|
 
Welcome to the Shroomery Message Board! Please  login or  register to post messages and view our members-only content. You'll gain access to additional forums, encrypted messages, file attachments, board customizations, and much more!
|
 Heffy
journeyman
Registered: 08/30/04
Posts: 489
Last seen: 12 days, 19 hours
|
 Canadian pot laws or lack thereof.
#8363065 - 05/04/08 09:32 PM (4 months, 2 days ago) |
|
|
Several years ago I came into contact with a large group of serious cannabis activists, involved with the church of the universe.
If you aren't familiar with the church it is an organization that promotes cannabis based spirituality(in theory at least).
Ever since, it has been my understanding that there is no law in Ontario for possessing or growing marijuana.
This is based on the court ruling of Parker vs Regina.
Essentially, Terry Parker(one of these activists) went to court saying that the marijuana law was unconstitutional, and won. Parker has had serious epilepsy since he was a child. Had two unsuccessful operations to cure it. The operations also permanently affected his brain function. Parker began using marijuana to control his epilepsy very effectively. He was busted and arrested multiple times for growing his own medicine in the 1990's.
The court documents are below.
Couldn't link directly, 4th result on google.
So essentially, the judges ruling was that the law was unconstitutional, and that parliament needed to create a new cannabis law that allowed room for medical patients while keeping the drug illegal for the general population.
To accomplish this, he declared the marijuana possession and growing laws to be of "no force and effect". But suspended the declaration for one year. This would give Canadian parliament a year to create a new cannabis law that accounted for medical users. Then when the original law was repealed there would already be a new one to cover it.
This is NOT what they did.
Long after missing the deadline to pass a new law through parliament, Ontario police were still arresting cannabis users and sending them to court, where they were still being processed and sentenced despite the "inconvenience" of there being no cannabis laws.
After being forced to dismiss more than 4000 cases based on the Parker Vs Regina decision. The COURTS passed the MMAR (Medical Marijuana Access Restrictions).
The MMAR allowed registered medical patients to grow up to 25 plants, and carry roughly four ounces of marijuana on their person.
It also provided a brilliant diversion from the fact that the marijuana law was struck down in the highest court in Ontario, for all users, not just medical ones, in 1998.
It is my honest belief that there has been no marijuana law in Ontario for possession or cultivation for ten years.
This has done almost nothing to stop the police and the court system from persecuting innocent cannabis users.
It has also harmed the marijuana community extensively.
Many people who were aware of this legal issue, ignored it, or played it down, because it made their marijuana businesses much more lucrative.
Others who were not as well informed have spent unbelievable amount of energy trying to "legalize/decriminalize marijuana, completely unaware that it is currently legal to possess and grow.
The recent marijuana march is a good example of this. It was extremely bad for awareness, because it perpetuates the idea that weed is illegal here. Not that I'm saying we shouldn't have a march, but the focus should have been how we WON our rights not how we're fighting for them.
When I first became a member of the church it was a group of people that met weekly to discuss far out idea, smoke massive amounts of weed, and hold group meditations. This is where I came into contact with this information.
Slowly the focus drifted(IMHO) to product turnover, and the result was A nasty bust of some rather nice people.
Somehow the people busted are not using the Parker decision in their defense. I'm not sure why. Could be because they were caught selling so much , and the decision refers to possession and growing, I'm no lawyer. However it recently came to my attention that at their recent court date they were denied a jury trial, which is pretty inexcusable considering how seriously their case is being treated.
Man. I really went on there. Sorry about that. I just wanted to let people know about this. The lack of awareness about it is really sickening.
| |
|
|
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
Edit 
Reply 
Quote 
