Posted on 12/13/2002 5:40:43 AM PST by Lorenb420
OTTAWA -- Looser marijuana laws in Canada will lead to even tighter security at the U.S. border, American officials warned yesterday.
U.S. drug cops could soon be shifting their attention from the Mexican border north once the Liberal government decriminalizes pot possession, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
President George W. Bush's anti-drug czar John Walters also took aim at yesterday's Commons committee recommendation that possession of 30 grams of pot should result in nothing more than a ticket and no criminal record.
"Smoking any amount of marijuana is unhealthy, but the consequences of conviction for a small amount of marijuana for personal use are disproportionate to the potential harm," said Liberal MP Paddy Torsney, chairman of the committee.
DEA spokesman Will Glaspy said American experts still see pot as "an illegal, harmful and dangerous substance," and he hopes Canadian authorities get the information they need to make a "good" decision.
"What it would mean for the United States obviously would require us to put more emphasis and place more security along our northern border," Glaspy said.
Justice Minister Martin Cauchon has already said he's ready to roll on the decriminalization of marijuana for personal use by early next year.
Walters used a visit to Buffalo to sound off on the evils of marijuana, the increasing $5-billion US cross-border flow of Canadian-grown high-potency marijuana known as "B.C. Bud" and the dangers of easy marijuana laws.
"It makes security at the border tougher because this is a dangerous threat to our young people, given what we see, and it makes the problem of controlling the border more difficult," Walters said after being asked about the committee recommendation.
'THAT'S AN ARCHAIC VIEW'
He said the U.S. recognizes Canada is "a sovereign country," but the American example shows marijuana use is addictive and expensive to society, and it shouldn't be encouraged.
"I care about the Canadian people," Walters said, noting his father was Canadian.
He said the notion that marijuana isn't a serious drug or an addictive drug isn't true.
"That's an archaic view ... left over from the Cheech-and-Chong years of the '70s," he said.
Cauchon rebuffed the U.S. views, insisting the Liberal government is only talking about decriminalizing "small quantities," not the full legalization of pot, which he agreed would be a cause for concern for the Americans.
"I will analyze the report and I will analyze the future positions of the federal government on what is good for the entire Canadian society," he said.
Other recommendations by the Commons committee include more money for the government's drug-abuse prevention program, a "renewed" national anti-drug strategy head by a commissioner with regular reports to Parliament and no amnesty for the 600,000 Canadians who have been convicted of pot possession.
Maybe they'll offer asylum to the barely 5% of the U.S. population that admits to smoking pot, at least once a month, in the last year.
We'll even throw in the 'Statue of Libertarianism', free.
Mo' Money, Mo' Money, Mo' Money.
Judging by the post, you've got that right.
I'm not aware of any studies that demonstrate that smoking marijuana reduces your chances of getting frostbite. ;^)
Oh geez, you really did show up on the "short bus" this morning didn't you. Instead of trying to debate the issue, the best you got is, "Move to Canadopia."
Classic. Might have worked in the third grade, but no adult takes that serious. You only have a few people on your side who actually engage in real debate, the rest of you are jokes and everyone knows it.
4Freedom from potheads, pro-dope and pro-open borders Libertarians, RINOs, liberal Democrats and obfuscators of the truth that continually and incessantly refer to the 'police action on drugs' that we've been fighting as a "war".
They can all go to 'Canadope' with you two. Ya hey der. ;^)
PS: I reserve the right to add to this list as this thread progresses or degenerates as the case may be.
Hmmm, 'Canadopia' does have nicer ring to it than 'Canadope'. Thanks.
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