion dollar industry from human rights groups and legal actions, and as more states look to scale back their reliance on them.

Two of the biggest operators in an industry once regarded as recession-proof, Geo Group and Management and Training Corporation (MTC), have been lobbying various government departments in the Canadian capital, Ottawa.

With a massive prison overhaul plan already underway – as well as the passage in March of Bill C-10, a suite of crime legislation that most observers agree will see more Canadians face prison time and keep those already locked up behind bars for longer – it seems the American industry's interest in its neighbour to the north could not come at a better time.

The private industry's lobbying of Canadian lawmakers has some Canadian prison watchers worried. "There is something unethical with having corporations seeking profits from locking people up," wrote a group of former high-ranking Canadian justice officials to the Kingston Whig-Standard newspaper in March."  ~ Read the whole article here.

From "The Union: The Business Behind Getting High"

90% Full Prisons Guaranteed!

Private Prisons-Commerce in Souls

For-Profit Prisons Promise Investors Growth

Making Investors Rich!

More links:

Lobbyists Behind Omnibus Crime Bill Aimed at Privatizing Prisons ~ 404 System Error Democracy Not Found

Right and proper  With a record of being tough on crime, the political right can afford to start being clever about it

 In Prison Reform, Money Trumps Civil Rights By MICHELLE ALEXANDER

*There is a higher rate of mental illness in the poor than in the rich (source Brill 40)
~ Death in Remand: Stacked Deck
"Forty-nine per cent of all prisoners admitted to a B.C. jail between 1997 and 2004 had a diagnosed mental illness. Fully half of those were also addicted to alcohol or drugs. In total, 56 per cent of provincial prisoners in B.C. during that time, both on remand and sentenced, were either mentally ill, addicted to something, or both. There's obviously a spectrum there. "Mental illness" covers a broad swath. But even still, it's hard to overlook the connection.
Remand rates are going up at least in part because of the judicial response to breaches of bail and probation condition. At the same time, the justice system is dealing more and more often with the sort of people most likely to breach.
It has to be asked: Are we setting them up to fail?"
~ Tory crime bill will make matters worse for mentally ill: expert

Hey Americans: Want a Job? Just Go To Jail!

One of the great things about social media is connecting with intelligent people who you'd otherwise never get the chance to "meet". Facebook and Twitter have brought thousands of new friendly voices into my realm over the past few years and they are what I lovingly refer to as my "Mad Posters" - meaning, they/we love to share news and videos and education regarding not just the Drug War, but injustice in whatever form it happens to take throughout the world.

"Posting Links" is one of the best tools that social activism has, on any given day I am gifted with personalized judicial and ecological news from Canada, the States and beyond. With the click of a mouse a daily itinerary is before me and I appreciate those who take the time to "Pass It to the Left".

While much of what we share is from news outlets and other mainstream media, what I cherish the most are contributions from everyday people passionate about making a difference. On Saturday a "Note" was posted on Facebook and it was so informative that I asked the writer, Lydie Meunier, if she would let me post it here to share with all of you and she graciously accepted.

Lydia brilliantly opens our eyes to scheming corporations and the U.S. Prison Industrial Complex coveting much sought after jobs and profiting greatly from free and cheap inmate labour. It's also a shocking glimpse of what will happen here in Canada if the Conservatives are re-elected and allowed to proceed with their fear driven crime agenda and American style prison plans.




GUEST POST
U.S. Unemployment Exacerbated by the Outsourcing of Jobs to Prisons
By Lydie Meunier

SLAVERY IS BACK IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Call your Congress Members and Ask them to Put a Stop to this Infamy!!!

I know that many people don't want to look into prison labor and the impact it has on unemployment figures because this is a disturbing issue. And yet, Jobs are outsourced to prisons, and slavery is being reinstated because corporations are counting on, and taking advantage of folks' apathy and disdains for prisoners... Meanwhile jobs for law abiding citizens are taken away from them to be given to cheap prison labor.

Today, prisoners are being exploited by corporations, paid more or less 40 cts/hour, more often less than more, sometimes paid nothing at all (see current situation in Georgia prisons not covered by the media), in lieu of the minimum $7.25/hour that corporations would have to pay to law abiding citizens. The difference, quite clearly, contributes to major corporate profits, while law abiding citizens are still unemployed and continue to lose their jobs.

On the FREE National market (vs. the WALLED industrial complex market), only 9% of our GDP comes from manufacturing. You can not sustain a middle class lifestyle with a service economy. To turn that 9 % into a much higher number, we need to introduce a new Bill in Congress to stop the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs to prisons (outsourcing to prisons is now called "insourcing").

When you consider the major corporations that employ prison labor (furniture factories, Microsoft, Boing, IBM, Starbuck, Victoria secret, BP, Sodexo, medical supplies, road signs, military supplies, etc.) you quickly realize that moving jobs back to law abiding citizens would surely help diminish unemployment figures!!!

The way these prison partnerships typically work is that a manufacturer wanting to increase profits moves their equipment, technology, materials and unfinished goods to a factory setting within a prison industry facility. Once up and running, the same products come off the assembly lines and are shipped as before. The difference is this, private sector employees of the company have been terminated or laid off. A handful of employees are usually kept on long enough to train inmates and prison supervisors in the manufacturing used to make the products. Once that is accomplished, they are also eliminated and their positions taken over by a prison industry supervisor.

This insourcing of labor creates quite a number of unemployed citizens. Burdens are placed on state and community social help programs, unemployment compensation, etc. So while the corporation saves lots of money in labor costs - no more unemployment insurance premiums, less expenses in lease of facilities (usually leased by the prison operators at $1.00 per year), and no more employee benefits such as medical insurance, vacations or paid time off - the communities they vacated are left to fund the unemployed left in their wake. In addition the local government loses taxes that were paid by the corporation, previous landlords of the facilities once leased to the corporations are left with vacant property and local shops and other businesses suffer a drop in sales due to the newly unemployed workers left behind.

Efforts to involve Union officials, management and labor leaders in rectifying this issue have been unsuccessful for some reason. Politicians and Union leaders are too busy arguing about outsourcing of our jobs overseas and seem to not have any interest in eliminating or addressing insourcing. The next time you or your neighbor loses your/their job; before looking toward China or India to see if you can see your job making its way there, look the other way and see if perhaps some criminal that stole your car has just as easily stolen your job and income as well.

Source: INSOURCING- A new concept about private sector job losses, by Bob Sloan, November 10, 2010

The prison industrial complex shows the fastest growth in profits, with politicians and judges and lawyers, and the top 2% investing in its stocks, which constitutes the most corrupt conflict of interests: for each incarceration, the private prison industry is not only paid big bulks by our tax money, it also disposes of the people as private property subcontracted to corporations. Meanwhile, we keep paying for the prison industrial complex to sustain itself with our tax money, oblivious to the fact that we are also paying with the loss of our jobs!!!!

Wake up folks!!! This is not only a national disgrace, it is a national scandal!!!

The United States has the highest incarceration rate!!!! Do you want to know why? Follow the money!!!

Here is a report for you to read to understand the mess this country is in regarding employment politics by regressing into slavery The prison industry in the United States: big business and a new form of slavery

Civilian Inmate Labor Camps designed to manufacture army supplies Jobs that used to be performed by law abiding citizens

Insourcing - Transfer of Private Industry Jobs to Prison Industry-Made in USA

PRIVATIZED PRISONS - PRISON LABOR IS SLAVERY

Here are more links related to more recent news in Georgia where prisoners have been forced to work without pay for their labor, a violation of the 13th Amendment, which prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude:

The Largest Prison Strike In American History Goes Ignored By US Media

Prisoner Strike Enters New Phase, Needs Our Support

Prison labor on the rise in US

Corporatocracy can best be described as: "A type of government in which huge corporations, through bribes, gifts, and the funding of ad campaigns that oppose candidates they don't like, become the driving force behind the executive, judicial and legislative branches". It explains why prison labor is ignored by politicians and main stream media!!!!!

Federal PIECP and Program Violations: Discussions on the use of prison labor in the U.S. and corporations that eliminate private sector jobs with inmate labor

While we are busy believing that prisoners need to pay their debt back to society, corporations are cheating society by "hiring" prison labor

Prisoner Advocate Elaine Brown on Georgia Prison Strike

Mass Incarceration in America

Private Prison Industry Helped Draft Arizona Immigration Law

Prison Economics Help Drive Ariz. Immigration Law

Private Prison Lobby Behind Arizona's Immigration Law

Rachel Maddow: Exposing Private Prison Industry Role in Shaping Arizona's Anti-Immigration Law - August 14, 2010 - Corporate Con Game

PRIVATE PRISONS AND THE ARIZONA ANTI-IMMIGRATION LAW - Dec 13, 2010

VALLEY OF THE DRY BONES: HUMAN BODIES FOR PRIVATE CELLS (2002)

Prison Labor: A Dynamic Sector - Covert Action Quarterly #54 - Fall 1995

Prison Labor - Policy Report 2002

BP Hires Prison Labor to Clean Up Spill While Coastal Residents Struggle - 2010

Prison labor cheats society - 2001

As Prison Labor Grows, So Does the Debate - Published on Sunday, March 19, 2000 in the New York Times

Prison Industry Funnels Donations To State Lawmakers Introducing SB1070-Like Bills Around The Country

The Prison Industrial Complex: Does It Create A New Form Of Slavery? How Much Labor Is Done In The Prison System?

"One might think an enterprise able to pay unskilled workers just 21 cents an hour would be able to manufacture goods it could sell at rock-bottom prices. Unfortunately, that is not so when the enterprise is Ohio's Penal Industries system." Penal Industries Costs Out of Line - February 3, 2011 - The Intelligencer

"ACLU 2010 report presents the results of a yearlong investigation into modern-day "debtors' prisons," and shows that poor defendants are being jailed at increasingly alarming rates for failing to pay legal debts they can never hope to afford." American Civil Liberties Unions - 2010 - See 2011 update

Last year, officials in McIntosh County, Okla., south of Tulsa, issued about 1,500 debt-related arrest warrants, up from about 800 a year before the crisis, according to a court clerk. More than 950 borrowers got similar warrants in Salt Lake City courts last year. Maricopa County, Ariz., officials issued 260 debt-related warrants in 2010 Welcome to Debtors' Prison, 2011 Edition

Other people's suffering makes such a lucrative opportunity for investment Private Prisons Have Future Growth All Locked Up - Oct 20, 2009

Prison Valley - A web documentary exploring the Prison Industry

"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

The United States continues to have the largest incarcerated population and the highest per capita incarceration rate in the world.
- Human Rights Watch, World Report, 2008

News Flash - People Like Primo Bud

"If drug gangs in Mexico are successful enhancing the quality of their product, they can sell the improved marijuana for up to five times the normal price. The going rate for top quality U.S. marijuana is around $2,500 per pound, while Mexican types sell for under $500, U.S. law enforcement officials say."
~ Mexico marijuana growers learn new tricks from US

My response:

"They say its used for pain management, but drinking a bottle of Jack Daniels would have the same effect,"

Yes, but the difference is that the bottle of Jack Daniel's can kill you, while the Cannabis can't. That is, unless you can ingest approximately 1500 pounds of it within 15 minutes.

Like fine wine, people will pay good money for quality cannabis. The Mexican cartels have recognized this truth and are upping their game to compete in the black market opposite "Primo" California bud."


C'mon, we can't be surprised by this - we all know that Cannabis is worth more because it's illegal. The best solution to stop the drug war violence is re-legalization and regulation, a controlled production, quality tested, sales industry much like what already exists for the previously banned alcohol. The bonus will be tax revenue, legitimate jobs in an already booming, established market, and taxpayer savings through lower legal, court, incarceration and probation costs. Plus, Industrial Hemp is a plant mine eagerly waiting to prosper, so the environment also wins.

Why is this plant illegal again?

Because We Say So - The Conservative Know-It-All Crime Agenda

Stephen Harper and the Conservatives think Canadians are stupid, and believe they know more regarding health, drug policy & community safety than over 500 professionals in the fields of health, drug policy and community safety. Thankfully there are some very important people speaking up regarding this draconian approach to drug legislation.

Letter to Government Expressing Opposition to Bill S-10

February 6, 2011

Right Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
Hon. Michael Ignatieff, Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
Hon. Jack Layton, Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada
Mr. Gilles Duceppe, Leader of the Bloc Québécois
House of Commons
Parliament Buildings
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6

Dear Sirs:

Re: Opposition to Bill S-10, the Penalties for Organized Crime Act

We, the undersigned, are concerned that the federal government is pursuing significant amendments to federal drug legislation, through Bill S-10, which are not scientifically grounded and which research demonstrates may actually contribute to health and social harms in our communities. We join with other individuals and community groups that have previously expressed concerns in their testimony to various Committees and in open letters, and we outline our key concerns, in brief, below.

Please click here to read the whole press release and hopefully you will share this with your fellow Canadians. Thanks! ~MaryJane

"When the public is provided with more information regarding the law and the circumstances surrounding the offense and the offender, the tendency is not to favour punitive sanctions such as mandatory minimum sentences." ~ "Mandatory Sentences of Imprisonment in Common Law Jurisdictions: Some Representative Models"

Oh yes, one more thing, in e-mails sent out to pastors and Church officials, the Church Council on Justice and Corrections said their group wants an about face on new prison building and legislation that would fill new jails with more criminals. The council is distributing graphics that lay out statistics about the cost and scope of the crime legislation. The council is asking that their ready-made inserts be included in parish bulletins or otherwise put in the hands of church-goers. They join LEAP Members and Clergy who condemn the War On Drugs.

From Justice council shows bite taken by Tories’ new prison policy :

"Lorraine Berzins, community chair of justice for the Church Council on Justice and Corrections, said the group wants an about face on new prison building and legislation that would fill new jails with more criminals.

“This is a critical time when all this money is about to be poured into something that is so clearly a destructive direction,” Berzins said.

The council is trying to get people beyond emotional and theoretical arguments by having them look at concrete facts — including the numbers of prisoners who are mentally ill, addicted or without job skills, said Berzins."

And more via The Globe and Mail:

"The letter comes weeks after the Church Council on Justice and Corrections, a 39-year-old coalition for justice reform that represents 11 of the largest Christian denominations, wrote a strongly worded letter to Mr. Harper condemning legislation that is expected to increase the number of convicts dramatically and require billions of dollars worth of prison construction.

The health professionals say they want drug legislation that is based on sound scientific evidence.

“Bill S-10 will put small scale growers of marijuana in jail for a minimum of six months, even though the RCMP's study of some 25,000 cultivation files reveals that violence or the threat of violence among cultivators is rare,” said Neil Boyd, professor and associate director of the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University. “We will be spending tens of millions of dollars to imprison individuals who represent little if any real threat to the public.” From Health researchers slam Tory mandatory-minimum-sentence proposal for drug crimes, - Globe and Mail


UPDATE 4 /9/11: If the Conservatives get a majority in Election 41 they have threatened to have all of their ill thought out stupid on crime bills crammed into one huge omnibus bill. Talk about an ideological, close-minded, extremely damaging FAIL! Please also remember, the reason the Harper Conservative government was found In Contempt of Parliament was because they refused to release the costs of these crime bills to Canadian Taxpayers.


Picture courtesy of FrankDiscussion.net


UPDATE: Please be advised that the MMS from Bill S-10 are now being included in Conservative Bill C-10 "Canadians: Don't Be Tricked by the "Safe Streets and Communities Act" - It's Omnibusted!"

Hey Canada! It's Important to Save Our Farms!

While this post doesn't discuss prohibition specifically, I feel it is a very important topic for Canadians to be aware of so I've decided to include it here on my blog as it speaks to the benefits of rehabilitation programs as opposed to the Conservative punish happy ideology.

"The decision to shut down this successful rehabilitation program symbolizes our government's lack of understanding of what actually makes the public safe, and their failure to recognize the value of a restorative approach to justice and a sustainable, local approach to the future of farming and food." ~ Save Our Prison Farms National Campaign

Photo from NUPGE article Major campaign launched to save prison farms - "Dating back to the 1880s, the program includes two operations in the Kingston, Ont. area, and others near Dorchester, N.B., Stony Mountain, Man., Prince Albert, Sask. and Innisfail, Alta."


~SAVE OUR FARMS! - The ‘Save Our Farms’ campaign was launched by the men and women who oversee, instruct and work with inmates in federal prison farm programs, members of the Union of Solicitor General Employees (USGE-PSAC). They welcome the support of national, regional and local organizations that have an interest in a safe, secure and sustainable food supply. Also read "THE FUTURE OF PRISON FARMS II" and III which also includes great audio interviews. Please be sure to take notice of all the awesome links in the sidebar as well.

According to one retired Corrections employee, it would seem that the farm program has a proven track record for its rehabilitative impact. Of the 50-plus inmates that were released during his employment at Frontenac Institution, not one reoffended. Perhaps there is something to be said for a program that promotes accountability through work that heals and helps one along the path to become a better human being.

The Conservatives don't blink an eye at spending at least 1.1 BILLION dollars of taxpayer money on the G8/G20 Summits - but $4.1 million for a program that helps inmates develop valuable life skills that they can use upon release into the community while at the same time providing food for correctional centers gets wiped out - "When they start buying that food (after the program ends) it will cost them at least 50 per cent more on top of what they’re spending." (Tony Abreau, relief instructor for Corcan). And a dairy farmer asked if they planned to import that produce from the US. No officials could answer that question.

"The Conservative government said that it will sell off the prize dairy herd at Frontenac Institution this June, effectively putting an end to the 50-year-old facility. The Frontenac farm supplies milk and eggs to federal prisons in Ontario and Quebec. " - Sludge issue could be costly for prison farm closure, memo indicates

Keep prison farms open, Liberals urge By Rick McGee
SooToday.com
Tuesday, May 11, 2010

NEWS RELEASE

OTTAWA – Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is warning against the Harper government’s decision to cut Canada’s federal prison farms, and is calling for an immediate independent review of the program before prison farms are permanently closed.

“Prison farms benefit everyone involved in them: farmers, corrections workers, and inmates,” Mr. Ignatieff said. “Because Liberals recognize the necessity of rehabilitation programming for preventing repeat offenses, we are demanding an immediate review, in the hopes of preventing the Conservatives from closing these farms.”

Last year, the Harper government announced their plan to phase out six prison farms that currently employ 300 federal prisoners. Last month, the House of Commons Public Safety Committee asked the government to release the strategic review of prison farms from the Department of Correctional Services.

Liberals are calling on the government to wait for the independent review to be completed before moving forward with the closure of any prison farms. The Conservative decision to close prison farms would likely be irreversible, as land and equipment will be sold for other uses.

“The Harper government only cares about locking more people up and throwing away the key in their planned super prisons,” said Liberal Public Safety Critic Mark Holland. “They’ve ignored the fact that inmates working on prison farms develop critical life and employability skills that reduce their risk of re-offending after release – helping to prevent crime and protect our communities.”

There are six prison farms in Canada -- two within the city limits of Kingston, and one each in New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The prison farm program is considered an extremely effective rehabilitation and training program that contributes to public safety and that also provides food for federal and provincial inmates.

Mr. Ignatieff is calling for the Harper government to wait for an open and transparent independent review of the prison farm programs operated by the Correctional Service of Canada that will consider:

• The value of farm employment and training of inmates;

• The impact of the closure on rehabilitation programs;

• The influence that employment in the farm environment has on recidivism;

• The impact that farm closures have had on local agriculture economies; and

• The increase in the cost of operating prisons which are no longer able to purchase food products from prison farms.

“Local farmers appreciate the benefits of these productive prison farms for stimulating the local economy,” said Liberal Agriculture Critic Wayne Easter. “Unlike the Conservatives, our party recognizes the importance of these farms to helping offenders get back on the right track, and for supporting the communities where prisons are located.” - Fin

Sadly, Liberal MP Mark Holland was even denied in the House of Commons today when he requested an emergency debate to discuss the tragedy of the closure of the Prison Farms Program.

While I can report on the views of politicians regarding the closures, here's a great citizen "Letter to the Editor" from the Kingston Whig Standard worth a reprint:

Prison farms promote accountability

Recently, I attended a public meeting in Kingston that addressed the current issue of prison farm closures.

Of particular interest was the impending closures of farms at Pittsburgh and Frontenac institutions.

This forum was an opportunity to hear MPs Wayne Easter, Liberal agriculture critic, and Mark Holland, Liberal critic for public safety, reflect on their recent tour of four of Canada's prison farm facilities.

Both were impressed with these operations; especially the two in Kingston. When they had an opportunity to speak with some inmates who worked on these farms, they noted their strong work ethic and sense of pride.

They also noted the broad skill set they were acquiring through such work.

According to one retired Corrections employee, it would seem that the farm program has a proven track record for its rehabilitative impact. Of the 50-plus inmates that were released during his employment at Frontenac Institution, not one reoffended. Perhaps there is something to be said for a program that promotes accountability through work that heals and helps one along the path to become a better human being.

Working the land, being responsible for the livelihood of animals, and broadening one's skill set, is a meaningful way to reach this end. The rehabilitation of inmates is crucial, as most will at some point be released into society. What kind of neighbour would you like?

The government has claimed that $4 million is lost annually by keeping these facilities open. What evidence is there of this? Perhaps we could speculate how much more might be lost if they were to tender food -- currently produced by the prisons -- to other providers (perhaps not even Canadian). Not only do these farms feed all of the inmates from these prisons and others, but they also donate a few hundred dozen eggs annually to the food bank. Uniquely, Pittsburgh Institution boasts an abbatoir as well; whose services are relied on by approximately 150 businesses in the Kingston area.

If a super prison -- which would house inmates from all levels of incarceration -- were to be built in place of these prison farms, the rehabilitative benefit of inmates would be significantly reduced. This style of institution has been tried in the U.S. and was unsuccessful. They now recognize the wrong-headedness of this direction. Why then would we want to follow in failed footsteps?

Finally, how can we, in clear conscience, sacrifice land, classed as prime agricultural, when fertile ground is being eaten up by development on a daily basis? Can we really afford to keep relying on other countries to feed us? This seems unconscienable, given the issue of food security and the ongoing oil crisis. Does this really make financial sense? Are we that removed from our roots? ~ By Sue Peters Inverary

From the Save Our Prison Farms National Campaign (*PLEASE* visit the site):

This new Save Our Prison Farms website has been set up by the national campaign team to respond to growing public concern over the immanent shut down of Canada's six prison farms. We believe that our government will reverse its misguided policy decision as it continues to discover that the vast majority of Canadians of all political stripes support this productive, cost effective, rehabilitative farm-based program.

Opportunities for you and/or your organization to get involved are listed on the You Can Take Action page.

This campaign is a lightening rod for addressing the Conservative Party's generally short-sighted policies on farming, food and justice. The decision to shut down this successful rehabilitation program symbolizes our government's lack of understanding of what actually makes the public safe, and their failure to recognize the value of a restorative approach to justice and a sustainable, local approach to the future of farming and food.

Save Our Prison Farms Information and Action Meeting

Thursday, May 27th, 7:30pm - Perth, Ontario

Perth Lions Hall, Perth Fair Grounds

Speaker include: Mark Holland, Liberal Public Safety Critic; Mike Schreiner, Leader of the Green Party of Ontario; Dianne Dowling, National Farmers Union, Local 316 President; John Williamson, Frontenac Federation of Agriculture, Past-president.

May 17, 2010 - Telegraph-Journal, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, story: New Brunswick's only prison farm still fully operational

May 12, 2010 - CKWS Television, Kingston, Ontario, video news report: Spin offs from prison farms - food bank, farm supply businesses

May 11, 2010 - CKWS Television, Kingston, Ontario, video news report: On recent campaign events in Athens and Napanee, Ontario

May 11, 2010 - Liberal Party of Canada, Press Release: Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff denounces the planned prison farm closures and calls for a public inquiry

May 6, 2010 - Kingston Whig Standard, Kingston, Ontario, story: Ex-inmate makes personal plea to keep farms

May 5, 2010 - The Globe and Mail, story: Critics claim closing prison farms would create $1-million milk bill

Please contact Members of Parliament and let them know you support the continuation of the Prison Farm Program in Canada. Thanks, MaryJane

.

Side Effects May Include...Coma or Death?!

Side effects for Big Pharma drugs highlight the hypocrisy of Cannabis prohibition - if drugs with side effects like the ones in these videos can be sold legally then every health/harm arguement for keeping natural non-toxic Cannabis illegal is moot in my books.








"No one knows exactly how Depakote works" - Wait, what?


Side effect of blue or yellow skin...


And this drug is for.... thicker eyelashes?




Also read:
Big $$$, Big Pharma , Gossip Folks and
CONTROLLED PRESCRIPTION DRUGS VERSUS MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Gossip Folks

A Blog that is definitely worth checking out is "Pharma Gossip", it's got the lowdown on all the info that Big Pharma wants to keep on the downlow. I've been reading it for many months now and the blog is worth sharing with all of you.



A favourite *video, highlighting Big Pharma drugs and the hypocrisy of "Drug Free". *Note -some swearing in this video.

Calling All My Fellow Mamas! WalMart Boycott in Effect!

My baby is due in July.... guess where I WON'T be buying a stroller, furniture, onesies, sleepers, diapers, etc! You lose, WalMart!




WalMart Fires Associate Of Year, Cancer Patient For Medical Marijuana

"Despite medical marijuana being legal in Michigan, WalMart has fired a cancer patient and former employee of the year who tested positive for the drug, which was recommended by his doctor." Read the whole story on Toke of the Town.

I hope my fellow Mamas will join me, please pass the message on and let's teach WalMart a lesson about the proper way to respect employees battling Cancer and Medical Cannabis!!!


UPDATE: There is now a Facebook Group, please feel free to join and share an invite with your friends. BOYCOTT: WalMart Fires Cancer Patient For Medical Marijuana

UPDATE 2: The Marijuana Policy Project gives us the latest information regarding WalMart and Joe Casius. I'd also like to highlight great comments by a poster named "Darth Nole" who emailed Walmart about the firing:


DarthNole: { 03.18.10 at 10:57 am }

Here was my response to their email:

Chris,

I understand that your position oversees Wal-Mart’s Global Ethics division, but I would like to point out that first and foremost this incident is occurring in the State of Michigan and there are laws in Michigan that you are bound to uphold. Wal-Mart should pay close attention to the language that is included within the recent Medical Marijuana law that has been implemented:

Sec. 4. (a) A qualifying patient who has been issued and possesses a registry identification card shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner, or denied any right or privilege, including but not limited to civil penalty or disciplinary action by a business or occupational or professional licensing board or bureau, for the medical use of marihuana in accordance with this act, provided that the qualifying patient possesses an amount of marihuana that does not exceed 2.5 ounces of usable marihuana, and, if the qualifying patient has not specified that a primary caregiver will be allowed under state law to cultivate marihuana for the qualifying patient, 12 marihuana plants kept in an enclosed, locked facility. Any incidental amount of seeds, stalks, and unusable roots shall also be allowed under state law and shall not be included in this amount.

Please consider the impact as to what has occurred in this situation, and remember that the State Laws of Michigan are clear that Medical Marijuana patients…. “shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner, or denied any right or privilege, including but not limited to civil penalty or disciplinary action by a business or occupational or professional licensing board or bureau, for the medical use of marihuana in accordance with this act…”

The firing of this employee is in direct opposition to the laws in Michigan and should be reversed immediately. Had this situation occurred in a State without this specific reference in the law then Wal-Mart would be justified in their actions. I hope that you can effectively review all of the circumstances surrounding this incident and come to the correct decision. I, like many others, will not be shopping in your stores until a change is made.

Darth Nole
____________________

I’ll post their response if I get one.

DarthNole: { 03.18.10 at 11:09 am }

An excerpt from the Wal-Mart Statement of Ethics:

“If any part of this Statement of Ethics goes against local policies or laws, then the local policy or law must always be followed. It’s
our responsibility to know all of the local laws and policies that might affect our area of business.”

I would gather that they should then follow the Michigan State Medical Marijuana Laws!!!

Will you take part in the WalMart Boycott?

Note to readers, I've gone and somehow really done a number on the H T M L when all I was trying to do was add a link before the poll. :-p We can chalk my first foray into adding a Poll to one of my blog posts as "successful until I thought I could figure out code."

Thank you to all who voted, the results by Midnight Sunday night (when I finally gave up after trying to fix it for an hour) were 14 YES's and 1 NO.





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Conflict of Interest Much?

"Last October, the Harper government appointed Bernard Prigent to the governing council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the federal agency that distributes about a billion dollars annually for health research. That appointment was met with near-universal condemnation from medical ethicists, because..."

Tour de Lance - SAFER Calls Out Armstrong

Anheuser-Busch and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong have announced a three year spokesman deal.

"Denver-based Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), which works to educate the public about the relative safety of marijuana compared to alcohol, says it is irresponsible of Armstrong to promote a substance that has been directly linked to several forms of cancer. The organization is also calling the USA Cycling team member's deal hypocritical, particularly in light of USA Swimming's treatment of team member Michael Phelps." Read the whole press release here.

And speaking of spokesmen and Michael Phelps...

1990 Flashback - Drug Problems in Perspective

This article "Drug problems in perspective" is from June 1990. Alas, here we are almost twenty years later, still spending billions of tax payer dollars fighting an unwinnable War on (people who choose to use certain) Drugs.

"Drug use "endemic" (ingrained) rather than epidemic."

Cannabis is a plant that has been used by humans for medicine, religion, food, fiber, paper, fuel and gasp! recreation, for thousands and thousands of years. Just because our government bans its use doesn't make it magically disappear, we learned that valuable lesson already from the failed prohibition of alcohol. We have NEVER been a drug free species and never will be the Utopian drug free society our politicians insanely demand of us. When will the Canadian government realize that they can't legislate human behavior?

"Clearly, rumours of a Canadian drug epidemic overstate the situation, creating a hysterical "war-on-drugs" mentality."
Read the whole article here.

Utopia ~ \yu̇-ˈtō-pē-ə\

1 : an imaginary and indefinitely remote place

2 often capitalized : a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions

3 : an impractical scheme for social improvement

What's next? Caffeine?



UPDATE: Read my post: How Cannabis Works

Canada - Training the Next Generation of Los Zetas

"Think of it this way: trying to eradicate the drug industry in Mexico is like trying to eradicate gambling in Las Vegas." ~ Charles Bowden

First, the back story:

U.S.-trained forces reportedly helping Mexican cartels

STEWART M. POWELL
Houston Chronicle
May 15, 2008

WASHINGTON — As many as 200 U.S.-trained Mexican security personnel have defected to drug cartels to carry out killings on both sides of the border and as far north as Dallas, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, told Congress on Wednesday.

The renegade members of Mexico’s elite counter-narcotics teams trained at Fort Benning, Ga., have switched sides, contributing to a wave of violence that has claimed some 6,000 victims over the past 30 months, including prominent law enforcement leaders, the Houston-area Republican told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The slaughter has gained urgency amid high-profile assassinations of law officers in Mexico since May 1, claiming six senior officers, five of them with the federal police.

Poe held aloft a dramatic, poster-board-size photograph that he said showed guerrilla-style commandos crossing into the United States.

He said the Department of Homeland Security had documented “over 250 incursions by suspected military forces” into the United States over the past decade.

“I was surprised to hear that the United States has trained Mexican forces and some of those have deserted and become the reason for these attacks,” Poe said.

Officers 'switched sides'

The U.S.-trained Mexican security personnel have "switched sides and became assassins and recruiters for the Mexican drug cartels."

Poe, a former prosecutor and criminal court judge, issued the allegations in an unsuccessful effort to persuade the House Foreign Affairs Committee to revamp President Bush's Merida Initiative.

Bush's blueprint calls for $1.4 billion in training, equipment and law enforcement assistance to Mexico and Central America over three years.

Bush also is seeking $500 million in emergency assistance for Mexico this year as part of the supplemental war spending measure.

Democrats have included only $400 million of Bush's request in the $161 billion war spending measure.

Poe tried to require the Bush administration to evenly split spending between the United States and Mexico rather than sending the entire amount south of the border.

"It seems as though the United States has a history in some cases of giving support (to Mexico) and that support turns around and is used against the very people we're trying to protect, in this case, us," Poe said. "We have no assurance that the equipment we're sending to Mexico won't be turned over to the drug cartels and used against us."

Panel backs original plan

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, also tried to persuade the Democratic-controlled panel to shift part of the Mexico-bound spending to the United States to bolster law enforcement efforts on the border.

McCaul, a former federal prosecutor who specialized in counter-terrorism, called border drug violence "an imminent security threat right on our doorstep" that deserves the same effort as the war on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The 50-member panel, led by Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., largely endorsed the Bush administration's version of the proposal, expanding assistance beyond Mexico and Central America to include the Caribbean nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Berman referred Poe's and McCaul's proposed changes to the House Judiciary Committee, saying their plans for greater spending by U.S. law enforcement along the border fell within that panel's jurisdiction. - http://www.thetreeofliberty.com/vb/showthread.php?t=18326 ~

Excerpts from Rolling Stone: The War Next Door
By Guy Lawson Posted Nov 13, 2008

Indeed, much of the current bloodshed can be traced to the special forces that Mexico trained to find and arrest drug traffickers, receiving instruction from the U.S. military on tactics, intelligence-gathering, air assault and advanced weaponry. In the late 1990s, one of the new Gulf cartels began recruiting these American-trained soldiers to work as hired guns against the Sinaloan cartels, offering vastly higher wages than the government. Known as "Los Zetas" — the Mexican police's term for a high-ranking official — these mercenaries are now the most violent force in Mexico, moving massive amounts of drugs into the U.S. while murdering journalists and police and politicians who challenge their authority. Led by Heriberto "the Executioner" Lazcano, the Zeta paramilitaries are far more sophisticated in their weaponry and combat skills than the hapless and corruption-addled policía. It is as if the Navy SEALs or an FBI SWAT team went to work for the Russian mob.

The surest way to curb the violence is the one the U.S. government refuses to consider. "There is no national conversation about legalization, and we need to start doing that," says David Shirk of the Trans-Border Institute. "From the Mexican point of view, decriminalization would rob organized crime of the monopoly it now has in the black market. The monopoly is what gives the drug traffickers enormous resources. They can challenge and compromise the state in extremely dangerous ways. They use profits we're creating to undermine our efforts to fight them." ~

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it....

Canada to Train Mexican Officers Fighting Drug Cartels
By Andrew Meyada Canwest News Service August 9, 2009

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Sunday that Canada will train Mexican police officers to assist Mexico in its brutal war against rival drug cartels.

The announcement came as the prime minister touched down here for a two-day summit with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and U.S. President Barack Obama.

Security will be one of the issues on the agenda at the so-called Three Amigos Summit, along with the global recession, the swine-flu outbreak and climate change.

Through the Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program, Canada will invest as much as $15 million a year in projects across the Americas that combat the illicit drug trade, corruption, human trafficking and other regional problems.

Slightly more than $430,000 will go to Mexico to help it fight its drug war, which claimed more than 6,000 people last year, almost double the number of deaths in the previous year.

Global drug cartels in Mexico have been feuding over access to the lucrative North American market. The U.S. State Department, for example, estimates that 90 per cent of the cocaine that enters the United States flows through Mexico.

Calderon has staked his presidency on his government's aggressive response, vowing to defeat the cartels by the time his term ends in 2012. After taking office in late 2006, Calderon sent thousands of troops to back up the police in drug-trafficking hot spots.

Under the program announced Sunday, the RCMP will train 300 mid-level Mexican police officers with the help of the United States and other countries. The Mounties will also train 32 new police commanders in such areas as police management, investigation and intelligence skills.

A government official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity said the Canadian government could provide more funding if Mexico requests it.

Funding for the program had already been earmarked in the January federal budget. ~

I'm sure the Mexican Cartels eagerly await their new batch of Canadian trained recruits. I hope Canadian taxpayers will be happy with their investment. And for some reason I am reminded of a quote, from Homer Simpson no less: "Prohibition? HA! They tried that in the movies and it didn't work."

Charles Bowden, an author and reporter who has extensively covered Mexico's Drug War speaks with Democracy Now! The video and full text of the interview can be found here. The story of Emilio Gutiérrez is on Mother Jones.

UPDATE May 2010 - (Mexican President Felipe Calderone is right this minute addressing Canadian Parliament and speaking of the Drug War) I'd like to remind everyone:

After 40 years, $1 trillion, US War on Drugs has failed to meet any of its goals

I'm just sayin'.....

Police FAIL

The following is by my friend Steve Elliot. Check out his blog Reality Catcher and his other brilliant articles on the San Francisco Weekly. You can also follow Steve on Twitter: @alapoet

Chronic City: Revealed -- California Cops Are Trained 'Marijuana Is Not A Medicine'

By Steve Elliott in Chronic City, Government, Health, Law & Order

Thursday, Jul. 30 2009 @ 12:30PM

Artwork courtesy Jim Wheeler

Can't we all just get along?

​A recent court case in San Diego has revealed some California police officers are basing their sworn court testimony in medical marijuana cases on badly outdated, legally inaccurate information.

This goes a long way towards explaining why it is that so many law enforcement officers in the state still seem to harbor such personal animosity toward medical marijuana and those who use it, even after it's been legal in the state for 13 years. Above and beyond the seemingly eternal cop/pot dichotomy, the cops' own "medical marijuana training materials" tell them that -- contrary to the law -- there's no such thing as medical marijuana, and that all marijuana is illegal!

This misinformation has real-life consequences. Californians who legally use and provide medical marijuana are faced with hostile police and judges who have only heard or choose to believe information which is plainly wrong regarding medicinal pot's legal status here, and inaccurate regarding its effectiveness as medicine, as supported by thousands of doctors and hundreds of studies.

Courtesy eugenedavidovich.com

Eugene Davidovich: Victim of the pot culture wars?

​Eugene Davidovich, a San Diego medical marijuana provider who was arrested last February as part of Operation Green Rx (aka Operation Endless Summer), told me that the chief investigative officer in his case testified on the stand that he bases his expert testimony, as far as "medical marijuana training," on a handout from something called the Narcotic Educational Foundation of America, "Drug Abuse Education Provider of the California Narcotic Officers' Association."

In this toxic little screed, with the title Use of Marijuana As A "Medicine" (the quotes are theirs), we learn right off the bat -- in the first sentence! -- that "Marijuana, a plant from the cannabis family, is illegal and highly psychoactive." No mention of the fact that medical use of marijuana is legal, mind you -- and this in materials used to educate law enforcement officers.

I'll bet you thought that the issue of medical marijuana was settled when Proposition 215 was voted in back in 1996. Not so fast! You're just a civilian. The cops know better; and guess what? It sure looks as if the cops get to pick which laws they like, and which ones they want to ignore. "MARIJUANA IS NOT A MEDICINE," the "educational" pamphlet screams at its gun-toting, badge-wearing readers.

Screen capture: Reality Catcher

Misinformation has consequences: Inaccurate handout used in officers' court testimony

​
More than a decade after California voters spoke loudly and clearly on the topic, these folks just aren't giving up the pot culture wars. You'd think the "medical marijuana training" of law enforcement officers might include the rather pertinent fact of its legality might merit at least a mention. Reading the sordid little hate-filled pamphlet, you keep expecting to eventually encounter some level-headed caveat for these eager officers, some kind of sensitivity training, some sort of warning that since marijuana is, in fact, legal in this state for medical use, that officers must be careful to protect the rights of patients. But it never comes.

"Many well-intentioned leaders and members of the public have been misled by the well-financed and organized pro-drug legalization lobby, into believing there is merit to their argument that smoking marijuana is a safe and effective medicine," the pamphlet informs officers. "There is no justification for using marijuana as a medicine."

Once the officers have been, er, "trained" as to the illegitimacy of medical marijuana, they are dutifully informed that it is just ever so immoral and icky as well. "We have seen first hand the debilitating and often tragic results, both psychologically and physically, of those who choose intoxication as a part of their lifestyle," the pamphlet laments in one particularly purple passage.

The pamphlet then attempts to cloak its (legally incorrect for California) estimation of marijuana's uselessness as medicine and its enormous moral judgments around the weed in some sort of scientific respectability by citing outdated studies, all of which have been since refuted by more modern findings.

"It is actually scary what goes on in court," Davidovich told me. "I really hope that somehow a stop can be put to this. This is one of the reasons I am so public about these hateful people. There are a lot of patients who are needlessly suffering here in San Diego." ~Steve Elliot, SF Weekly

To read more about the fight to use Medical Marijuana, including the latest news regarding last weeks statement by the drug czar and the subsequent letter writing campaign that followed, please visit The Marijuana Policy Project.

Stuff Stoners Like Reports on Stuff Tax Payers Should Love

Stuff Stoners Like reports breaking news out of Oakland ~ home of "Oaksterdam".

BREAKING NEWS- Voting Ends in Oakland on Increasing Marijuana Tax

Update: They did it!!!

Embrace the Truth - Save the World: In Honour of Jack Herer

The Americans came and stole our Hemp, so we went and burnt their White House down.
Along with watching these videos, please also take the time to read this wonderful article: "Is the oldest plant known to man future-proof too?" and share it with everyone you know. This information should be common knowledge. Our existence as a species depends on the masses finding out the truth about Hemp, creating a massive global effort demanding that world governments step out of the past to nourish our countries and our planet. Embrace the truth, share the truth - save the world. We simply cannot fail future generations to come.

"We'd never have to cut down another tree."
~ Jack Herer, the Emperor of Hemp

Update: Thursday April 15th, 2010 -
With overwhelming sadness I write that the world has lost a great man today, a man of truth and integrity. Salem-News reports The Hemperor, Jack Herer has Died: "The sad news has been confirmed. Jack Herer, author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes and renowned around the world for hemp activism, has died at 11:17 a.m. today, in Eugene, Oregon." Throughout the day more websites also passed on the sad news.
Dear Jack, Thank You for everything you have given us and for gracing us with your knowledge and spirit. You will always be a Hero in my eyes, a true inspiration, the very definition of a Freedom Fighter and Man of Justice. You have left an incredible everlasting Legacy and what you started we shall carry on, you will live on, a light and inspiration to the Earth and All Humanity. Rest in Peace Jack, you will be greatly missed!
What You Can Do
Get out your pen and paper Ladies and Gents, while sharing things on the internet about Cannabis/Hemp Prohibition is awesome, what our Members of Parliament and Congress really pay attention to are handwritten letters from VOTERS. For every 1 letter they receive, they consider that the opinion of 100 people!
420 is next week, Earth Day is April 22nd. and the Global Marijuana March is on Saturday May 1st - gather as many people as you can to attend the events in your area to let our politicians know that we are not giving up - let us all reaffirm, we shall honour Jack by continuing his valiant fight for true freedom with even more conviction than ever before. In his name we will bring an end to the insanity of Hemp and Cannabis Prohibition! All Hail The Hemperor!

This is Your Country on Drugs

Interview with Ryan Grim, senior congressional correspondent for the Huffington Post and author of the new book, "This is Your Country on Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America".

Why Did Liberal MPs Support Bill C-15?

From the 2009 Liberal Convention, in Vancouver, British Columbia,

Justice and Constitutional Resolutions:

53. Legalize and Regulate Marijuana

WHEREAS, despite almost a century of prohibition, millions of Canadians today regularly consume marijuana and other cannabis products;

AND WHEREAS the failed prohibition of marijuana has exhausted countless billions of dollars spent on ineffective or incomplete enforcement and has resulted in unnecessarily dangerous and expensive congestion in our judicial system;

AND WHEREAS various marijuana decriminalization or legalization policy prescriptions have been recommended by the 1969-72 Commission of Enquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs, the 2002 Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs, and the 2002 House of Commons Special Committee on the Non-Medical Use of Drugs;

AND WHEREAS the legal status quo for the criminal regulation of marijuana continues to endanger Canadians by generating significant resources for gang-related violent criminal activity and weapons smuggling - a reality which could be very easily confronted by the regulation and legitimization of Canada's marijuana industry;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that a new Liberal government will legalize marijuana and
ensure the regulation and taxation of its production, distribution, and use, while enacting strict penalties for illegal trafficking, illegal importation and exportation, and impaired driving.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a new Liberal government will invest significant resources in prevention and education programs designed to promote awareness of the health risks and consequences of marijuana use and dependency, especially amongst youth.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a new Liberal government will extend amnesty to all
Canadians previously convicted of simple and minimal marijuana possession, and ensure the elimination of all criminal records related thereto.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a new Liberal government will work with the provinces and local governments of Canada on a coordinated regulatory approach to marijuana which maintains significant federal responsibility for marijuana control while respecting provincial health jurisdiction and particular regional concerns and practices.
~Liberal Party of Canada (British Columbia) - April 30 - May 3, 2009.

Flip-Flop

Before the vote on Bill C-15: A number of prominent Liberals challenged their party's puzzling support for Bill C-15. Dozens of bloggers, riding association presidents and other party members publicly complained about Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff pressuring the party to back the new law.

Yet, when it came to the April 8th. parliamentary vote, every Liberal present voted for the bill, except for Liberal MP Keith Martin who supports decriminalization. Martin abstained from the vote. The NDP and Bloc all voted against it.

"In the context of some occasions where the sentences have not been appropriate, we're in support of C-15," said Ignatieff. "We support stronger measures."

What?

To recap, at their biannual convention the Liberals promise to legalize Cannabis if elected, but when push comes to shove they hop on the PC Drug War bandwagon and support a bill that will bring harsher penalties regarding Cannabis. They endorsed this policy without any estimate of how much it will cost Canadian taxpayers. And they want us to trust them? They want us to vote for them? Until the Liberals come clean with their true intentions regarding cannabis prohibition what are are we Canadians to believe?


Our Hope - The Senate

The week of June 25th. senators voted to delay their decision regarding Bill C-15 by a 38-33 vote. Justice Minister Rob Nicholson ranted, accusing Liberal senators of blocking the Conservatives agenda. The following is an excerpt from a June 22nd. feature article from Cannabis Culture magazine:

Conservative Justice Minister Rob Nicholson lashed out at the Senate today, accusing them of blocking the Conservatives so called “law and order' agenda.

Nicholson specifically targeted the Senate for failing to act fast enough on C-15, the Conservatives' bill that includes mandatory minimum prison terms for drug offenses and has been almost universally criticized by criminal justice experts. The bill, which took more than 14 weeks to pass the House of Commons, has been in the Senate for less than two weeks and has already passed First Reading.

Despite the passing of the bill by Liberals in the house, Senate Liberals seem to be standing up to the Conservative bullying.

“They want to appear to be tough on crime,” Senate Opposition Leader James Cowan said. “If they were really serious about this, they would have introduced these bills at the beginning of the session and processed them through the House and gotten them to us before the end of the session.”

Cowan said other bills have taken several months to pass the House, but Nicholson is demanding they pass the Senate in only two or three days.

“We’re not going to be pushed into doing that,” Cowan said, suggesting the Conservatives are trying to distract attention away from the economy and the isotope shortage.

Critics of the bill say evidence overwhelming shows mandatory minimums simply don't work, can be extremely expensive to enforce, and cause more harm than good.

“Rob Nicholson has ignored the preponderance of scientific evidence and international experience, and now he is ignoring the Constitution”, said Kirk Tousaw, Executive Director of the Beyond Prohibition Foundation. “C-15 has profound implications for our criminal justice system and provincial budgets, the Senate has a constitutional obligation to study the implications of this bill, especially considering that the Conservatives did not.”

“For Rob Nicholson to attempt to push through a bill he could not produce a single piece of evidence to support is absurd”, (Marc) Emery said, “The Conservative Party may take it's cues from the Republicans, but thankfully, the Senate does not”. ~ Read the whole article here.

***

Of the 16 experts called to testify on C-15, 13 called for the outright dismissal of the bill. When prompted, the Conservatives declined to provide evidence for the bill, and instead accused the opposition of being soft on crime.

***

While the final answers about Bill C-15 are cautiously awaited and won't be known until at least September 15th when parliament resumes, we pin our hopes on the belief that Liberal Senators will be the wise voice of reason and reject it. Anything less is an assault on the freedom of every single Canadian.

The War on Drugs has failed - it's time for Canada to step up and develop drug policy in an intelligent, common sense manner. Drugs are a health issue, not a criminal one. If we don't change our draconian prohibition laws the consequences will be tragic.

If the the Liberal Party had fortitude, they would champion cannabis legalization and bring honour back to law enforcement. We had more faith in the justice system when police pledged and respected their motto: "To Protect and Serve", Canadians would rather not live in our current prohibition induced "Us vs. Them" state. Canadians long for Members of Parliament who represent our best interests and stand up for freedom and personal autonomy.

While the Conservatives seem intent on chipping away at our rights, Liberal flip-flopping leaves constituents feeling even more disillusioned and disappointed in our politicians. 'Tis such a sad state of affairs.... no wonder Canadians aren't voting. It's really too bad we don't have a James Gray. Canadians sure could use a politician like him.

For more information on Bill C-15, please visit WhyProhibition.ca