Quote:Some of the loudest squeals of disapproval have come from south of the border. John Walters, head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, has repeatedly lashed out at Canada for considering changes in its marijuana laws, as has US Ambassador Paul Celluci. Walters has been warning for months that Canadian decriminalization would cause a boom in US consumption. "It's a multibillion-dollar industry and most of the production is headed south," he said in May. At the time, he praised countries such as Mexico and Colombia, which supported eradication, but "Canada seems to be going in another direction." A few days later, he weighed in again. "We'll respond to the threat," he told a cable news show. "What we have to do is protect Americans and right now, this is out of control."
Cellucci, meanwhile, has raised ominous concerns that decriminalization could tie up the busy US-Canadian border, of key importance to the Canadian economy. He was at it most recently in Edmonton, Alberta, December 10, telling reporters decrim could mean problems. "Our concern is the perception of this is that this is a weakening of the law... that it will be easier to get marijuana in Canada," he said. "Our customs and immigration officers, they're law-enforcement officers. If they think it's easier to get marijuana in Canada, they're going to be on the lookout for it. That's going to put pressure on the border at a time when we've been trying to take pressure off it. We don't want to have a lot of young people having their vehicles inspected when they're crossing the border."
Canadian politicians, however, don't think much of such rhetoric. In an interview published on November 14, Vancouver, British Columbia Mayor Larry Campbell, formerly a narcotics officer with the Mounties then Vancouver's coroner, told Drug War Chronicle, "[John Walters] is probably the most misinformed person in the whole United States." In July 2002, following a visit to Canada by US Rep. Mark Souder, Member of Parliament Libby Davies, responding to Souder's claim that marijuana is as dangerous as cocaine, told the Canadian Press, " My God, what is this man talking about? We can't be subservient to the ridiculous rhetoric coming out of the United States."
In fairness to Canada, it should be pointed out that two-thirds of the US population lives in states where marijuana possession has been decriminalized. In Ohio, for instance, possession of up to a quarter-pound is punishable by only a fine. According to Mayor Campbell, in fact, " [m]ost US states have more liberal policies on marijuana than we do."
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/canada/index.shtml
1) to deny the element of financial threat implicit in the statements of Cerlucci and Walters is naive or purposefully blind. Further, it doesn't take into account a pattern of US policy and actions on the world scene re 'drugs' (a term more inconsistently defined in US policy than any other I know of, with the possible exception of 'friend')
2) we'll note that Canadian politicians didn't head down to Idaho to muck about with Idaho's decision to lessen penalties for possession. Idahoans might have considered such to be presumptuous, even patronizing, don't you think?
3) As a BC court judge responded to one of Walter's recent lectures, "These guys, with the number of kids they've put into jail, with the drug related crime they have, are going to suggest our drug policies?"
But, this all began as a discussion on why folks around the world might be pissed at the US. The drug issue is relatively minor, just one I've put some study into, but it fits a pattern (worldwide) of bullying and big fat lack of humility.
As I noted elsewhere, several months past, documents were released under our Freedom of Information act here which disclosed negotiations between our government and the US government on prospective weapons systems purchases from US companies. The amount of money our government felt was available to invest in these weapons systems seemed insufficient to the US government negotiators, who suggested we take the money from our social programs. That really encouraged love feelings in we canadians for our neighbors down south.
Frankly, I'm getting a bit weary of this discussion. george, you're a good guy, but your protests are an instance of a national failing - a very real reluctance to admit national wrongs, or to admit to national characteristics which are valid cause for protest from other nations in the world. We've talked about this many times before. It's an extraordinary oddity that the nation which sits at an unchallenged apex of power and wealth in the world, so easily assumes the role of the victim, of the misunderstood and lonely good guy, enemies all about. Talk about self-fulfilling!
Those of us who love the project of the Bill of Rights, who love Americans far more than holding negative notions about them, could nearly rip our hair out trying to get you to view yourselves from a vantage OUTSIDE OF YOUR MYTHOLOGIES ABOUT YOURSELF. And that's what the weariness is all about.
