 |
| Add caption |
Petition to the Government of Canada
Whereas:
- Cannabis prohibition began[1] with no scientific, medical or social justification, and was initiated as an effort to harass, punish and deport racial minorities;
- The prohibition of cannabis has caused many social and economic harms, criminalized millions of Canadians for no benefit, and financed organized crime;
- Cannabis has the potential to provide food, medicine, fibre[2], fuel and building materials; and
- Cannabis medicines are safe and effective for treating a wide variety of ailments, yet are not readily available to all who require them.
We, the undersigned, Citizens or residents of Canada, request (or call upon) the Government of Canada to
immediately:
- Repeal the prohibition on possession and personal cultivation of cannabis;
- Repeal Section 462.2 of the Criminal Code[3], which bans literature and harm reduction devices like waterpipes[4] and vaporizers;
- Permit patients or their designated grower[5] to provide medical cannabis as recommended by a physician; and
- End police raids against community medical cannabis dispensaries, and enable their municipal regulation, as per the position[6] of the Union of BC Municipalities; and within one year:
- Allow farmers to harvest and sell the cannabinoid-rich resin from their plants, as per the recent resolution[7] of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance;
- Completely end the prohibition of cannabis, by removing it entirely from the CDSA (Controlled Drugs and Substances Act);
- For those convicted for a cannabis offence under the CDSA, on a case-by-case basis[8]: Grant a full pardon and amnesty for past offences, expunge[9] criminal records and release all prisoners currently serving time; and
- Permit Provinces, Territories and First Nations to decide how they want to tax, regulate and distribute cannabis as needed.
*******
[1] Further the explanation, Cannabis prohibition was enacted because it was in direct competition with the fledgling pharmaceutical industry. Hemp was restricted under the same act because it was in direct competition with oil, lumber (which includes pulp and paper) and Cotton. Racism was used as a means of creating fear to further that end.)
[2] "Fibre" is the Canadian spelling
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibre
[3] Offence and Punishment
Marginal note:Offence
462.2 Every one who knowingly imports into Canada, exports from Canada, manufactures, promotes or sells instruments or literature for illicit drug use is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction
(a) for a first offence, to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both; or
(b) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding three hundred thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.
R.S., 1985, c. 50 (4th Supp.), s. 1.
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/page-223.html#docCont
[4] "waterpipe" although in online stores it's called "water pipe". The term should really be waterpipe and the industry will correct it's self over time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookah
[5] Designated growers
"A temporary injunction allowed home and delegated growing to continue until the challenge of the new Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) could be heard in Federal Court."
Court to decide who can grow medical marijuana
by Jeff Nagel - BC Local News posted May 1, 2015 at 11:00 AM
http://www.langleytimes.com/news/302194551.html
[6] “Local governments in B.C. have declared they have the authority to license medical marijuana dispensaries, defying the federal government’s opposition to regulation of the illegal stores.
Delegates at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention voted in favour of a resolution endorsing the position that they have the power to regulate pot dispensaries. The resolution states that an ongoing court challenge of Ottawa’s medical marijuana laws has created uncertainty while pot shops proliferate and cause problems in B.C.”
B.C. cities vote to defy Ottawa’s stand on pot shops
VANCOUVER — The Canadian Press
Published Friday, Sep. 25, 2015 1:54PM EDT
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bc-municipalities-vote-to-have-power-over-pot-shops-despite-ottawas-stance/article26545092/
[7] Hemp Industry in Canada Missing Out on Huge Market Opportunity
Over 200 producers, processors and leading hemp experts from Canada and aroudn the world met in Calgary this week to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing Canada’s hemp sector. Central to the discussion was the fact that the industry cannot utilize the whole hemp plant. As a result Canadian hemp farmers are missing out on a potential billion dollar market opportunity.
The culprit in this injustice is ancient regulatory controls on the hemp plant. Hemp contains very low levels of the psychoactive ingredient THC (delta 9) while on the other hand it can contain significant levels of other beneficial cannabinoids such as CBD.
http://www.hemptrade.ca/news.php
[8] If the conviction included other charges (excluding the cannabis offences under the CDSA), would the judgement remain the same or should the charges be lessened based on looking at the revised charges?... This would be the litmus test for each case. (that's what is meant by 'case-by-case basis')
Mr. Speaker, during the election, the Liberals promised to finally end criminalizing Canadians for simple possession of marijuana. The current government could have taken immediate action, but has not. There are no details, no timeline for decriminalizing marijuana possession, no commitment to expunge the record of hundreds of thousands of Canadians convicted for simple possession, and thousands are still unfairly facing possible arrest, tying up the police and our justice system.Why has the government not taken any action to legalize simple possession of marijuana?
*********
Credits:
Dana Larsen, Sensible BC director - published an article ' for the Huffington Post '7 Key Things Trudeau's Pot Legalization Must Include' http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/dana-larsen/trudeau-pot-legislation_b_8336022.html this was used for the initial creation of the Bill S-420 text.
Michael D Dempsey (GPC 2015 candidate for Oshawa) who reached out to Elizabeth May to get her support.
Sam K Vekemans, Cannabis Activist - created the e-petition, starting with just the numbered points with the 'constitutional right' as the only bullet point, and published the text for the Bill S-420 The Cannabis Freedom Act, and put this together.
Sheila Jacobson, Cannabis Activist - created another independent e-petition about the same time as Sam Vekemans did, which included the initial version of the top 7 bullet points.
The Case R. vs. Smith is recognized and referenced as the source for the Constitutional Right. http://cannabisdigest.ca/r-v-smith/
Ted Smith's article published on Cannabis Digest was also used for reference to the CAMCD along with other ideas. http://cannabisdigest.ca/overgrowing-the-liberal-legalization-scheme/
The overall Cannabis Activist community who shared ideas for this draft petition and were also made aware of this. (without it being shared, people wouldn't know).
YOU the viewers who read and share this draft petition and random people who submit comments for recommendations for improvement.
To MP Kennedy Stewart for passing the Bill to make this e-petitions system possible.
And finally, the Office of the Petitions Clerk for providing the technical feedback & recommendations for submitting this petition.
And also thanks to Conservative MP Blaine Calkins who did agree to submit the petition (when approached by Sheila Jacobson) but only if it was a Paper petition.
The petition has been supported by the 1st 5 supporters who confirmed their support, and has been submitted to Elizabeth May on January 10, 2016 at 10:18am (EDT). It is now awaiting the sponsor approval.
 |
| The Petition has been submitted to Elizabeth May on January 10, 2016 at 10:18am (EDT), it's now awaiting sponsor approval |
The petition has been supported by the 1st 5 supporters who confirmed their support, and has been submitted to Elizabeth May on January 10, 2016 at 10:18am (EDT). It is now awaiting the sponsor approval.
No comments:
Post a Comment