so, what they're saying is, smoking Canadian weed is healthier cuz I can inhale less smoke and get an even better high?Canada's marijuana bill leaves U.S. fuming
By Colin Nickerson
The Boston Globe
Published May 11, 2003
OTTAWA -- Canada's plan to decriminalize marijuana, making possession of the country's potent weed no more serious than a traffic ticket, has the Bush administration fuming. The view from Washington is that the mellowing of Canadian drug law will result in even more smuggled bales of "B.C. Bud," "Quebec Gold," and "Winnipeg Wheelchair"--the last so named because of its supposedly disabling effect on users--reaching American smokers.
For years, Canadian courts have taken a far more lax attitude toward marijuana than most jurisdictions in the United States. Such an approach, according to law-enforcement officials on both sides of the border, has enabled biker gangs and Asian organized crime groups to make Canada a powerhouse of hydroponic marijuana production, with thousands of high-tech, indoor growing operations in British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec that yield hundreds of millions of dollars worth of heady product.
"Most of it is going straight to the U.S. market," said a senior drug investigator with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, requesting anonymity. That southward flow of Canadian cannabis explains why the proposed easing of the marijuana law is fast becoming a serious source of political friction between Ottawa and Washington.
In terms of tonnage, Canada accounts for only a small share of the marijuana smuggled into the United States. But in terms of value, some drug enforcement officials believe Canadian marijuana has surpassed Mexico's and Colombia's among U.S. consumers because its high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which gives marijuana its punch, command much higher prices. In U.S. cities, high-grade Canadian marijuana is more than $5,000 a pound, according to drug agencies.
Prime Minister Jean Chretien surprised the United States by announcing he plans to put a bill before Parliament that will make possession and cultivation of small amounts of marijuana a non-criminal offense. The aim, he said, is not to legalize it but to ensure that casual users don't end up with criminal records if caught with a few cigarettes in their pockets or a few plants flourishing under basement grow-lights.
Public opinion polls show a majority of Canadians support decriminalization of marijuana, while 47 percent endorse outright legalization.
Note to self: gotta try that Winni-Wheelie stuff