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By JESSE CARTER
Staff Writer
Medical marijuana could be leading the way to pot in your pocket, legally.
Since marijuana and prohibition have existed, there have been those willing to fight to decriminalize it and change people's opinions. In 2010 there might be a change in the approach to pot and it is starting in California with 700,000 signatures to get the bill onto the floor of Congress for a November vote.
 Photo by Jesse Carter
According to Health Canada's webpage on cannabis
the plant produces what we know as marijuana, which in turn allows
users to ingest the main psychoactive ingredient Tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC) into their blood stream where it binds to cannabinoid receptors.
This is what causes the effects of getting high. Cannabis also produces
hash, hash oil and hemp and can be grown indoors or outdoors depending
on the seasonal temperatures.
Marijuana can been known as ganja, bud,
weed and chronic and can be smoked out of a bong or pipe, or in a joint
or vaporizer, or can be ingested through foods such as brownies and
cookies.
Health Canada also says smoking marijuana will induce the
effects right away whereas eating it will take longer, but effects can
last much longer. Short-term effects can include red eyes, dry mouth or
"pasties" and increased hunger, often called "munchies." Long-term use
in heavy amounts can lead to paranoia or delusions and may cause
bronchitis. Though marijuana can contain some toxic properties because
of unregulated growing, it has not yet been proven to cause lung cancer
with excessive or long-term use.
In Toronto there are institutions
that allow users who possess the "weed card" to obtain medical
marijuana. Cannabis as Living Medicine (CALM) is a licensed organization
which can distribute marijuana to its members. It is not regulated by
Health Canada because it does not fit the criteria for regulation. Neev,
38, who doesn't want his last name used, founded CALM in 1996 "out of
necessity."
"I saw a need for it. The need was large, and it was
obvious."
He says he picked the business of weed because not only is
it a fascinating plant, it brings peace, in his opinion. He says more
seriously that there are many economic, medical and spiritual reasons,
not to mention civil rights, involved. Children smoking and people
mixing alcohol and selling pot are all the biggest challenges to his
organization's cause. He says 420 to them is just another day.
The
term 420 refers to the time, 4:20 p.m. and date of April 20 of every
year when marijuana users all around the world smoke constantly
throughout the day, but especially at 4:20 p.m. That's considered the
original smoking time by the people who coined the phrase 420.
As an
individual, Neev says, 420 means something to him, but a lot of what is
attached to marijuana are very cultural and have no medical reference.
CALM
allows its members to obtain pot from it, but to gain membership an
individual must fill out all the necessary paperwork and submit it with a
doctor's note, which will be verified before any pot changes hands.
Over
the years, he says, they have had around 3,000 members and only a few
cases of fake doctor's notes or run-ins with the police. On March 31,
2010, both undercover and uniformed police officers of the 40th Division
raided the CALM facility, according to mutiple sources, including The
Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and a video of CALM's security camera,
available on YouTube. During the raid, employees and disabled-patrons
were injured but only nine employees were arrested and charged,
uncluding owner Neev. Charges they face include possession and other
drug charges, because police claim CALM doesn't have a licence to
distribute marijuana. However, Health Canada won't allow CALM to apply
for a licence to regulate marijuana use. According to both the Toronto
Star and The Globe and Mail, more than 16,000 grams of marijuana, just
under 2,000 grams of hash, 207 grams of hash oil and a quanity of cash
were confiscated.
His organization has contracted legal growers from
whom the weed is obtained. Both CALM and the growers follow a seasonal
cycle, which can mean a supply shortage sometimes in the late summer.
This has never caused any problems with their patients.
The growers'
supply, is inspected for quality with a microscope so that no cheap
weed comes through to patients. The organization does have a return
policy, which means the patient can take it home and try it to make sure
it is right for them, in case any complaints are made.
"High quality
is a must, and we like to give our patients as much info as we can on
the weed they are getting," Neve says.
The average amount for members
is an ounce per visit. Neev says two ounces per month is on the high
side, no pun intended.
A protest held on April 11, in downtown
Toronto was in response to the recent raid on CALM. Both protesters
and disabled marijuana users marched on the 40th police division in a
crowd estimated at 300, according to an article on the Toronto Sun's
website posted on the eleventh. According to the Toronto Sun and CTV,
protesters claim police used both force on the day of the raid and in
some instances during the primarily peaceful rally.
Neev and his
organization are also in charge of the annual Marijuana March held in
Toronto around May. They are hoping to use the march as another protest
in response to the raid. They estimated 30,000 people attended last
year. It's held with music and vendors in Queen's Park. The event is to
promote the safe use and legalization of recreational marijuana. It will
be held on May 1 this year. He encourages everyone to come and bring
their friends.
"The more the better, and if you can fill a bus, the
better you'll be."
Although there has been little progress here in
Canada on the legalization of pot, a recent press release on March 24
by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) says that California's Ballot
Measure to Tax and Regulate Marijuana is expected to, and did, qualify
for ballot on March 25. This means that in November's vote, if it
passes, it will be legal in California to possess under an ounce of pot
and that cities can regulate it or not regulate it just like alcohol.
Steve
Fox, director of state campaigns for the MPP, has been working in
Washington, D.C. on behalf of the Tax Cannabis Campaign Organization to
do the "leg work" to keep the bill alive. He says he works alongside the
groups in changing the laws about marijuana and has been for 15 years.
The press release says it is "expected to secure a place" for voting and
Fox says March 24 was the last day for verification. It qualified the
next day. The minimum amount is 433,000 signatures and then a five per
cent sampling is checked for validity. More than 700,000 signatures have
been submitted and Fox says counties have had a 75 per cent
verification rate.
The only city left to check is Los Angeles,
which needs 50 per cent support to pass. In the past the city has had a
60 to 75 per cent support rate so that is why he thought it will be
secured for voting. After March 24, the votes were checked. It will be
voted on in November 2010 vote and he believes this time, real change
will happen.
"It would be historic, the first non-medical use of
marijuana."
MPP has more than 124,000 members and it's the largest
marijuana policy reform organization in the U.S. It believes the best
way to minimize the harm associated with pot is to regulate it in a
manner similar to alcohol. For more information see www.mpp.org.
Aaron
Smith, the California policy director for MPP, says he believes the
government of California has finally changed its approach to the roughly
78,000 people arrested each year and that we could be soon living in
the days where you can legally possess pot for personal use.
"I am
very optimistic and the support is growing at an exponential rate."
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