[Newsbot]

Title: Marijuana trends grow against the grain of intense police funding
Category: Law & Order
Posted By: Curtman
Date: 2011-12-22 07:21:42
Canadian

[Curtman]

Quote:

Among the groups supporting the initiative to legalize marijuana is the 19-member Health Officer's Council of B.C.

Dr. Paul Hasselback, who chairs the council, said medical experts are not asserting the drug is safe, but that policy as it stands puts the public at even greater risk.

"We need to acknowledge that our current approach to some of our substance-use policies is perhaps not as evidence-based as it should be," he said.

Every day more and more people wake up to this reality. Some day our politicians will catch up.

[Curtman]

[Regina]

19 people do not speak for a country.

[OnTheIce]

There are so many more important things in life than smoking weed.

[PublicAnimalNo9]

Like owning guns sans registry?

Or making it illegal to download a song the radio stations play for free anyway.

Yeah, the CPC has been working on some very important legislation.

[OnTheIce]

PublicAnimalNo9 wrote:

Like owning guns sans registry?

Or making it illegal to download a song the radio stations play for free anyway.

Yeah, the CPC has been working on some very important legislation.

You think radio stations play songs for free?

[PublicAnimalNo9]

OnTheIce wrote:

PublicAnimalNo9 wrote:

Like owning guns sans registry?

Or making it illegal to download a song the radio stations play for free anyway.

Yeah, the CPC has been working on some very important legislation.

You think radio stations play songs for free?

Wow, way to be obtuse there OTI
Do you pay to listen to songs on the radio? I don't know where you live but there are a few good stations around here that I listen to and I've never been charged a penny to listen to them.
Then there's the bazillion stations you can get over the internet.
So yeah, the music is free to the listener.

[andyt]

PublicAnimalNo9 wrote:

OnTheIce wrote:

You think radio stations play songs for free?

Do you pay to listen to songs on the radio?

What you do get is advertising mixed in with the songs. So if you want to download songs for free, they should have a little advert embedded in them.

[OnTheIce]

PublicAnimalNo9 wrote:

OnTheIce wrote:

PublicAnimalNo9 wrote:

Like owning guns sans registry?

Or making it illegal to download a song the radio stations play for free anyway.

Yeah, the CPC has been working on some very important legislation.

You think radio stations play songs for free?

Wow, way to be obtuse there OTI
Do you pay to listen to songs on the radio? I don't know where you live but there are a few good stations around here that I listen to and I've never been charged a penny to listen to them.
Then there's the bazillion stations you can get over the internet.
So yeah, the music is free to the listener.

Then word your comment properly.

Radio stations don't play music for free, as you said. Listening is free if you're willing to give up 20% of your hour to hear commercials.

I have Sirius and I don't listen to music on the normal radio very often. I'm a talk radio type of guy. My drive in to work would be filled with commercials.

Downloading songs/movies/tv shows via Gnutella/Torrents has always been illegal

[Curtman]

Regina wrote:

19 people do not speak for a country.

http://stoptheviolencebc.org/coalition-members/

Quote:

Coalition listing

John Anderson, PhD Former Correctional Officer, Nanaimo Chair, Criminology Dept., Vancouver Island University Vice President, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (Canada)

Terri Betts, BScPharm, ACPR Clinical Coordinator, Pharmacy, Lions Gate Hospital

Neil Boyd, LLM Professor & Associate Director, School of Criminology, SFU

David Bratzer Police Officer Board of Directors, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

Jane Buxton, MBBS, MRCGP, MHSc, FRCPC Associate Professor, School of Population and Public Health, UBC

Vince Cain Retired RCMP Chief Superintendent Former BC Chief Coroner

Larry Campbell Senator, Canadian Senate Former Mayor of Vancouver

John Carsley, MD, MSc, FRCPC Medical Health Officer, Member of Health Officers’ Council of BC

Neil Chantler Barrister & Solicitor, A. Cameron Ward & Co.

John Conroy, QC Barrister & Solicitor, Conroy & Co. President, NORML Canada

Lawrence Cook, MD Family Physician

Elizabeth Eakin Health Care Worker, UBC Hospital

Caroline Ferris, MD, CCFP, FCFP Physician, Creekside Withdrawal Management Centre Clinical Instructor, Dept. of Family Practice, UBC

Christian Fibiger, PhD Chief Scientific Officer, MedGenesis Therapeutics

Benedikt Fischer, PhD Professor & CIHR/PHAC Applied Public Health Chair, Faculty of Health Sciences, SFU Director, Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction

Tom Foster Social Worker / Therapist

Gwyllyn Goddard, MD Physician

Jennifer Godwin-Ellis, BAH, LLB Lawyer

Mark Haden, MSW Adjunct Professor, School of Nursing, UBC

Michael Harcourt Former Mayor of Vancouver Former Premier of British Columbia

Paul Hasselback, MD, MSc, FRCPC Medical Health Officer, Member of Health Officers’ Council of BC Clinical Associate Professor, School of Population and Public Health, UBC

Debra Hay Support Worker, WISH Drop-In Centre Society

Jacob Hunter Policy Director, Beyond Prohibition Foundation

David Kennedy, MD, FCCFP Retired Physician

Thomas Kerr, PhD Director, Urban Health Research Initiative, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS Associate Professor, Dept. of Medicine, UBC

Douglas C. King, LLB Lawyer, Pivot Legal Society

Ross Lander Retired Justice, BC Supreme Court

Josée Lavoie, PhD Associate Professor, School of Health Sciences, UNBC Assistant Professor, Dept. of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba Research Affiliate, Manitoba First Nations Centre for Aboriginal Health Research

James Leslie Retired Border Service Officer, Canadian Border Services Agency Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

Randie Long Former Federal Prosecutor (Nanaimo)

Donald MacPherson Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, SFU Director, Canadian Drug Policy Coalition

Jolayne Marsh Mental Health Worker, Living Room Drop-In

Richard Mathias, MHSc, MD, FRCPC Professor and Public Health Program Head, School of Population and Public Health, UBC

Walter McKay Former Police Officer Consultant, WM Consulting Director of International Affairs and Founder, Asociación Mexicana de Reducción de Riesgos y Daños

Ian Mitchell, MD Emergency Physician, Royal Inland Hospital

Julio Montaner, MD, FRCPC, FCCP, FACP, FRSC Director, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS Immediate Past President, International AIDS Society

Bohdan Noysk, PhD Health Economist, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

Eugenia Oviedo-Joekes, PhD Assistant Professor, School of Population and Public Health, UBC Research Scientist, Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Services

Philip Owen Former Mayor of Vancouver

Katrina Pacey, LLB Partner, Ethos Law Litigation Director, Pivot Legal Society

Heather Peters, MSW Associate Professor, Social Work, UNBC

George Plawski Retired Pilot

Randy Puder Systems Integration Seascape Multi-Media

Dan Reist Assistant Director, Knowledge Exchange, Centre for Addictions Research BC

Judith Renaud Executive Director, Educators for Sensible Drug Policy School Administrator (retired)

Chris Richardson, PhD Assistant Professor & Michael Smith Foundation Scholar, School of Population and Public Health, UBC Research Scientist, Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Services

Ted Riecken Professor, Department of Education, University of Victoria

Jean Shoveller, PhD Professor & CIHR/PHAC Applied Public Health Chair, School of Population & Public Health, UBC Senior Scholar, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research

Sam Sullivan Former Mayor of Vancouver

Timothy Temple, MBBS, CCFP, FRSA Physician, Dept. of Family Practice, UBC

Kirk Tousaw, JD, LLM Barrister, Law Office of Kirk Tousaw Executive Director, Beyond Prohibition

Ian Tully-Barr Crown Counsel, Attorney General of BC

Russell Uhler Professor Emeritus, Economics, UBC

Franklin White, MD, CM, MSc, FRCPC, FFPH President, Pacific Health & Development Sciences Inc.

Ken Wilson Zoologist/Ecologist (retired)

Evan Wood, MD, PhD, ABIM, FRCPC Director, Urban Health Research Initiative, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS Professor, Dept. of Medicine, UBC

Cornelia Zeisser, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Addictions Research BC

You don't think this growing list speaks for the country or you don't think they should?

[andyt]

Regina wrote:

19 people do not speak for a country.

How about 50%?

Quote:

Half of Canadians (50%) support the legalization of marijuana, while 44 per cent are opposed. Respondents in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (61%), British Columbia (54%) and Ontario (51%) are all in favour of legalizing marijuana, while the lowest level of support is seen in Alberta (45%).

http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/43593/h ... marijuana/

Albertans don't speak for the country.

[OnTheIce]

andyt wrote:

Regina wrote:

19 people do not speak for a country.

How about 50%?

Quote:

Half of Canadians (50%) support the legalization of marijuana, while 44 per cent are opposed. Respondents in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (61%), British Columbia (54%) and Ontario (51%) are all in favour of legalizing marijuana, while the lowest level of support is seen in Alberta (45%).

http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/43593/h ... marijuana/

Albertans don't speak for the country.

Sit people down, give them the unbiased good and bad about legalizing such a drug....then take the poll.

Asking people that know little about the situation lends little to no credibility to such a poll.

It's like the debate over "natural" or "raw" milk. I'd betting most people would be for allowing the sale of natural milk as they don't know the pros and cons of such a product.

[andyt]

OnTheIce wrote:

Sit people down, give them the unbiased good and bad about legalizing such a drug....then take the poll.

There's no such thing - most of it is speculation on both sides. I don't think prohibition works, or I'd be all for that. Tho I'd make sure that booze and cigs were also prohibited, since they cause way more damage than pot.

Countries that have eased up on their laws, such as Portugal do show a positive effect. It's not a panacea, but as we can see, current laws aren't either.

The responsible people want to treat it as a public health issue, rather than a criminal one. That means it's a not all anything goes, but putting people in jail for using or growing small quantities isn't the answer either. Regulated production, regulated distribution is the way to go.

[jeff744]

andyt wrote:

Regina wrote:

19 people do not speak for a country.

How about 50%?

Quote:

Half of Canadians (50%) support the legalization of marijuana, while 44 per cent are opposed. Respondents in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (61%), British Columbia (54%) and Ontario (51%) are all in favour of legalizing marijuana, while the lowest level of support is seen in Alberta (45%).

http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/43593/h ... marijuana/

Albertans don't speak for the country.

Albertans usually say the opposite of everyone else.