MARIJUANA LAWS ARE OFFENSIVE
(Source:Regina Leader-Post Letters/Op Ed)
16 Apr 2010

http://www.mapinc.org/norml/v10/n292/a10.html?

In the March 31 article, "Prison term begins; Jason Ng admits to pot production" you start by saying "In most facets of his life, Jason Ng was a productive, upstanding citizen" and go on to imply that by growing marijuana he somehow made himself less than a productive, upstanding citizen.

It's sad enough that Ng apologized even though he had done nothing wrong. Since a majority of Canadians want marijuana legalized, the continuation of marijuana prohibition is a crime against democracy.

The fact that a majority of Canadians oppose the law should be mentioned in every article like this, because without that context, you are helping the law enforcement community continue the false pretext that people who grow, sell or use marijuana are actually the criminals, when it is, in fact, law enforcement and criminally collusive political parties who are committing a crime against all Canadians by keeping these laws in place.

Daniel Johnson

Johnson is Saskatchewan director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
( NORML ).

Regina http://www.thestarphoenix.com/health/Medical+marijuana+prescriptions+being+stymied+advocates/2553511/story.html

Medical marijuana prescriptions being stymied, advocates say
By Jeremy Warren, The StarPhoenixFebruary 12, 2010
Biased policies against medical marijuana by Saskatchewan's governing body of medical practitioners are deterring doctors from granting prescriptions, say medicinal pot proponents.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan's policy doesn't prohibit doctors from prescribing marijuana, but the policy states the college is uncertain of the risks and benefits because evidence of marijuana's advantages is lacking.
"(The college) appears to be deterring doctors, or at least giving them an excuse to deny prescriptions," said Daniel Johnson, Saskatchewan director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
The college fails to recognize a growing body of medical studies that suggest marijuana is an effective alternative to chemical-based drugs as treatment for a wide-spectrum of ailments, from HIV-AIDS and multiple sclerosis to anxiety and eating disorders, said Johnson.
"Some of the studies are fairly conclusive," said Johnson. "Doctors should be looking at the evidence that's there and comment on it directly."
Johnson's organization has been approached by "a lot of people" who've tried to get a prescription, but found only resistance in the medical community, says a letter from NORML to the college.
At www.norml.org, there are hundreds of links to studies -- some medical, most anecdotal -- on marijuana's medicinal benefits, as well as a list of support from medical and mental health organizations, said Johnson.
Patients apply to the federal government for the right to secure a prescription -- with the approval of a doctor -- for medical marijuana.
The college does not interfere with a doctor's decision to prescribe marijuana or apply pressure to discourage prescriptions, said Brian Salte, the college's associate registrar and legal counsel.
The policy statement on a lack of evidence on the advantages of marijuana is "not a matter of extra scrutiny," he said. "It's a suggestion from our college pertaining to current information on real evidence, not anecdotal evidence.
"Marijuana is a drug that hasn't been properly studied. . . . When you're talking about palliative care patients who are dying anyway, the risks and benefits are clearly on the side of little or no risk. For other people, it's very unclear what the risks and benefits are."
Last updated in 2005, the medical marijuana policy is being studied this year as part of a college-wide policy review.
The review will consider the most recent scientific knowledge regarding marijuana risks and benefits, said Salte.
"Whenever you review a policy, you abolish it, change it or affirm it," he said.
Tim Selenski, owner of Head to Head Novelties in Regina, hosts workshops for people wanting to secure medical marijuana prescriptions but who need help navigating through bureaucratic barriers.
"All I want is people to have safe access to pot," said Selenski. "The black market is dangerous. We do not want to see grow-ops all over town."
When people with legitimate ailments sought Selenski for advice on how to get a prescription, he originally sent them to "hip doctors," but he said the doctors were eventually placed under extra scrutiny.
He now lets people find their own doctors.
jjwarren@sp.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix

Praire Dog Magazine
www.prairiedogmag.com
February 11-24 2010 issue:
Infinite Bummer
Gregory Beatty
In response to several queries from Daniel Johnson, director of the Saskatchewan chapter of NORML (National Organization For The Reform Of Marijuana Laws), the Saskatchewan College of Physicians and Surgeons says it's governing council will be reviewing it's existing medical marijuana policy.
Citing a lack of scientific evidence, the College currently doubts the "safety and efficacy" of medical marijuana.
Because of it's intransigence, says Johnson, people with health problems who wish to medicate with marijuana face an uphill struggle in obtaining a Health Canada license to legally do so.
"If they're going to say there's a lack of evidence, well, I'm not a doctor, I'm an activists, but there's over 17,000 valid studies out there" says Johnson.
"If they don't think that's sufficient, they should at least provide a link on the {website} so doctors can evaluate it themselves," he says. "Instead, they have a blanket statement." Worldwide, researchers are discovering marijuana has therapeutic benefits in the treatment of many diseases including HIV, Alzheimer's, diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Before a doctor can legally prescribe marijuana, though, they're required to try three alternative treatments. Often, these involve powerful, and potentially addictive, prescription drugs.
"You look at the medication that's available, and the side efects, you're so messed up by the time you're done those prescriptions you probably won't even remember what cannabis is," says Head2Head owner Tim Selenski, who gives seminars on medical marijuan and helps people navigate the convoluted health Canada application process.
"I'd estimate that since I started doing this I've had a 90 percent success rate and helped 50 people in Regina get their license," says Selenski.
"If people do it on their own, they'll meet lots of roadblocks," he says. "They jump the gun and don't fill out the forms properly. They've got to think of it like a restricted firearms license."
We'll report further on this soon.

Canadian Press, May 14, 2002
Senate committee hears from pro-marijuana advocate at Regina public hearing
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n925/a09.html?1055

REGINA (CP) - Legalizing marijuana would reduce the number of violent, drug-related crimes in Canada, the Senate committee on illegal drugs heard Monday. Timothy Hampton, the Saskatchewan president of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said making possession and commercial distribution legal would take the profit away from criminals.
"Any time, you have prohibition, there is big money," he told the committee in Regina.
The Senate committee hopes to objectively review Canada's anti-drug legislation and policies on cannabis by hearing testimony from pro-legalization groups, law enforcement and health officials.
The committee is holding a series of public hearings across the country - with the first stop in Regina - to hear the public's views.
Hampton said law enforcement and justice officials should not focus on the domestic cultivation, distribution and recreational use of cannabis by average Canadian citizens.
Instead, domestic users should be able to apply for exemption under Section 56 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which allows Health Canada to exempt certain illegal drug-users from prosecution, he said.
Police Chief Cal Johnston said the main focus of police drug investigations is never to track down people for marijuana possession.
He said possession charges usually follow crackdowns on trafficking activity. But whether legalizing marijuana would diminish trafficking and violence is still up for debate, he said.
"We know that when trafficking increases, we see crime in other areas go up," he said.
Johnston said he didn't know what kind of effect legalizing marijuana or making it more accessible would have on crime rates.
Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, chairman of the Senate committee on illegal drugs, said he has heard recommendations similar to Hampton's in the past and expects to hear more in coming weeks.
Nolin said he is "quite interested to hear what the local health authority has to say on the abuse of drugs."
After studying the pros and cons of marijuana use for 14 months, the committee released a preliminary report earlier this month saying scientific evidence suggests marijuana isn't a so-called gateway drug that leads to the use of harder drugs.
Research showed that between 30 and 50 per cent of Canadians between the ages 15 and 24 have used cannabis, the report said.
The annual cost of fighting illegal drugs, for federal agencies alone, is estimated at $500 million. Each year, more than 30,000 Canadians are charged with simple possession of marijuana.
(Regina Leader-Post)

ACTIVISTS LINK POT PATIENTS WITH GROWERS
Saskatoon Star Phoenix (Regina Leader Post Article Below)
November 20, 2001

Members of a Saskatchewan marijuana lobby group have started acting as intermediaries between pot growers and patients who have a medical exemption to smoke the drug, saying they are providing a compassionate service to those in need.
"Somebody's got to help these people. We are prepared to help them fill that prescription," said Timothy Hampton, Saskatchewan president of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
"It's absolutely illegal, but we have volunteers who are willing to go to jail here."
The Saskatchewan branch of NORML has started a program called the Grower-Patient Connection. Patients who have AIDS, cancer, anorexia, or other afflictions may qualify for a medical exemption to smoke pot as therapy.
More than 500 Canadians have received the exemption, including about 10 in Saskatchewan. The problem, said Hampton, is patients have no place to purchase the drug legally.
The federal government operation in Flin Flon will supply marijuana for research, and what is left for patients won't be available until next year.
Patients can designate a grower to supply them legally, but the grower cannot have a pot-related criminal conviction in the past 10 years, according to Health Canada rules. Patients can also get a licence to grow their own pot.
Health Canada spokesperson Andrew Swift notes that no one has yet been granted a licence as a designated grower.
That means people have to buy the drugs from an illegal grower. It becomes legal for patients to possess it, although the producer is committing a crime by growing and supplying it to them.

A Match Made In Smoke
November 20, 2001
By Angela Hall, Regina Leader Post
Regina Leader-Post

Call it an unusual online matchmaking service. A new Regina Web site wants to match people qualified to smoke marijuana for medical reasons with people that can legally grow it for them.
Launched by the Saskatchewan chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, the Grower-Patient Connection site wants to guide people through the process of applying to have marijuana legally, said 24- year-old Regina resident Daniel Johnson.
"We're seeing if there's other people who can do this better than we can, but since nobody else is doing it yet we might as well jump in with both feet and at least start something," Johnson said.
Under government regulations, the terminally ill or those with chronic diseases such as MS or AIDS are among those who could qualify for medicinal marijuana. Johnson hopes the drug will eventually be legalized.
But for now, the Grower-Patient Connection could help people legally allowed to have it find safer and easier ways to get it.
"In order for me to find it, I would have to associate with people I honestly feel are scum," Johnson said.
Arranging a good way to legally access drugs is just one part of the challenge, though. First, patients need the proper approval, with a form completed by a physician. One part requires a doctor to agree the benefits outweigh any risks associated with marijuana use.
The Canadian Medical Protective Association, a body representing 95 per cent of physicians in Canada, has advised its members not to fill out the forms if they don't have this detailed knowledge. The Canadian Medical Association has expressed similar feelings.
"I don't think it's fair to put the physician at some medical legal risk of lawsuit or complaint to the college down the road if ... the patient suffers adverse and unanticipated effects," said CMPA secretary-treasurer Dr. John Gray.
Since the regulations on marijuana for medicinal use took effect at the end of July, 38 people across Canada have been authourized to use the drug. Health Canada won't break the numbers down by province, but the Saskatchewan Medical Association reports physicians have begun receiving requests.
The big problem, say some doctors, is that there just isn't enough medical research on marijuana.
"I think family doctors are generally a conservative group, and I think what we would probably like to see, as with any new medication, is make sure it's been out there and we know what it does and doesn't do before we prescribe it," said Dr. Gill White, a family doctor at Regina's General Hospital and head of the University of Saskatchewan's department of family medicine.
A "synthetic cousin" of marijuana is now on the market as a prescribed drug and is sometimes used in the Pasqua Hospital's palliative unit for nausea and vomiting, said White, but that drug has undergone extensive research that naturally grown marijuana hasn't.
"We've kind of done things backwards here," said Dr. Peter Barrett, a Saskatoon doctor and past-president of the Canadian Medical Association.
Barrett said doctors need to be able to give patients information such as what drugs marijuana may have reactions with or what kind of dosages to take.
"One of the problems in Saskatchewan would be even if you wanted to do this, where would you tell them to go and get it?" he said. "Most of us don't move in those circles."
Health Canada spokesperson Andrew Swift said the application process for medicinal use of marijuana is "really a compassionate framework".
He said the department shares the CMA's concerns about the safety of the drug. As for access, people can grow it themselves, designate someone to grow it for them when they apply, or, as of 2002, get it through Praire Plant Systems, a company growing marijuana for Health Canada in an underground mine in Flin Flon, Man.
In the meantime, some Saskatchewan doctors plan to take a wait-and-see approach. Dr. Bev Karras, president of the Saskatchewan Medical Association, said doctors are comfortable dealing with different drugs, and have empathy for their patients. But most doctors don't feel they know enough about marijuana and its effects, she said.

Pot protesters' noses out of joint Group says posters for rally unfairly targeted
By Shannon Boklaschuk
of The StarPhoenix
May 7, 2001
A local pot legalization activist says his human rights were violated when The Partnership tore down posters he placed around Saskatoon advertising a May 5 marijuana rally.
Timothy Hampton says he was told by employees of the downtown business improvement group that his posters were too large and didn't comply with the postering bylaw.
Bylaw 7565 states that posters displayed on community poster boards cannot be larger than 11 by 17 inches.
"My survey around the city shows the only posters that are complying with the by-law at this point are ours. We had posters torn down that were absolutely legal," Hampton said.
"And if our posters are non-complying, and everyone else's posters are non-complying, why are our posters singled out to be removed?"
Terry Scaddan, executive director of The Partnership, said he did ask that Hampton's posters be taken down on April 27.
"But all it had to do with is oversize posters, period. It had nothing to do with the content," he said, adding Hampton's posters were four times the size the bylaw allows.
"We certainly back freedom of speech and freedom of expression," Scaddan added.
About 200 Saskatoon protesters attended the marijuana rally held Saturday afternoon. The event, co-organized by the Saskatchewan chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and by the Marijuana Party of Saskatchewan, was dedicated to ending prohibition.
"Six million people in Canada smoked a joint in the last six months. The fact that cannabis is illegal is absolutely ridiculous," said Hampton, a NORML member who's been fighting for the legalization of pot for 25 years.
"We waste all these resources within the judicial system towards criminalizing one-fifth of our population. If we don't speak up, they're not going to change the law."
Protesters carried signs depicting peace symbols and marijuana plants as they marched from the top of the Broadway Bridge to the Vimy Memorial, where they congregated for speakers and music.
Hampton said the march was dedicated to Ernest Rogalsky, the 48-year-old founder of the Saskatchewan chapter of NORML, who's currently in prison for trafficking marijuana.
"This is an honest, upright man who's never written a bad cheque in his life and never had a drunk driving charge. He lives in the same community he grew up in, and he's in jail for marijuana.
"This is crazy. We're here for legalization, not victimization," Hampton said.
The Saskatoon marijuana march, entitled "2001: The Space Odyssey," was one of 14 legalization protests held in cities across Canada on Saturday.
Michael Spindloe, a Saskatoon businessperson, said he hoped the rally helps the legalization movement.
Spindloe was charged in 1997 with selling drug paraphernalia after four police officers raided his store, The Vinyl Exchange, where he sells compact discs, records, cassettes and "smoking accessories."
"I think it's always good to raise awareness and I think anything that brings the issue before the public is good at this point," he said.
"There was never any reason for marijuana to be illegal in the first place. Continued prohibition is a human rights violation."
Last week, Saskatchewan's highest court upheld the law that makes it illegal to sell drug paraphernalia, but Spindloe told protesters that "for the moment, it's business as usual."
"I will say, though, it's not much fun going to work everyday and wondering if you're going to get busted."
City police reported no problems from the protest.

Dealer plea bargains, wife's charges dropped
By Leslie Perreaux, Briarpatch, spring 2000

A pot dealer and legalization activist has until November to save up nearly $20,000 to pay reparations for his conviction before he goes to jail.
"I guess they're going to feed and water me for a while beginning in November," Ernest John Rogalsky said outside Court of Queen's Bench on Tuesday.
"This is like putting away Santa Claus. I've never hurt anybody in my life. I might as well be a hit man or a child molester - they get less than a pot head."
Rogalsky, who has a long history of convictions for dealing pot, pleaded guilty Tuesday to six counts of trafficking marijuana. He also pleaded guilty to one count of having $19,610 in proceeds from his crimes. His specific sentence will be fixed Nov. 14.
In return for his plea the Crown dropped similar charges against his wife, Loreto Mary Johnson, 44.
Rogalsky, 47, will be sentenced to a combination of jail time and probation in November. He will get extra jail time if he doesn't have the money he collected from an RCMP informant, who was paid about $10,000 to set him up.
The Watrous-area man sold pot on several occasions in late 1997 and early 1998 to the former friend in the Manitou Beach and Plunkett areas.
On the front steps of the courthouse Rogalsky said one of the reasons he pleaded guilty was to get his wife off the hook.
"At least one of us is free, but I had to eat everything," he said. Rogalsky, who has a history of convictions for dealing pot, founded a Saskatchewan chapter of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
His goal is to lobby the government for a change to marijuana laws. His wife will run the organization while he is in jail.
Rogalsky estimated that a quarter of the people living around the Watrous area smoke marijuana.
"We need to kill the myths that have surrounded marijuana that have been around for the past 30 years. It almost takes a revolution to change things because the government is ignoring the issue."

Grow Your Own Stone
Now Magazine
Published: May 31 - Jun 6, 2001 Vol. 20 No. 39
Copyright: 2001 NOW Communications Inc.

cannabis The government is too chicken to legalize it. What's a conscientious pothead seeking soulful wisdom to do? NOW offers a ready-to-use how-to guide to growing your own - outdoors, indoors or hydroponically. Warning: be on the lookout for nosy neighbours.
Outdoor How-Tos: Place seeds in a glass of distilled water and put in a dark place for a couple of days. Laying seeds between moist paper towels will also do the trick. Once seeds germinate, plant in indoor starter box.
Remember, pointy end of seed up. Let the little critters grow for about 10 days before transplanting outdoors. Prepare outdoor soil by turning over a couple of times and adding 1 cup of hydrated lime and a little water-soluble nitrogen fertilizer. Plants will need a minimum of eight hours of sunlight a day. Water several times during first week, but not enough to rot the root system.
Do's: Provide camouflage. Planting weed next to corn or hops works well. Plant in patches, or bend plants over and tie to the ground once they reach a noticeable height. Wrap plants growing in pots on the patio in coloured plastic. Pinch tips of leaves off to improve potency and resin production.
Don'ts: Plant weed around rye, spinach or pepperweed. It won't do as well. Plant too close together or plants will not grow properly. Brag to the neighbours about how beautiful your new friends look next to your azaleas.
Indoor How-Tos: Use one cubic foot of soil per plant. Use only sterilized soil. You don't want bugs. Each plant will need about 150ml of water per week and at least eight hours of light a day, but no more than 16 hours. Use 2 feet of fluorescent tube per plant, or 75 watts per bulb if you're using globe-type lighting. Mount lights on movable racks.
Do's: Mix soil with equal parts sand or perlite. Provide as much ventilation as possible. Paint walls white or cover with aluminum foil to reflect light. Interrupt the night cycle with an hour of light to encourage more female plants. Drop a few worms in dirt to test soil. If they survive, great. If not, there's a problem. Provide as much C02 as possible. You can rig your own CO2 system: mix water, sugar and yeast in a 10-gallon gas can. Attach a length of perforated rubber hose to the nozzle. Crimp other end and suspend above plants. Top up yeast periodically.
Don'ts: Set up your hothouse in an area of your house or apartment that's exposed to tobacco smoke. Place light any closer than 14 inches from plants. Use "cool white" fluorescent lighting.
Hydrophonic How-Tos: Keep nutrient pH levels in reservoir between 5.6 and 6.2. Add "pH up" or "pH down" as required. Try to keep nutrient levels in your reservoir between 1,000 and 1,200 parts per million, or PPMs, at the seedling stage, and 1,600 to 1,900 PPMs when plants are blooming. (You'll need a PPM meter for this.) Keep your system clean by adding water conditioner, aka bio-acids or plant acids. Light is another area of much debate. Sodium vapour or metal halide? Anything between 400 and 1,000 watts will do.
Do's: Keep temp in grow space at about 30 Celsius, and humidity at 50 to 60 per cent. Use as many fans as possible ­-- you can never have enough air flow. Take pH and nutrient readings daily, and before and after every feeding. If you're using ozone lamps to deal with smell, make sure to place them right next to the uptake fan, or your plants will die. Watch your hydro bills.
Don'ts: Go bananas with nutrients and other hydro minerals. Set up generators and other noisy equipment where neighbours or the guy living in the apartment below can hear them. To keep the smell of pot from wafting all over your neighbourhood, wrap aluminum foil around a 2-by-8-foot piece of plywood. Take a piece of electrical wire, from an unused lamp, say. Strip both ends. Tape one end to the tin foil, and ground the other. (You can do this by removing the plate from an electrical outlet and wrapping the wire around the middle screw of three you'll find on the side. It's the screw with a white wire usually attached.) Change the tin foil every two weeks.
Harvesting Your Weed:
Hang plants upside down. Dry using an electric heater set to about 130° F. Make sure there's a barrier, like a piece of plywood, between plants and heater. Ventilate the space. For smaller amounts, place on cookie sheet on middle shelf of oven and heat until leaves smoke and curl. If you don't want seeds at the harvesting stage, pick the males ­-- they're the taller plants ­-- before they shed their pollen.
Boosting Potency:
Put dry ice in plastic bag of pot and place in the freezer for a week or two. Dampen pot, seal in a plastic bag and keep in a dark, warm place for two weeks. For the more adventurous, take the undesirable portions of the plant (stems, seeds and weak weed) and boil in rubbing alcohol for about 45 minutes. Repeat. Combine used batches of rubbing alcohol and re-boil to a syrupy mixture. Add mixture to pot and, voila, the bomb.

Tips From The Experts:
Brother Walter Tucker of the Hamilton-based Church of the Universe suggests freezing seeds before planting "to give them the illusion that they've gone through a winter." Adds Brother Michael Baldasaro: "They love it cold. The most potent marijuana in the world is found in the mountains. What do you think the burning bush Moses encountered was?"
Tim Hampton, head of the Saskatchewan-based National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, suggests a tobacco, chili pepper and garlic spray mixture to combat spider mites. "It's more organic than bug spray," he says.
Pot seed distributor Marc Emery says moderation is key. "Don't water too often. Stop fiddling with the plants. Leave 'em alone and they'll be all right."
Medical marijuana user Terry Parker offers these words of wisdom: "If you're growing marijuana, don't talk about it."
Marijuana Party of Canada head Marc-Boris St.-Maurice says, "Don't get busted. And don't deal with bikers."The government is too chicken to legalize it. What's a conscientious pothead seeking soulful wisdom to do? NOW offers a ready-to-use how-to guide to growing your own -- outdoors, indoors or hydroponically.
Warning: be on the lookout for nosy neighbours.