Marijuana seems to be on the collective Canadian mind lately as yet another high-ranking official announced that they are not only for marijuana legalization but that they’ve smoked it themselves. These admissions have caused quite the stir.
Shocking, I know. But keep in mind this is quaint, polite, rule-abiding Canada we’re talking about here.
| www.djrsterenborg.eu |
Australian pro surfer Mark Richardson busts his ass in the water to compete in the rarified air of the elite pro levels. Not just compete, mind you, win. In 2011 Richardson won the World Masters Championship after a grueling six-elimination heat competition.
But according to the International Surfing Association, he cheated because he had THC in his system. Because of that Richardson has been forced to return his medals more than two years after he won them.
| Dakta Green. |
Dakta Green wants to legalize cannabis. He’s open about his cannabis use – you kind of have to bee when you’re the co-coordinator of New Zealand NORML, you’ve been arrested for operating a place that openly allows the use and sale of herb – and has been a major an advocate for New Zealand repealing and reforming their marijuana laws.
And now Green is running for mayor of the Ruapehu District (roughly the same as a county in the United States) on the North Island of New Zealand on a cannabis reform/lowering electricity costs platform.
| Mary McNeil/Flickr. |
| Vancouver Police Department Chief Jim Chu. |
Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu says that police need more options in dealing with marijuana possession charges and decriminalizing the possession of 30 grams or less at the federal level could save millions in court and police costs.
Chu delivered his message to his peers earlier this week at the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police annual meeting. The association also passed a resolution urging the government to provide alternative ways of dealing with the “crime” of low-level marijuana possession.
Last week the world watched as Uruguay became the first nation to officially re-legalize marijuana in nearly eight decades. Not to be outdone, our neighbors to the north in Canada may be heading in the same direction, at least if Justin Trudeau, the leader of Canada’s Liberal Party, has anything to say about it.
On July 23rd, while attending a rally in British Columbia, the head of one of Canada’s three major political parties spotted a supporter carrying a sign in favor of decriminalizing weed, and he stated, “I’m actually not in favor of decriminalizing cannabis – I’m in favor of legalizing it.”
A bill to outright legalize cannabis in Uruguay is starting to see action. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, the Uruguayan House of Representatives is set to vote on a legalization bill this summer – likely tomorrow.
The bill would still have to be approved by the Uruguayan senate and signed by President José Mujica before becoming law. Thankfully, the legalization idea came straight from Mujica’s office and his Frente Amplio party has majorities in both chambers of the legislature. If passed, Uruguayans over the age of 18 would be able to buy just under a half-ounce of cannabis per month at a government-regulated shop.
| William Breathes. |
| To get three tons of hash, multiply this by about 2.7 million. |
Turkish police this week seized more than 15 million marijuana plants over 1,000 acres. And while that’s a staggering number of plants to uproot, the more impressive part of the haul was the three tons of hash police found sitting in a field.
That’s about the same weight as three 1967 VW bugs, a large white rhinoceros, or six right whale testicles.
| Hemp plant growing in front of a police station in Göttingen, Germany. |
Beautiful Göttingen, Germany has become a lot more beautiful over the last few weeks as hundreds of cannabis plants have begun sprouting in flower boxes, gardens and street sides all over the small college town.
No, the town isn’t a legal haven for cannabis – though Germans tend to be relatively tolerant about personal cannabis use. It’s a protest from the group “A Few Autonomous Flower Children” who say it’s high time Germany legalized cannabis outright.
Could cannabis legalization and regulation be coming to Canada? At least one activist says yes, and claims now is the time to push for it.
Canadian cannabis activist Dana Larsen has received the okay from the British Columbia officials to begin collecting signatures for a ballot initiative that would prevent police from enforcing marijuana laws – effectively legalizing the plant.
| Flickr.comtd> |
| An alcohol awareness poster in Sydney, Australia. |
Legalizing marijuana can protect Australia’s youth from the dangers of binge drinking.
That’s the message from Robin Broom, director of the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, Australia’s primary, government-funded alcohol research group.
Room, a professor at Melbourne University, tells the (Melbourne-Victoria) Herald-Sunthat Australia needs to be progressive with this issue and work towards a legalized and controlled market for cannabis. He says that it should be sold through state stores, not unlike how some U.S. states handle alcohol sales.