Pitt Meadows officials claim the ban would help prevent fires and drug trafficking. Mayor Don McLean even called legal marijuana production sites “fires waiting to happen.” McLean pointed out that a permitted production facility in nearby Maple Ridge exceeded their permitted number of plants by more than 1500.
What do you think? Are city officials just making excuses to ban legal medical marijuana production facilities and prevent people from getting their medicine, or do they have legitimate concerns?
]]>I am a medical marijuana patient in the state of Hawaii because of a rare condition I was born with called Poland Syndrome. I recently got a job at Home Depot and I informed the human resources manager I was a patient because of my condition. I have a current prescription that is up to date and I presented it to her. She sent me in for a drug test saying that there is a section I fill out for prescriptions. I arrived at the facility for the test and there was no section to fill out but I continued with it anyway. It came back positive for THC. Now they have recinded their offer for employment and I feel highly discriminated against. My condition does not prevent me from performing any essential working duties and I have never had a problem with employers in the past and have never been terminated or sent home because of being under the influence. I am now in dire straights still trying to find a second job to support myself. I feel this needs to be brought to the general public’s attention as soon as possible because of the way Home Depot is discriminating against me for issues beyond my control. Please help me.
]]>Send emails to drblaze@vansterdamclothing.com or use the Contact Us link on Vansterdam Clothing’s site.
]]>The Hempfest is the WORLD’S largest gathering advocating the decriminalization of marijuana, and has been attended by upwards of 300,000 people in recent years. It’s hosted at Myrtle Edwards Park just north of downtown Seattle. There are three main stages, live music, food, and tons of stuff to buy, see and do!
Vansterdam Clothing will be there both days selling our famous weed t-shirts, so if you make it down don’t forget to stop by and say hi! We’ll give more details closer to the event. If you’d like more information about the Hempfest you can visit their official website.
Visitors to Vancouver looking for a truly “green” experience are usually referred to the city’s “pot block” – the 300 block of West Hastings street in downtown Vancouver. Here, you will find several seed banks, vapor lounges (where customers bring their own marijuana and rent a smoking device known as a vaporizer) and the BC Marijuana Party (BCMP) headquarters. At the center of it all is Cannabis Culture – the store owned by famous Canadian marijuana activist Marc Emery who is currently in jail in Seattle for selling marijuana seeds to Americans. Cannabis Culture sells everything from weed t-shirts to marijuana-inspired games, smoking accessories and marijuana magazines.
Marijuana has become such a large part of Vancouver’s culture that the annual 420 celebration at the Vancouver Art Gallery has seen over 10,000 visitors in recent years. Marijuana t-shirts can be seen in the display windows of many stores throughout Vancouver, and it’s not uncommon to smell marijuana smoke wafting through the air when walking through the city. July 1, Canada’s birthday, doubles as Cannabis Day in Vancouver where a crowd congregates at the Vancouver Art Gallery to protest against the continued criminalization of the drug. Vendors sell everything from weed t-shirts to smoking devices to marijuana itself with police standing a few meters away.
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PS: The tent you see with the O Cannabis flag is ours!
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Great news for all the Californians out there! In November 2010, Californians will have the power to vote for or against legalization of marijuana use for adults in their state. According to Stephen Gutwillig, California director for the Drug Policy Alliance, “This is a watershed moment in the decades-long struggle to end failed marijuana prohibition in this country. We really can’t overstate the significance of Californians being the first to have the opportunity to end this public policy disaster.”
If the new marijuana reform law passes, adults age 21 and older can grow their own crop of the plant in gardens measuring up to 25 square feet and are able to carry an ounce of marijuana in the public.
However, adults are not allowed to drive under the influence of marijuana nor should they smoke the plant in front of minors and on school grounds.
It is up to the local municipalities to decide whether to tax marijuana or not. Proponents of the measure say legalizing marijuana could save the state $200 million a year by reducing public safety costs. At the same time, it could generate tax revenue for local governments. On the contrary, would this mean that corporate growers could monopolize the business?
Do you think corporations will exploit marijuana legalization by patenting and monopolizing the marijuana market?
]]>This is a very sad day for marijuana activism and Canada alike. Vansterdam Clothing strongly opposes this decision and the Conservative Government for making this decision. We want to express our condolences to Marc’s wife, Jodie, and friends of the Emerys.
“The idea someone should shut up and go quietly into the night in the face of really overwhelming injustice not just in Mr. Emery’s case but in the case of all people being incarcerated for marijuana offences I find shocking, un-democratic, and un-Canadian.”
– Emery’s Lawyer, Kirk Tousaw
Call (613) 995-1547 or (905) 353-9590 or (905) 871-9991 or email NichoR@parl.gc.ca! ]]>
Most major cities in the Americas and Europe will be or have participated in the march. From Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Edmonton, Canada and Moscow, Russia, activists and stoners alike will be rallying for the end to marijuana prohibition worldwide. The Global Marijuana March comes a mere week and a half after 420.
]]>Jack has done unbelievable things for the cannabis community worldwide including writing the best selling book, The Emperor Wears No Clothes. Jack will be greatly missed. Rest In Peace.
In 2006, a Washington state woman hired to answer phone calls and emails, was terminated after a week of employment because she tested positive for THC in a pre-employment drug test. The woman had told her employer that she was a medical marijuana patient during the interview process. Just this week, the Washington Supreme Court has agreed to hear her case.
An appeals court noted that while Washington’s medical marijuana law provides a defense for criminal prosecution, it does not protect patients in employment situations. In other words, in Washington, you may be protected from going to jail, but you could lose your job just for using your medicine.
]]>While the report is common sense to most people, whether it causes law enforcement to change their ways has yet to be determined, but most aren’t holding their breath. This is especially true in Canada where Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservatives are forging ahead with Bill C-15, which would impose mandatory prison sentences for some drug crimes.
The authors of the report stated that drug prohibition has not reduced the supply of drugs, but rather has led to an increase in profits for drug gangs. That’s something for politicians to think about when they’re puffing their cigarettes and sipping their booze.
]]>When 1,327 soldiers were tested for recent drug use, 4.7% were found to have recently used marijuana. Cocaine, codeine and morphine were far behind. Soldiers were required to give urine samples and were not told in advance when they would be required to give a sample. Marijuana users in the military were generally males under 39 in the lower ranks. Soldiers testing positive for marijuana (or any other drug) could be disciplined.
Random tests show marijuana drug of choice in Canadian military ranks
]]>The former politician, who now lives in Mexico, grew up in the 60s. Ventura was quoted as saying, “If you grew up in the ’60s and say you didn’t smoke pot, you are either a liar or you really didn’t grow up in the ’60s.” That must be the most honest thing a politician has ever said!
Ventura has also said, “Our government has the weirdest bias against cannabis. There’s no reason for everybody to be so afraid of it. It’s not the antichrist the DEA makes it out to be… Government has no business telling us what we can and can’t use for pain relief.”
While Ventura says he doesn’t currently blaze, now is a perfect time to start. In August of last year Mexico decriminalized marijuana for personal use – something most US states and Canada have yet to do.
]]>Marijuana use by seniors goes up as boomers age
Foreign press finds we are tolerant of lifestyles, activities and animals
]]>Like weed?
If you answered yes to the above two questions then you have to check out the Cannalympics at the Vancouver Art Gallery running everyday from February 12 to 28. They’ll be tons of weed games and prizes, including free Vansterdam Clothing t-shirts!
Here’s a sample of some of the reader’s comments upon hearing the news:
“Good Grief this would have brought in so much revenue and in case they didn’t know it – takes away big $$ from the Drug Cartels. But I guess this makes too much sense to legalize it. What idiots!!! How awful, alcohol is way more detrimental to the human body that some marijuana smoke is – which is proven to have medicinal properties.”
“I don’t smoke marijuana but as far as I can see it really isn’t any difference the drinking alcohol.
with the state in such a turmoil for money why not make money on it? and maybe divert some resources to places that need it. like meth, cocaine and all the other hard drugs that are taking our kids lives every day. Who can honestly say they know someone who died from smoking marijuana? Now how many can say they lost loved ones to alcohol or hard drugs? need I say any more. Get over it and the State can make up some of the money it is short on. If it is grown in a controlled place with no chemicals added to it, I see no problem at all.”
“I’d still be in favor of decriminalization, but not full legalization.”
“You can’t go against something Federal huh? Oh and I have to say I have seen someone violent on weed, it’s the one’s that don’t have any, because it’s a federal crime. Small amounts doesn’t hurt anyone. Stay out of my federal right to privacy! I would like a politician to explain to me what right to privacy mean now a day’s!! PLEASE!!!”
“I wonder if his opinion would change if he had a loved one who was suffering and the only medicine that the person could take that DID NOT have any rectal bleeding and such side effects was weed…”
]]>As usual, proponents such as Don Pierce, executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, claim that legalization or decriminalization of marijuana would increase its use among youth.
Lee Newbury, executive director of the Washington state chapter of NORML is all for legalizing marijuana but does not want it sold at liquor stores as is proposed under the legalization bill. He does not think it’s wise to associate marijuana with alcohol.
What are your thoughts?
]]>The use of mind altering drugs has been the subject of much controversy in the past few decades. Substances such as alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, opium and many others have had a place in human societies for many centuries however, and they continue to be prevalent today. One hundred years ago, the first institution to combat the use of drugs was established in Shanghai. In 1998, the UN General Assembly asked its members to “commit to achieving a ‘drug-free world’ and to ‘eliminating or significantly reducing’ the production of opium, cocaine and cannabis by 2008” (How to Stop the Drug Wars). Clearly, that goal has not yet been achieved and it is likely that it may never be realized. Currently, it is estimated that approximately 5% of the world’s population use illegal drugs (How to Stop the Drug Wars). Supporters of prohibition claim that legalization would only exacerbate the problem, while its opponents maintain that although legalizing drugs would not eliminate their use, it would have an overall positive result. Drawing from Utilitarian principles, in this essay I will argue that drugs ought to be made legal because individuals have the right to self determination, and because legalization of drugs would be beneficial to society at large.
As adult individuals, we reserve the right to decide what we want to do to our own bodies, even if that means causing harm to them. John Steward Mill writes, “Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign” (Mill 239). According to Utilitarians, as long as what we do does not cause harm to others, no one, including government, is justified in stopping our actions or interfering with our rights (Hospers 326). We have many rights that are protected by our governments, such as the right to life, free speech and liberty. When it comes to our bodies however, our legal rights are inconsistent and unclear; do we have the legal right to cause damage to our bodies? Governments sanction the use of some substances like alcohol and nicotine, which have proven adverse health effects, while prohibiting the use of others, like marijuana and cocaine.
Mill’s argument rests on the ground that the individual can judge most accurately what his or her own best interests are. Gerald Dworkin opposes this assertion by claiming that in the case of drugs, paternalism (the view that a person’s rights can be restricted in order to protect the individual from himself) is justified, because drug use produces long lasting, negative and irreversible changes that jeopardize the user’s lifestyle and often prevent him from making rational decisions (Dworkin 340).
When we review Dworkin’s argument from a rule Utilitarian perspective however, it becomes evident that paternalism would severely limit many of our freedoms and ultimately cause more harm than good.
If the paternalist position to outlaw actions that cause harm to individuals physically or psychologically were to become a general rule, it would mean that society would be justified in prohibiting many of the actions we perform on a daily basis. For example, eating high fat foods can cause physical illnesses and lower quality of life. Would it be just then to ban the production, sale and consumption of butter? Most would deem that an absurd notion. Another example would be having sex too early in a relationship. It is often believed that when two people become physically close, it becomes difficult to maintain an objective view of the relationship, and we are often compelled to make irrational choices because of our emotional involvement. So would society be justified in imposing a minimum waiting period on couples before they can become sexually active? Surely that would not go over very well.
So why is the subject of drugs treated differently? It appears that as a society, our understanding of what is right and what is wrong is often rooted in our customs and accepted norms, rather than logic and evidence. So eating unhealthy food is not considered to be unethical, because it has been a common practice, while taking drugs is considered unethical because society does not accept that behaviour. Psychiatrist and anti-prohibitionist Thomas Szasz refers to this as “a plea for legitimizing old and accepted practices and for illegitimizing novel and unaccepted ones” (Szasz 348). He asserts that this justification rests on precedence, not evidence and is therefore invalid (Szasz 348).
Supporters of prohibition claim that prohibiting the use of drugs is to the benefit of society, because their use diminishes not only the happiness of the user but also that of other members of society via the user. Some argue that the effects associated with use of drugs are not limited to the individual using them, but extend to family members of users, especially to children, who often are neglected by addicted parents (Wilson 354). Thus, they claim, government is justified in prohibiting their use as a means to increase overall utility.
Although drugs do affect those close to users, the negative effects are not sufficient ground for banning their use. It is evident that we have obligations to those we hold dear, as well as legal obligation to care for minors under our care; but those obligations are best fulfilled when we act them out according to our own will, rather than rules imposed on us by others. Mill’s position is that ultimately, autonomy will lead to greater overall happiness. “Each is the guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental, or spiritual. Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest” (Mill 241).
In addition to advocating individuals’ rights to self determination, many proponents of legalization also emphasize the economic and social benefits that can be gained by decriminalizing the use of drugs. “The United States alone spends some $40 billion each year on trying to eliminate the supply of drugs. It arrests 1.5 million of its citizens each year for drug offences, locking up half a million of them” (How to Stop the Drug Wars). Legalization of drugs would allow for those funds to be spent on prosecuting more serious criminals. It would also eliminate the drug dealer and redirect the money that is currently going into the pockets of criminals to legitimate businesses, thereby benefitting society at large. The government would impose taxes on drugs and use the revenue to achieve economic and social goals.
Furthermore, through legalization, the government would be able to regulate the sale and use of drugs. Drug users are currently at the mercy of the dealer, who will sell to anyone with enough money, regardless of their age or mental status. The dosage and quality of drugs is also not currently controlled. By making drugs legal, users would have access to cleaner, safer drugs, prescribed by physicians with the user’s best interest in mind. As the number of drug pushers declines, vulnerable children and youth would be less at risk of using drugs. Drug addiction may not be eliminated altogether, but it can be handled as a health-care issue, rather than a criminal matter. One major concern of the opponents of legalization is that the use of drugs and addiction rates would rise significantly if they were decriminalized. There is however evidence from the WHO showing that there is “no link between the strictness of prohibition and the amount of drug consumption” (How to Stop the Drug Wars).
In conclusion, drugs should be legalized because upholding autonomy and personal freedoms benefits society by increasing overall utility. Moreover, decriminalizing them would have economic and social benefits that outweigh the negative effects of drug use. Finally, prohibition has proven largely ineffective and very costly. It seems illogical and immoral to pursue a path that has no proven benefits to society and its individual members.
Works Cited
“How to Stop the Drug Wars.” The Economist 07 03 2009: 15, 16, 30-36.
MacKinnon, Barbabra. Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2007.
White, James E. Contemporary Moral Problems. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2006.
Happy blazing!
]]>Read the full story here
Scroll about halfway down the page…there’s an excellent video!
“Many large pharmaceutical companies that still exist today sold hemp based medicines in the 1800′s and early 1900′s. They knew then what I have recently found out. Hemp oil if produced properly is a cure-all that the pharmaceutical industry can’t patent.”
The answer….Canada! According to a 2005 survey (the most recent country-wide data we could find) 44.5% of Canadians 15 and over have smoked pot at least once in their lives. Now, remeber that this includes the pre baby boomer crowd, who are less likely to have smoked pot than their children’s generation. Although we couldn’t find any reliable data for lifetime use, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia and Ghana, have estimated annual usage rates of 29.5% (1995), 29.1% (1995) and 21.5% (1998) respectively. Given Canada’s annual usage rate of 16.8% (2004), it is likely that they have higher lifetime usage rates.
The United States comes in a close second with a lifetime usage rate of 42.4% for those aged 18 and over, followed by New Zealand at 41.9% (for those aged 16+). In China, even just considering those 18 and older in the Beijing and Shanghai metropolitan areas, only an estimated 0.3% of the population has tried marijuana.
]]>Arresting 873,000 people a year means that every day an average of about 2380 people were arrested for pot. Every hour about 99 people were arrested, which means that, on average, one person was arrested every 36 seconds on marijuana-related charges!
At that rate, in the five or so minutes that I’ve spent writing this, 9 people in the United States were arrested for weed. Likely, 8 of those were arrested for simple possession.
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