News of the North

A good interview with Marc Emery in the Vancouver Courier. He talks about the bust and the history of his activism and reveals some little known details of his personal life.

Meanwhile, California state judge James Gray, in an address before the Canadian Bar Association in Vancouver said that the war on drugs isn't working and every American politician knows it. But instead of making changes, politicians would rather continue receiving war-on-drug funding.

"Our biggest cash crop in California is marijuana," said Gray. "That shows you how good of a job we're doing. We couldn't be doing worse if we tried."

Gray wants to see a push in America to decriminalize marijuana and treat it like alcohol, but says there is too much money in the war on drugs for the government to stop.

"It is big business to prosecute the war on drugs," he said. "And people in the government do not want to give up that business. They realized that 70 per cent of people that use illegal drugs only use marijuana. If you legislate marijuana, you lose your enemy in the war on drugs and the funding that goes into it."

The Judge had nothing but praise for Vancouver's approach to drugs and urged them to continue the good work. This of course is why the DEA is so hellbent to destroy the Vansterdam scene. It's another living testament for sensible drug policy and a living proof that debunks their lying propaganda as they continue to lamely insist that marijuana is so much stronger now and is the cause of teenage admissions to drug treatment programs. Both claims long debunked on both sides of the border.

[hat tip to Tim Meehan]