LETTER TO YOUR MP

This letter started in the Discussion Forums at Cannabis Culture.  It was written by forum member Scurvy, with a lot of input from John Gordon and other forum members. He wrote the first draft, and subsequent drafts were edited by him, using his own ideas, as well as those of others.  You can copy this letter, print it out, fill in your information and send it to your MP. You can also copy-and-paste the letter into an e-mail (again make sure you put your information in), and e-mail your MP. Not sure who your MP is? All that information is available on the Official Parliament of Canada website. Click here to search by geography.  More information about this letter and downloadable versions can be found at this website.  Thanks to all contributors!

2001/___/___
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    As you may or may not be aware, the current (37th) session of the Federal Parliament of Canada must, by order of the Supreme Court of Ontario, correct Canada's erroneous and unconstitutional medical cannabis (marijuana) laws by July the 31st, 2001, or all laws surrounding cannabis will be struck down.
I'm writing you to voice my support in favour of the legalization of cannabis, not only for medical use, but spiritual, recreational, industrial.
    The red tape caused by the war on cannabis interferes with the growing of industrial hemp. Current regulations prevent those with past cannabis-related criminal records and small farms from growing industrial hemp, restricts breeding, limits selection to 5% of all industrial strains, and prevents investment into secondary processing. Cotton, timber, petrochemicals and other polluting industries will continue to maintain their monopolies as long as there are unreasonable regulations surrounding medicinal/social cannabis.
It is easier to make paper from cannabis than it is from wood pulp, there are no harmful or hazardous by-products that need to be stored safely, and the old-growth forests that Canada is so proud of and well known for will not need to be cut down. It can be used similarly to wood shavings and sawdust in the production of very useful and high-strength fibreboard for construction.
    Cannabis reaches full maturity in just one year (unlike trees which need sometimes dozens of years to reach useable sizes) the same piece of prime Canadian farmland can produce a full cannabis crop each and every year, allowing it to be planted and sold like any other crop giving Canadian farmers another crop to raise for money.
The seeds of the cannabis plant can be used not only to feed animals, they contain many essential oils and proteins needed by the human body, leading a number of nutritionists to call it "nature's most perfect food". The oil of the seeds can also be used for eating, or producing cosmetics and it can even be burned in diesel engines, eliminating much of the need for environmentally hazardous fossil fuels.
    Cannabis is the safest and most effective stimulant, relaxant, anti-depressant, pain killer and appetite stimulant known. Unlike other stimulants (like caffeine and nicotine) other relaxants (like alcohol and Valium) and other anti-depressants (like Prozac and chocolate), cannabis has no negative short or long term health effects, no record of death by overdose, and no major withdrawal symptoms. By comparison, caffeine (also found in chocolate) is associated with ulcers, stress, heart attacks, over-dose and over-use deaths, heavy impairment in large doses, and a bad headache from withdrawal.
    Cannabis is a plant that has been used by humans for all of the above reasons since before the dawn of recorded history. Herbs are still primary medicines for two-thirds of the world's population. Cannabis has figured prominently in the herbal pharmacopoeia of China, India, Persia, Africa, and even Europe and North America between 1840 and 1920.
    History indicates that early drug laws in the US and Canada were not shaped by health concerns as much as by fear of non-white cultures gaining an economic foothold in North America. The current Canadian laws surrounding cannabis started out as racist attempts to limit the rights of immigrant workers who brought the habit of cannabis use with them to Canada. They have no medical or public health basis, despite the current stance of the Canadian Government to the contrary. The LeDain Commission recommended a variety of "drug peace" solutions but has been ignored since it's completion in 1973. Experts who testified against the 1996 Controlled Drugs and Substances Act were also ignored. Public opinion polls have consistently shown since 1980 that a majority of Canadians favour a European "Harm Reduction" solution. The 1993 BC Chief Coroner's Report into Overdose Deaths was a comprehensive study commissioned by the NDP in British Columbia . It's recommendations include decriminalizing pot, allowing prescription of other substances, and implementing harm reduction strategies and it has not been acted on it at all.
    It has been demonstrated in countries like Holland, which have decriminalized cannabis and separated the cannabis from the hard drugs (heroin, in particular) markets, that it reduces the consumption in both drugs, it reduces crime, and it allows those countries to redirect the funds that would otherwise have gone into prisons, courts, unnecessary police and other related costs to such useful things as fighting homeless, education, health care and other pressing social issues.
    After Switzerland switched to a harm reduction strategy on heroin, the crime rate dropped by 60 percent. By one estimate, 70 percent of Canada's crime is addiction-related in some way.
The results from a $14,000 public-opinion survey conducted for the city of Vancouver B.C. show that 57 percent of city residents are for decriminalizing marijuana and 61 percent say they support the medical use of heroin for drug treatment.
    Canada spends 1-5 billion dollars per year persecuting cannabis users, growers and dealers. Two thirds of all drug charges are for cannabis, and of those, two thirds are for simple possession. 50,000 Canadians are charged every year, and 30,000 are convicted. A third of those convicted for possession go to jail - the rest are fined, given travel and employment limits and other life long penalties. 2000 Canadians are currently in jail for simple possession. Almost one million Canadians have been given a permanent criminal record simply for possessing cannabis.
In 1999, police made fewer arrests in every category of crime except for marijuana. Canadian marijuana arrests increased 16% in 1999, following a 30 year trend.
    I thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read this, and I once again urge you to support cannabis legalization.
Sincerely, your constituent.

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