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Crimes, Compassion or what?
By Ted | July 5, 2002
Don’t do the crime, if you do not have the time.
By Ted Smith
Founder,
Victoria’s Hempology 101 Society
Recent events lead me to think that I need to clarify my situation and caution
others either preparing to become involved with, or already into, the public
distribution of cannabis for medical purposes.
To begin with, please do not feel sorry for me because I have been arrested as a result
of my activism. If you have compassion to spare, share it with people in wheelchairs,
sick with cancer or living in despair. I do not deserve or need any sympathy for the
punishment society has inflicted upon me during this war. I knew well what I was
up against when I voluntarily stepped in front of the machine called prohibition. In
fact, fate has dealt me a number of powerful playing cards against a seemingly
unbeatable opponent.
All actions have risks involved which can be mitigated by resourcefulness and by logical
consideration of all possible options and scenarios. Prepare for the worst and hope
for the best is generally the manner in which I try to approach issues.
Selling cannabis publically in Canada has a certain amount of risk involved which cannot
be entirely avoided, even if the buyers have medical need. Both criminals and police see
medical cannabis groups as potential targets if the proper circumstances
arise. The individuals engaged in the distribution of cannabis for medical reasons put
their bodies, property, freedom, reputation and future on the public chopping block.
Protecting these organizations from criminals is a fairly easy problem to consider, though
by no means always successful. Protecting ourselves from authorities is not as simple,
requiring careful forethought, honesty and straightforwardness. The truth and the Charter
of Rights and Freedoms are the two most powerful allies we have in this fight against
prohibition. Sometimes though, they are not enough to stop us from being arrested.
Medical cannabis groups experience intense scrutiny from members, suppliers, neighbours,
health care workers and institutions, law enforcement agencies, politicians, criminals,
media and the general
public. For these reasons it is very important that those involved in the operations of
medical cannabis should be careful about what they do in public and private to
stabilize the integrity of the group and the movement as a whole. When leaders in the
cannabis movement intentionally distort the truth for personal gain, other activists
suffer the results, losing faith in each other. The truth is on our side, especially
if we act honestly and reasonably. If we sway from the facts when
in court, being interviewed, etc, the potential disasters are far greater than
the suffering of any individual. This certainly does not mean one is required to disclose all
information to everyone at all times, but being as honest as possible
allows for transparency and a sense of security. A consistent, open and reasonable set of
rules and operations provides a solid framework from which to work and deal with problems
as they arise.
Under these current circumstances, anyone who is publically selling cannabis as medicine
must assume there is a high probability of being arrested and must be prepared to suffer the
consequences. If the punishments associated with distributing cannabis are greater than the
potential benefits of the actions you are considering, you should do everyone a
favour and not get involved over your head. Anyone interested and able can find their niche in this
growing movement towards legalization, but most do not need to be near the front line.
If you are arrested for publically challenging cannabis laws, for medical purposes or not,
please do not plead guilty. When your only concern is that of yourself and your family and
friends, then a guilty plea may be appropriate. If you start or join an illegal public
cannabis organization your only real hope for ultimate success is to have the courts strike
the law down. A guilty plea concedes that a wrong has been committed by the defendant, who
is asking for a light punishment instead of challenging the law itself. Cannabis advocacy groups
should be built to protect its members
against the law as much as possible. They should be especially careful if members disclose very sensitive, personal information to the group when they join.
Those involved in the daily operations of these
life-saving institutions should be prepared to defend the action of these groups
against the actions of police at every opportunity. Pleading guilty to the crime of selling
cannabis to people with medical problems may save the skin of the person caught in the act,
but it undermines the credibility of the movement if we appear to be asking for sympathy
rather than justice. We should be asking for reason, scientific evidence, medical research
and intelligent governing mechanisms concerning cannabis policies, not simply light
punishments for being caught.
If you are involved in publically distributing cannabis as a medicine,
then you must be extremely careful not to get involved with activities you are not prepared
to defend in court. Trading pot for pipes with a stranger, for example, may seem to be
a relatively harmless act, but if that person turns out to be a rat or cop, then the
organization may get busted as a result. The only way to keep evidence like this from court
is by pleading guilty, which, as I said, undermines the credibility of the entire movement.
Any inappropriate actions by high-profile activists will be exploited by the private media,
while good deeds go relatively unnoticed.
It is important to recognize, as quickly as possible, those who could prove to be problems to
your group and to carefully observe other public figures and organizations before becoming
closely affiliated with them. While it is uncomfortable to tell people you don’t wish to continue
working with them or that problems exist in the relationship, it is better to acknowledge
issues before they digress too much. Many radicals are drawn into this movement and often
it is better for them to direct their energy against destructive corporations and government
policies than to try to include them within functioning organizations. While some would like
to think everyone in the movement should work together, the reality is that most who have
chosen to enter the front lines on this issue are generally strong-willed, fiercely independent
thinkers, who are often unwilling to compromise certain personal beliefs. The wide diversity
of individuals involved in this campaign (and we do claim that cannabis smokers are from
all walks of life) means there is very little hope of agreeing upon how the cannabis laws should
be changed.
While one may not be able to work with everyone else locally involved with fighting
prohibition, one should be aware of and properly acknowledge others working in the same
community. To deny the existence or importance of older, smaller or less effective organizations
involved in the same movement creates unnecessary walls between people. The general public is
keenly watching these unfolding events, and we discredit ourselves when we appear to be
dishonest or in this for personal gain. The best way to earn respect is to show respect to those who have
been struggling for cannabis freedom, not by ignoring, excluding, using and discrediting
other members of the movement.
All interactions with police must be handled very delicately. Even if they are not arresting
you on the spot, they could be collecting evidence for a warrant or gathering information
which could be used against you. When you intentionally approach police with information
regarding real criminal behaviour by members or other people, there is a good chance you could
also be arrested. When threats or actions by individuals do get out of hand, though, the best
response is generally to call the police to resolve the situation if no other means seems
possible. The last thing anyone associated with a public medical club should do
is to reply to threats or violence in ways which cause situations to digress. We are not gangs.
We are coalitions of concerned citizens, and we should be able
to call the police if real criminals come around. Several unfortunate incidents have forced
me to call the police for protection from actual criminals, and some have even led to my arrest.
However, I refuse to act like a criminal and I attempt to show the authorities the impression
that I am a peaceful, law-abiding citizen.
Some consider my public activism with Victoria’s Hempology 101 society as confusing the issues
between hemp, medical cannabis and the War on Drugs. Many wish to seperate hemp from marijuana,
medical use of cannabis from recreational, and the prohibition of one plant from other illicit drugs. I strongly
believe that neither hemp nor the medical use of cannabis will be fully embraced until the plant is legal
for everyone. However, in the meantime, we need to grow hemp and help people in medical need as much as possible
until it becomes legal for everyone. Those in medical need should be getting free cannabis from the rest of
the community, something that will only happen when it is legal for everyone. Arguing that police should be
dealing with heroin and coke dealers is like black people trying to tell racist white people to pick on
people from the Middle East instead. While I know many of these drugs are potentially destructive, I believe the prohibition
laws only make the consequences of drug use worse.
One of the most contraversial issues around these groups are the financial ones. Everyone wants to know
where the money goes, as some groups charge as much as $10 a gram with no price breaks for larger purchases.
It takes a substantial amount of time and resources to start, maintain, and build a public medical cannabis
group. A few hard-core groups in the US provide free cannabis to very ill people, though I don’t know how.
Most groups charge more than the cost of the herb to cover expenses to operate. These expenses could
include rent, utilities, photocopying, legal expenses, recovering from theft & police raids, and
sometimes a moderate donation to those who help maintain the group on a daily basis. Some medical cannabis
groups keep good records of financial transactions, with a few even trying to pay income tax on employee
wages. Other groups do not keep track of finances or pay taxes because of the lack of a license or other
formal relationships with the government which does not protect groups or members from police harassment.
Until legal regulations governing all aspects of this enterprise come into effect, many will resist exposing
themselves to arrest by retaining and providing financial records.
There are several ways to look at the issues I am raising here. Many feel it is a disgrace that a “civil”
society is for the most part sitting back and watching seriously ill individuals fight for access to their medicine.
Some believe that healthy individuals have no right to
speak on behalf of or supply critically ill people in any way. Healthy or not, everyone involved in
publically distributing cannabis as a medicine needs to consider the risks involved, prepare as much as
possible for arrest without being paranoid and must be prepared to suffer any consequences which result
from their actions. Careful consideration needs to be paid to those in desperate need of this medicine who
are unable to grow or fight for their right to possess it, and to the suppliers who also have a tremendous amount
at stake in these activities. For no matter how functional a medical cannabis group appears to be, if the
growers sense an economic, criminal or political risk, the
supply may dry up and the organization is put at risk. Many others remain in the closet who otherwise support
the issue, but they have considered the potential negative impacts of speaking out as being too great to
risk exposure. Living under a microscope is very uncomfortable at times, but given the current
circumstances cannabis advocates have no choice but to act as reasonable and straightforward as
possible every day in order to be taken seriously by society. We should demand justice through intelligent
activism.
Compassion is definitely a trait individuals involved in medical cannabis activism need to be successful,
but it may not be the most important characteristic that one needs to successfully defeat the law.
No matter how much you care about other people, it is still a crime for anyone in this country to pass a
joint or seed to another person. Even if both are close to dying and have Health Canada exemptions. We need
to behave like honest, good citizens as much as possible while continually helping operate to public medical
distribution centers which can easily get raided by police. We need compassion, but we need common sense first.
So tell me, do I sound compassionate enough to be involved in the medical cannabis movement or do I seem
nothing more than another opportunist involved in a crime with no victim? Is it compassion, a crime
or what?
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