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Stop Export of “BC Bud”
By Hempology | February 23, 2007
Ottawa Citizen
U.S. Drug Boss: Canada Urged to Crack Down on Marijuana Use. U.S. “drug czar” John Walters wants Canadian officials to crack down on marijuana use, stop the export of “B.C. bud” to the U.S., and co-operate with extradition requests. That tough approach to drugs was tempered somewhat yesterday by the director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, who thanked Canadian officials and law enforcement in Ottawa for their “outstanding co-operation” on the “war against drugs.”More…”Today in the United States, more young people are dependent on marijuana than any other illegal drug,” he said, adding, “More teens seek treatment for marijuana dependency than all other illegal drugs combined, more than alcohol.”
However, Mr. Walters credited a 23-per-cent drop in drug use among U.S. teens to a variety of controversial initiatives, including random marijuana testing of high school students, a practice Liberal Senator Larry Campbell called “ethically repugnant.”
Mr. Walters said the U.S. will be looking to Canada to help crack down on the international flow of drugs — including the export of marijuana, particularly that which is grown in B.C.
People who export drugs to the U.S. from Canada “think the border will either protect them from risk of being arrested, or if they’re arrested, they’ll face lesser consequences than they would if they were caught in the United States,” he said. “I think that’s the one issue to make here in Canada.”
That means the U.S. will continue asking Canada to extradite its citizens who have been charged for drug-related offences in the U.S., such as the so-called “prince of pot” who lives in British Columbia.
After pressure from U.S. officials, Mark Emery’s business that sold cannabis seeds over the Internet was shut down by Vancouver police in 2005. He now faces extradition over related charges in the U.S. and could face 30 years to life in prison if found guilty.
When asked about extraditions, Mr. Walters simply stated, “We enforce our laws.” He declined to comment on Mr. Emery’s case.
Ethan Nadelmann, founder and executive director of the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance, countered Mr. Walters’ claims, noting “nearly half a million Americans are in jail right now for drug offences.”
“To be tough on violent crime ( and ) to be tough on predatory crime makes all the sense in the world,” but mandatory sentences for drug crimes lead to “tremendous injustices,” he said at a separate press conference in Ottawa yesterday.
Mr. Nadelmann called his administration’s refusal to look at safe injection sites for heroin users — programs that have proven to reduce overdoses and the spread of disease in cities like Vancouver – — is “intensely illogical.”
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