Civil disobedience, Canada Post and YOU!

As I'm sure most 'Cannadians' know, Stephen Harper doesn't believe we are "respectable people". He also doesn't believe our nation wants Marijuana legalized.

Does this man even live in Canada? Obviously he has failed to notice the annual Marijuana Marches held across the country (The one in Toronto brings over 20,000 of us together in one place.).

The question, in my opinion, becomes this:
How do we demonstrate to the PM and our government that they are wrong, and that Cannabis prohibition ought to be, at the very least, discussed in the House of Commons and given serious consideration?

I believe we need a demonstration that every Cannadian (Yes, I'm calling us that.) from St. John's to Victoria, Point Pelee to Alert, can participate in. The demonstration should express something that is true to all of us, and it is this: "Regardless of Canada's Cannabis prohibition laws, we use marijuana. It is time to change those laws."

How?

Well, did you know that letters sent to the government do not require postage? Did you also know that Canada Post allows Cannabis to be sent by mail so long as the contents are not identifiable? It's true.

Here's the idea:

Pass One to the Prime Minister

On April 20, 2011,

1. Every participant rolls a joint. Sparks it up. Takes a toke. Puts it out.
2. Place that joint in a sealed baggie and then into a standard envelope or otherwise conceal the smell.
3. Write this address on the envelope:

100% of Canada could vote to legalize MJ. It still wouldn't happen. Canada has signed a treaty with about 40 other countries and part of that treaty is that MJ will be kept illegal. If Canada want to legalize its going to have to break international treaties. You really don't want all of your neighbors hating you do you? nope, and neither do your representatives. Canada could potentially be asking for a huge amount of trouble if it did that, particularly from the USA, and we all know that Canada is just a mere puppet of the USA. Your going to have to legalize it in the USA first, the USA is the only country with enough clout to go around breaking treaties on a whim.

But I completely agree it should be legal for anyone.The safest most effective therapeutic substance known to man, and they outlawed it.

I love this idea. Some sort of uniform enclosed letter(even anonymous) should be used to link the packages as a single Canadian movement. Do you think we could get 1 million joints sent to Harper? The Million Dube Mailing?

The US has pretty much ignored any treaty they don't agree with at the time, it's time that Canada played it's big guns. We supply a large percentage of natural resources that the world is ever more hungry for, and if we step out I think we will still find buyers for our goods and heck we might even get a better price too.
This one step, legalizing cannabis, could easily lead Canada into a debt free nation status through minimal, I repeat minimal, taxation and regulation. The infrastructure is in place in the provinces already(ie. liquor retail systems), simply add the products to the inventory and start reducing our debt. Healthcare and education will definitely benefit; never mind the reductions in crime and the cost savings of not having to enforce a ridiculous law based on lies and propaganda.

Recent events in Egypt should be inspiring us that major change can happen.
.
Let's earn some respect for Canada on the world stage; Standing up for our rights to define our own national standards and who we are. Just legalize it.

ps: I'd love to see Obama's reaction anyways.

yep, there are reasons why i think canada is one of the top livable in countries.

I will send a dooblin. And I will fight to see it legalized.

Lets face it nodrama, international law is definable at best, and US and several other countries break treaties constantly. I would doubt a change like that would precipitate very much drama if any at all.

Peace

NoDrama said:

100% of Canada could vote to legalize MJ. It still wouldn't happen. Canada has signed a treaty with about 40 other countries and part of that treaty is that MJ will be kept illegal. If Canada want to legalize its going to have to break international treaties. You really don't want all of your neighbors hating you do you? nope, and neither do your representatives. Canada could potentially be asking for a huge amount of trouble if it did that, particularly from the USA, and we all know that Canada is just a mere puppet of the USA. Your going to have to legalize it in the USA first, the USA is the only country with enough clout to go around breaking treaties on a whim.

But I completely agree it should be legal for anyone.The safest most effective therapeutic substance known to man, and they outlawed it.

Click to expand...

I'm going to leave my thoughts on Canadian Sovereignty and the issues surrounding foreign influence in our government out of this. It is a very important issue, but not the one at hand.

Treaty or not, Canadians are the ones who decide if a law stands. If Canadians actually push, our politicians are forced to seriously consider the issue. This would mean debating it in the House of Commons.

The significant part of this is that not only will Stephen Harper receive a huge shipment of Pot, but it sets a standard for an expression. Smoking pot in and of itself is not an expression of anything, it is simply a criminal act. However, if you stand in front of a public building, especially with thousands of other people, it becomes an 'expression', a right guaranteed to you by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Passing a joint to the Prime Minister is a demonstration that there are Canadians who oppose prohibition and actively disobey Marijuana use and possession laws, and that they want those laws changed.

mtdisher,

I think you are right, I think we need to make a simple, concise statement to the affect that each and every time we smoke Cannabis, it is in opposition to the laws that make it illegal for responsible adults to do so.

Whether or no this works depends on two things: If people agree and participate; And their willingness to share the idea with others. Kind of like 'Pay it Forward'.

nice idea dude + rep

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_180277128682394

So yeah, made a facebook group. First time on there since they introduced apps. Need ideas/help to improve/promote the group if anyone is interested.

....is it okay if we smoke most of the joint and just send him the roach?

Nah Dude. No Bogarting. It's puff-puff-pass... Or at least puff-puff-puff-puff-puff-puff-pass.

--bump--

Flood the Hill

sk'mo said:

--bump--

Flood the Hill

Click to expand...

I like this idea but I'm afraid it's going to take an armed, violent, insurrection to change anything. Violence seems to be just about the only thing the political elite understands. I'm all for peaceful protest but we've been "peacefully" protesting for decades to no avail. It may be time for us stoners to shed the lazy, pacifistic, stereotypes and take up arms. If they won't listen to us then they will hear us!

I hear ya. I don't expect anything to change in terms of the laws. Lord knows, this year will be my ninth or tenth march in Toronto. I've seen it grow from maybe a thousand at City Hall to tens of thousands at Queen's Park... You'd at least think someone would notice, right? Traditional protest is no longer effective, it has become cliche. Demonstrations no longer 'demonstrate' anything.
What I'm proposing isn't a protest per se, but an act of civil disobedience or non-cooperation, fashioned after Gandhi's Salt Satyagraha with a twist of Freedom of Expression. If adult, recreational users could make some grand statement that every time they toke, it is an expression of their desire to see marihuana prohibition abolished, in theory, an adult standing in a courtroom before a judge on simple possession charges (No aggravating circumstances - driving, proximity to a school, trafficking, etc.), could argue that what they had done was an expression of said desire protected by The Charter. The justification for this type of action is bolstered by every government report, scientific study, protest, petition, and all of the activism over the past 50+ years, to lawfully try and have prohibition abolished. It also stands to reason that in the face of nearly one hundred years of misinformation, lies, and propaganda, by our government, and the outright statement by our current Prime Minister that they have no intention of legalizing marijuana, that a movement of non-cooperation is the next logical step. In the most simple terms: If the law cannot be changed by lawful means after all these years, we are left with no other choice but to ignore it altogether.

Baring arms does nothing to convince people that what you say is true.

We need to bring the power of the group to the individual. If the simple act of smoking pot becomes an identifiable expression of political dissent, then any Canadian charged with possession, with a bit of courage, could argue that they are protected by Freedom of Expression even as an individual since they are part of a larger movement (Evidenced by the flood of joints sent to the Prime Minister which declared as much.). A single ruling in favour of this would set a precedent calling into question the law itself.

There is no right to use Cannabis, but as otherwise law-abiding citizens, we ought to have the freedom.