Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: W il Canada! Puff!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4620272.stm
Canada's growing marijuana problem
By Becky Branford
BBC News
Nearly half of Canadians admit to smoking marijuana at least once
Frank proudly surveys the large log cabin he constructed himself, on a
two-acre plot of aromatic evergreen forest he now owns.
"All this," he says, "was built on marijuana."
Over four years, Frank - not his real name - tended a patch of
marijuana plants in a forest clearing about 45 minutes' walk from where
his cabin now stands.
He regularly pooled his harvests with those of several other growers in
the small British Columbia (BC) town in which he lives, to sell
wholesale to young men from just across the border in the US state of
Idaho.
Frank says he made hundreds of thousands of Canadian dollars before
hurriedly leaving the business when his American buyers were arrested.
But tens of thousands of illegal "grow-ops" remain in Canada. Estimates
suggest marijuana may generate up to C$7bn (£3.5bn; US$6.1bn) a year
in BC, the sunny province thought to be at the heart of the industry.
Canada's new Conservative government says people like Frank are a
menace to society, putting drugs on the streets and fuelling organised
crime - and it has vowed to get tough on them.
But critics accuse the government of being wilfully blind to the
historic failures of law enforcement, and ignoring public opinion and
the findings of expert committees in favour of a policy of demonising
marijuana - a policy they liken to the short-lived Prohibition of
alcohol in 1920s and 30s America.
Growing marijuana in BC's thinly populated and rugged interior, Frank
was continuing a tradition - of sorts - said to have arrived with some
50,000 young American men seeking to avoid being drafted to fight in
the Vietnam war.
But over the intervening decades, the industry has changed. Most of
today's grow-ops are indoors, using artificial light to produce
stronger strains of cannabis.
The industry has also grown. The Canadian statistics agency reports
that in 2004 there were more than 8,000 cultivation offences recorded -
up from 3,400 in 1994.
Experts deduce that the true number of grow-ops is much greater, as
even large seizures seem to have little effect on the price of
marijuana.
The federal police reported in 2002 that the cultivation industry had
reached levels "that could be deemed epidemic in the provinces of BC,
Ontario, and Quebec" - and they also warn that almost every large-scale
operation these days is linked in varying degrees to organised crime.
"Cannabis is the biggest issue facing law enforcement now," says
Inspector Paul Nadeau of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
He says smugglers have access to "transport vehicles, planes,
helicopters. The sky's the limit".
He calls for greater deterrents, pointing out that in BC only about 10%
of those convicted of growing marijuana face jail terms (the figure is
higher in other provinces), with most offenders getting a fine or
suspended sentence.
The Canadian police: 'We are drowning in the numbers'
He says judges facing a backlog of cases in the courts "have to be
given the means to deal with the problem... We are drowning in the
numbers."
In contrast to the previous Liberal administration, which sought
unsuccessfully to reduce penalties for possession, the new Conservative
government pledged in its election manifesto to steer Canada "off the
road to drug legalisation".
It said it would ensure mandatory minimum prison sentences and large
fines for serious drug offenders, including growers.
But critics of tougher law enforcement insist it is doomed to failure -
and has failed.
"I don't advocate smoking anything - I think it's bad for you!" says
Stephen Easton, professor of economics and a senior scholar at the
conservative Fraser Institute think tank, who has studied the industry
in detail.
He and other pro-reform experts accept that there is growing evidence
of a link between heavy cannabis use and mental health problems in some
people.
"But has criminalisation been successful in deterring consumption? The
answer is surely no," he says.
In 2004, the Canadian Addiction Survey found 44.5% of Canadians
reported using cannabis at least once - up from 23.3% in 1989.
The proportion of respondents who admitted to using cannabis in the
previous year was 14.1% - compared with 9.7% of Britons and 10.6% of
Americans in equivalent surveys.
Instead of spending half a billion Canadian dollars each year tackling
illicit drug use, Professor Easton argues, federal authorities have an
alternative: "Tax and trade it like any other normal commodity."
In fact, several government committees tasked with evaluating Canada's
drug laws have recommended legalisation of marijuana - from the 1972 Le
Dain Commission to the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs which
reported in September 2002.
A recent survey suggested 51% of Canadians supported decriminalisation
of marijuana.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20050911/pot_activist_050911?s_name=&no_ads=
Pot activist rallies support ahead of extradition
Updated Sun. Sep. 11 2005 11:54 PM ET
Canadian Press
VANCOUVER - Marc Emery took a hit from a joint as his fans smoked and
screamed for his freedom in front of the U.S. consulate.
The King of Pot, as he is described by American prosecutors, faces
extradition for seed sales - a crime that isn't prosecuted in Canada -
and up to life in prison if convicted by a U.S. court.
In the same breath, supporters gathered around him demanded sovereignty
for Canada and the worldwide legalization of pot.
People everywhere are outraged and scared it could happened to them,
declared 47-year-old Emery.
"I want to tell you," he shouted above the yells, "You are part of a
great awareness. Today, 40 cities around the world, from Warsaw,
Moscow, Russia, London, Paris, Madrid, Italy, they are rallying at
Canadian consulates around the world. In Melbourne, Australia, and
Sydney, Canadian embassies are being picketed!"
Emery said there are about 50 pot seed companies in Canada selling
seeds every day. The businesses, people who buy from them, people who
smoke pot, believe in Canadian sovereignty, are all appalled he said.
Emery also referred to a poll by a daily newspaper that showed the
majority of Canadians are opposed to his extradition.
"People understand if it happens to me, it can happened to a New
Zealander, a Mexican person. It can happen to an Australian or a person
in England or Paris.
Police officers looked on as Emery spoke and clouds of pot smoke
billowed above the crowd. One officer commented that it was a nice day
and that he was glad it didn't rain.
A number of parents stood in the crowd with babies in strollers. Greg
Popler had his two-year-old son with him as he joined in to support
Emery.
"For me this is more about Canadian sovereignty. I support the
legalization of all street drugs, but I'm most against the idea of the
U.S. being able to take Canadians down to face their brand of justice,
which is different from ours."
Emery's extradition hearing starts Sept. 16 in B.C. Supreme Court.
The longtime pot activist is accused of selling marijuana seeds to
Americans through the Internet and the mail, conspiracy to manufacture
marijuana and conspiracy to engage in money laundering.
His co-accused are Michelle Rainey-Fenkarek and Gregory Keith Smith.
The trio was arrested in July after Vancouver police raided Emery's pot
paraphernalia store following an 18-month investigation by the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration.
Emery was picked up in Lawrencetown, N.S., while speaking at a music
festival to raise funds for a medical marijuana organization.
He was detained in a Halifax-area jail cell for several days before
being transferred to Vancouver.
During his brief tour and incarceration on the East coast, Emery made
quite an impression. Supporters rallied for him in Halifax in front of
city hall Saturday.
"Halifax is important for this demonstration because this is where Marc
Emery was arrested originally . . . and this whole procedure started,"
said Marc-Boris St-Maurice.
St-Maurice, who founded the Marijuana Party before jumping to the
federal Liberals, said if Emery broke the law he should be prosecuted
in Canada.

Nearly half of Canadians admit to smoking marijuana at least once
Adesso sappiamo a cosa sono dovute le scappate del caro Torrieri :)
*LOL*
-Stefano