Cornwall ON – Oakland is starting to look like Ground Zero in the debate to legalize Marijuana use in the US and eventually in Canada.
Right now Medical Marijuana is the “buzz” word in play with small time growers concerned of the growth of Marijuana taken over by big factory farms.
“Nobody wants to see the McDonald’s-ization of cannabis,” Dan Scully, one of the 400 “patient-growers” who supply Oakland’s largest retail medical marijuana dispensary, Harborside Health Center, grumbled after a City Council committee gave the blueprint preliminary approval last week. “I would compare it to how a small business feels about shutting down its business and going to work at Wal-Mart. Who would be attracted to that?”
Well Dan, mostly big companies with deep pockets and connections. That’s the double edge to the legalization to the billion dollar industry as big business will move in and make sure the flow of tax dollars get into government coffers.
Here in Canada; where our government has extradited legitimate business man Marc Emery, the Harper government struggles to reverse the will of most Canadians by trying to imitate Bush era neo-conservative views towards the legalization of marijuana where having more than six plants can lead to Draconian impacts on people’s lives, and bloating to the tax base by funding the processing, prosecution, and then housing of people.
What do you think Canada? You can post your comments below.
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but but but…. If we legalize it what will happen to all those juicy profits that come from the court and the lawyers who profit from ignorance
well Jason H perhaps we could afford hospital beds and services??
Lol… yes the ” let’s tax it and build better hospitals” what a bunch of crap that is as intelligent as putting paint on rust.
Let’s start investing money into health education… How to actually eat right and prepare well balanced meals… and teaching people how to exercise.
I hate the tax for hospital debate … It doesn’t makes sense. Deal with The ROOT cause of why so many people are unhealthy… and the need for more hospital beds becomes a non issue….. Sure it may take a generation for this new culture and way if thinking to happen… but at least it’s a permanent solution that deals with the real reason we need more beds and hospitals.
Jason I never suggested building better hospitals. Here in Cornwall we have an acute issue where valuable hospital beds are being used because we don’t have the after care beds available.
Of course we should have better preventative medicine. Then entire frikkin Medicare system needs an overhaul and to become accountable to Canadian Taxpayers.
I don’t think we see 25 cents on the dollar for what we pump into Medicare, but politicians don’t have the stones to face or tackle the issues that they would have to if they were to actually fix and save the Canadian Health Care system because they’ll still get their paychecks and they’ll still have good health insurance.
That’s the way it is in the US. If you serve your corporate masters well or fill a need you get a ration of health care. We Canadians, like many other civilized countries choose to not live like the US. At least I like to think that if put to a vote Canadians would still think that way….
Why do we always compare our healthcare to the USA? I guess it makes us look good… No one ever compares us to Sweden or findland… We would look bad.
I like the point you make about politicians not tackling the real root issues…. Maybe it’s time to look at the other political systems that could provide more freedom to it’s ppl. Democracy isn’t the best option
Jason the system works. It’s the people that don’t work it. Accountability has to start at the voter level. People need to respect the vote that they have and how important it is that they use it; especially if they want anything out of society or government.
If people want change they have to work towards it. Easy words said; harder to do.
government is for people who don’t take 100% responsibility for themselves. We need to stop electing people to represent us and start representing ourselves and working together with Technology to create a society where everyone wins.
Admin: You’ve claimed before that the system works. Please show a case where democracy has been an outstanding success, and balance has been struck between the ultra rich and the working classes. Just one example. Any case I have looked at shows an inordinate amount of power resting in the hands of a few.
Morning Rodney. The system doesn’t have to show an outstanding success. It has to show that it’s better than the alternatives. Any system has room for improvement. I will give one example of the system working and that’s the fact that it took a minority government to create Medicare in Canada. Because the leaders at that time had to work together to maintain a government and none of them at the time was named Harper, we had a lasting impact on Canada.
There are more poor people, people on fixed incomes, and working poor than rich people. Each one has a vote. If you/they really want change then it can happen, but with ultra low voter turnouts you get what we currently have for government.
I’m running for a political office. I’m not even pandering for a vote here. I just want to see more people vote and use their hard earned right. I’d like to see more people get involved. Pick an issue you’re passionate about and work towards your goal. For me it’s helping to save Medicare and see that it gets overhauled so that my friends, family, and even myself never have to suffer because of the failure of the system as I’m seeing far too much of.
I wonder if people have actually looked at the over 30+ alternative systems that exist. A technocracy could work better and provide real solution to societies real problems
I think this whole debate is backwards. Instead of legalizing pot and taxing potheads we really should be taking care of ourselves better. If we all exercised at least twice a week, cut the fried foods and processed sugar by 20%, ate more fruits and vegetables we could cut cases of heart disease, diabetes, etc. How much money would we save? The health care isn’t supposed to be there to make up for our stupidity.
I am all for the legalization of the product and have been since High school, remember “Reality is a crutch for those that cannot handle drugs”.
That being said “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.”
We know that the side effects of inhaling charred tobacco be it of the genus Nicotiana, or be it Cannabaceae contains some pretty nasty by products.
Is it really a fair trade off to permit people to use a new kind of drug which will result in more health issues just because we believe it is our right to do so?
Has our own greed and selfishness taken us against government and the system that we put our health on the line to make a point. What happens after they legalize pot do we now stand a charge for better health care?
smee cut it out – you know better. It’s not a moral issue. It’s not a choice issue. The reality is that people for many reasons use substances which we tax as we have to treat such as Tobacco and alcohol. The Marijuana industry is in need of regulation and controls for many reasons including taxation and chiefly quality control.
It’s a NAFTA issue. It’s a health issue, and the solution isn’t building prisons, but using good old fashioned Canadian Common Sense.
Admin I am not sure what you mean by good old Canadian Common sense but I am looking for ward to your explanation.
In this instance maybe some morals would be considered due diligence as it lends to accountability. You are blaming big brother because he does not want you to smoke pot. How does that affect NAFTA?
You also appear to be also neglecting the health issue. If you wish to smoke what ever, I do not feel you have the right to waste my tax dollars to compensate for your indiscretions should you become ill.
Personally I have no idea (well except for taxation) why they do not eliminate smoking all together. It has been proven to cause cancer at the molecular level. It kills and we make an issue of rights thus clouding what is really happening. If you have a problem with the cost of pot, grow your own. There is a great area behind big Ben
“I do not feel you have hte right to waste my tax dollars to compensate for you indescretion”….so only the healthy have that right? Should hospitals have questionnaires, and anyone who in any way hurt themselves, it is their problem? Hurt my leg playing hockey? Your decision, not my problem. Fell off the swing set? Not my problem. At fault car accident? Pay up sucker. Silly argument smee.
My sister-in-law had some problems healthwise and went to the hospital. There she was checked over and tested ad nauseam and the final decision was that she required a quadruple bypass. Only they refused to do it as she was a smoker. Try that one on for size all you smokers!
rodney really *lol* how is a busted bone of which I have had two a close and fair comparison to someone purposefully ingesting poison?
I know a bone can be repaired in a short time followed by physio-therapy, just ask Nancy. This is also a result of an ACCIDENT, is smoking an accident Rodney or a choice?
Rod what you have just done is to confirm to Admin and anyone else reading that it is a moral issue.
Thanx for your support
If you choose to play a sport that you know is dangerous, why should I have to foot the bill?
You do not play the sport with the intent to get hurt, as I said before that is an accident. Smoking is a self awareness of consumption of poison.
There is no other benefit
Smee, would you rather your tax dollar’s be used to police and jail marijuana users or would you rather make those hippies pay a tax for their vice? At least with taxation we can re-coup some of the health care cost associated with their drug use. Prohibition means criminals and terrorist get rich supplying the drug demand. Did alcohol prohibition reduce alcohol consumption and crime? We’ll never truly know, because gangsters like Al Capone didn’t pay taxes, so we can’t measure alcohol consumption during that era in any sort of quantifiable way. Alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana are about equally dangerous. To be consistent and fair, we either need to ban them all or legalize them all.
Devils Advocate
Do you think it is in anyone’s best interest to permit them to smoke pot just to tax them? Is this Jamie or Jason?
As for jailing them, sure why not, we would have to reconsider what a jail term is all about. Maybe chain gang to extract labor for the free room and board. It seems to hold down crime in other countries. Here it becomes a moral issue for the criminal not the people.
What is the difference Al Capone earning all the money or government stealing it and making you believe it is better spent by them?
Now for liquor we have the LCBO, who makes up the LCBO? It is people chosen by the manufacturers to manipulate what you buy. If you question that I suggest a visit to Alberta.
Smoking is the same thing
Without a doubt this to will happen with pot. All of a sudden you see corporations now growing the product making it more addictive just like they admitted to with cigarettes.
Oh and considering the retirement packages and benefits given to our politicians do they really pay taxes?
Devils Advocate: I can see that you are for legalizing marijuana use. Children smoke cigarettes in school, I know I did from about the age of 9 or 10. With legal marijuana they could smoke pot at school and learn nothing floating around on Cloud 9! What is this urgency to smoke drugs? Do we really want this? I certainly don’t!
Marc Emery pleaded guilty to breaking laws, and it is not like he is being sent to some third world prison. He wants to come back here for the 2 for 1 jail credits…..
I may look at a change in laws when 1. there is a roadside test machine similar to alcohol, 2. people with medical permits to smoke the stuff are not allowed to smoke in places where cigaretts are not allowed, and 3. the stuff is returned to the lower potency of the 60’s.