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The cultivation and possession of cannabis is currently illegal in Canada, with exceptions only for medical usage. However, the use of cannabis by the general public is broadly tolerated^[1], and a vigorous campaign to legalize cannabis is underway nation-wide. This article describes the history of prohibition of cannabis in Canada and the political efforts to reverse it. Image File history File links Wiki_letter_w. ... Look up Cannabis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Cannabis sativa extract. ...

Recently, the new Conservative government of Canada which won the January 23rd elections has said it will trash the legislation slated to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.

History of prohibition of cannabis in Canada

The prohibition of cannabis actually began with the prohibition of opium, which itself began with an anti-Asian riot in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1907, the railroad had been completed and the goldmines had been depleted, and the white community was being agitated against a further influx of Asian labourers by the local media, itself controlled by whites. On September 8th, 1907, there was an anti-Asian riot in Vancouver, where a mob threw stones and broke the windows of many of the Asian businesses. Many Asians died due to riots and caused an uprising within the Asian community. It was two men that emerged from the smokey rubble that took a stand. The Asian businessmen asked Ottawa for compensation for the damage. Two of the businessmen were licensed opium dealers. Ottawa sent the new deputy Minister of Labour (and future Prime Minister) William Lyon Mackenzie King to Vancouver to solve the problem. Instead of providing compensation, Mackenzie King blamed the racist riot on the opium dens, arguing that because "white women and girls" were customers, the riot was justified. Instead of providing compensation, Mackenzie King created the Anti-Opium Act of 1908 - North America's first National anti-drug law. The law was racist on the surface — it forbade opium sales in Chinese opium dens but allowed it to continue in white botanical drug stores. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Vancouver (pronounced: ) is a city in south-western British Columbia, Canada. ... Categories: Wikipedia cleanup | Historical stubs ... Motto: Advance Ottawa/Ottawa en avant Location of the City of Ottawa in the Province of Ontario Coordinates: Country Canada Province Ontario Established 1850 as Town of Bytown Incorporated 1855 as City of Ottawa Amalgamated January 1, 2001 Government  - Mayor Larry OBrien  - City Council Ottawa City Council  - Representatives 8... Not to be confused with William Lyon Mackenzie, Mackenzie Kings grandfather. ... 1. ... Depiction of opium smokers in an opium den in the East End of London, 1874. ...

Judge Emily Murphy, Canada's first female judge and one of the famous five who fought for and won the right for women to vote, began writing a series of articles in 1920 in Maclean's Magazine entitled "The Grave Drug Menace". This series of articles was collected in a book called The Black Candle in 1922. These stories were mostly about opium and the Chinese, but Marihuana was also mentioned. Murphy took scare stories from American newspapers and repeated them verbatim, ascribing the worst crimes to the much-scapegoated hemp plant. Like Mackenzie King, Murphy saw opium as a tool the dark races used to seduce good white girls — she just added cannabis to their evil arsenal. Canadians, who always knew hemp as cannabis in medical form, had never heard of marihuana and were scared into supporting the prohibition. In 1923, cannabis was added to the growing list of prohibited drugs, with absolutely no debate in Parliament. Mackenzie King, the father of drug prohibition in North America, was Prime Minister at the time. Statue of Emily Murphy in the monument to The Famous Five, Parliament Hill, Ottawa // Introduction Emily Murphy (March 14, 1868 - October 17, 1933) was a Canadian womens rights activist. ... Macleans is Canadas leading weekly news magazine. ...

Interestingly, the forces behind cannabis prohibition in the USA were also behind Canadian cannabis prohibition. John D. Rockefeller Sr. owned Standard Oil, and through his influence had "The Flexner Report" of 1910 written out of the Rockefeller Institute. This report had the effect of keeping natural medicine and herbal medicine schools from getting funding. Rockefeller may well have understood that hemp was his natural competitor for the fuel market in North America, and most certainly understood that cannabis was a natural (and unmonopolizable) competitor to his large investments in synthetic medicine. Rockefeller had Mackenzie King on the payroll since 1915. Rockefeller's associate Andrew Mellon (along with another Rockefeller-dependent politician, Franklin Roosevelt) worked together to create the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, which prohibited the cultivation and sale of cannabis in the United States. John Davison Rockefeller, Sr. ... Standard Oil (Esso) was a predominant integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. ... Rockefeller University is a small private university focusing primarily on graduate education and research in the biomedical fields, located in the southeasternmost corner of the Upper East Side of Manhattan island in New York City, New York. ... Natural medicine is the practice of using any form of medicine that is in its natural form. ... The term Herbalism refers to folk and traditional medicinal practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon is drug, and logos is science) is the study of how chemical substances interfere with living systems. ... Mellon portrait Andrew William Mellon (March 24, 1855–August 27, 1937) was an American banker, industrialist, philanthropist, and Secretary of the Treasury from March 4, 1921 until February 12, 1932. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), often referred to as FDR, was the 32nd (1933–1945) President of the United States. ... In the United States, the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act (strictly the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act) was one of the cornerstone bills that led to the criminalization of Cannabis. ...

Current developments

Canadian cannabis political parties

At a federal level, the Marijuana Party of Canada is leading the campaign for cannabis legalisation. Provincial parties also exist, including the British Columbia Marijuana Party, Bloc pot, Saskatchewan Marijuana Party, and the Marijuana Party of Nova Scotia. The Marijuana Party is a Canadian federal political party that aims to end prohibition of cannabis. ... The British Columbia Marijuana Party (BCMP) is a minor political party in the Canadian province of British Columbia that advocates the legalisation of cannabis. ... The Bloc pot is a political party in the Canadian province of Quebec that is dedicated to the legalization of marijuana. ... The Saskatchewan Marijuana Party was officially registered as a Political Party in Saskatchewan, June 7 2006. ...

De facto tolerance of cannabis

As in many other countries of the world there is a de facto tolerance among many Canadians towards the private consumption of marijuana in Canada.

Medical marijuana legislation

Health Canada permits marijuana for approved patients who can demonstrate a medical need for it. Chris Buors, a marijuana activist, was sentenced to six months in jail in November 2004 after pleading guilty to cannabis distribution and marketing charges arising from his operation of the Manitoba Compassion Club which served patients suffering from a variety of illnesses. sex Canada (French: Santé Canada) is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for national public health. ... Chris Buors is a Manitoba politician and activist. ... Activism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change. ... November 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December See also: November 2004 in sports November 2004 in science Events Deaths in November • 30 Pierre Berton • 29 John Drew Barrymore • 26 Bill Alley • 24 Arthur Hailey • 23 Rafael Eitan • 18 Bobby Frank Cherry • 16 John...

Cannabis refugees in Canada

There are cases of users of medical marijuana in the United States who, on being persecuted in their own country, have fled across the border to Canada, where they have sought asylum under the United Nations refugee convention. [1] This began occurring in the early part of the 2000's when the then US Attorney General John Ashcroft ordered a clampdown on the use of medical marijuana in the US. Some of those who have fled are wanted by the US federal government on charges related to their use of marijuana. The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... In most common law jurisdictions, the Attorney General is the main legal adviser to the government, and in some jurisdictions may in addition have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions. ... John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) was the 79th Attorney General of the United States. ...

Proposed federal decriminalization

On May 27th 2003, the Liberal Party of Canada introduced a bill that would have decriminalized small amounts of cannabis. Possession of 15 grams or less would have been punishable only with a fine, and those possessing between 15 and 30 grams would be either ticketed or arrested for criminal charges at the officers discretion. Personal cultivation of up to three plants would have also become a ticketable offense, while the punishment for cultivation in larger amounts would have been more severe. The Bill looked as though it was going to pass into law, but it died when parliament prorogued. An identical bill was introduced in November of 2004 which also died when the 2006 election was called. The recently elected Conservative government has publicly stated that it does not intend to resurrect this bill.[2] A prorogation is the period between two sessions of a legislative body. ... Rendition of party representation in the 39th Canadian parliament decided by this election. ...

DEA extradition attempts

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration is attempting to extradite Marc Emery, a cannabis activist and seed distributor from Vancouver,along with Michelle Rainey and Greg Williams, his employees, to the United States, where they could face life sentences for selling seeds and allegedly laundering the profits into pro-cannabis legalization activities. The DEAs enforcement activities may take agents anywhere from distant countries to suburban U.S. homes. ... Marc Emery wearing his 420 jersey. ... Vancouver (pronounced: ) is a city in south-western British Columbia, Canada. ... Greg Diesel Williams (born September 30, 1963) was a former champion Australian rules footballer with the Sydney Swans, Geelong Football Club and the Carlton Football Club. ...

The Vancouver plan

This is a draft plan by the city authorities in Vancouver called Preventing Harm from Psychoactive Drug Use that aims to regulate the sale of cannabis. Vancouver (pronounced: ) is a city in south-western British Columbia, Canada. ...

Key court decisions

Malmo-Levine

Parker

References

1. ^ http://www.sesresearch.com/library/polls/POLNAT-W03-T113.pdf

See also

• Legal issues of cannabis
• Marijuana parties
• Medical cannabis in Canada
• Heaven's Stairway
• Cannabis rescheduling

World laws on cannabis possession (small amount). ... Marijuana parties are formal political parties set up specifically to legalise cannabis. ... Cannabis sativa extract. ... Heavens Stairway was Eastern Canadas largest cannabis seedbank, supplying around 300 different cannabis strains. ... Cannabis rescheduling, or cannabis reclassification, refers to efforts to transfer cannabis to a different category of controlled substances or remove it from control altogether. ...

External links

• Canada Medical Marihuana
• Marijuana in Canada
• The Vancouver Plan
• Failed Decriminalization Bill
• NORML Canada/SES Research - Surveying Canadian opinion on Legalization
• 2002 Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illicit Drugs