Welcome to the "Cannabis Classroom" where we examine and analyze the war on cannabis from a human rights education perspective.
I am a Canadian teacher who is very concerned about cannabis prohibition and the damage it is causing to our national and global social fabric. Responsible, tax paying, otherwise law abiding citizens are having their lives damaged and their constitutional rights violated by conflicting cannabis laws. Disrespect for law enforcement and government is at an all-time high as many Canadians, and especially those of the younger generations, feel discouraged by the lack of integrity and the mind-boggling levels of corporate greed and corruption that exist in our world today. This website was created with the needs, in mind, of senior high students who are researching or writing papers on the topic of cannabis. Hopefully every visitor interested in learning about Canadian cannabis prohibition finds some good food for thought here.
Open, honest communication is essential to educating our youth, or anyone for that matter, on hot Canadian social justice issues like prohibition, treaty rights, racism, conflict resolution, and poverty. What greater disservice can we inflict upon our youth, and in turn our society, than to not adequately prepare them to deal with the "real world"? In the real world, families are torn apart because of cannabis-related charges, overcrowded prisons are filled with nonviolent marijuana "criminals" and promising careers and professional reputations are destroyed by the stigma attached to cannabis useage - EVERY SINGLE DAY - as it has for the past seven decades. That's hardly justice for all. As responsible Canadian and global citizens, we have the civic obligation to press for the immediate reform of cannabis laws and the end to the human right violations being dually perpetrated by those involved in the "War on Drugs" and the blackmarket economy.
Nobel prize winner Theodore Roosevelt stated that, "to educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society". This is what happens when people aren't able to openly and honestly discuss controversial social issues, because they are considered inappropriate or "too sensitive" for discussion. As arguments and emotions are generated, the reality of the issue becomes so clouded with misinformation that no one knows who or what to believe anymore. Cannabis is a prime example of this.
No one ever said that social evolution is a painless process; we live in a time of expanding social upheaval and civil unrest as the plight of the disenfranchised, increasingly frustrated with their socioeconomic plight, slowly comes into mainstream public focus. It's exciting to consider that we are witnessing history in the making with the relegalization of cannabis in our country and in our lifetime - not because cannabis will most likely be made available for controlled sale like alcohol and tobacco - but because it will bring us to the end of another painful chapter in our studies of human rights education.
This site is inspired by my own interest in cannabis education, harm reduction and social justice. I am not here to tell anyone that they should USE cannabis. However, everyone of legal age has the right to CHOOSE cannabis and that that right is being violated by fellow citizens who wholeheartedly support human rights violations by discriminating against, harassing, and imprisoning those who choose cannabis. Human rights are non-negotiable; they belong to all of us because everyone is entitled to respect for their human dignity, no matter how much they are hated by another. Witholding information from our youth/citizens because someone in a position of authority is afraid they can't "handle it", violates some of the core values of our educational system including truth, knowledge, self-esteem, respect, dignity and honour.
Autonomy over one's own body is an inalienable human right. In the United States, millions of adolescents are subjected to mandatory drug testing, forced to urinate in a cup in front of a supervising teacher. Students who refuse to submit bodily fluid on demand to the designated authority, even with their parents' support, are having parts of their education taken away from them as punishment for standing up against such frightening legislation. Fortunately, our federal government is beginning to study this issue in greater depth as it prepares to undertake the massive reform of archaic, unconstitutional laws which currently prohibit the sale, purchase, or exchange of cannabis in Canada.
Fortunately, we have over 30 years of credible research from esteemed universities and researchers worldwide. This fact stands directly in the face of the argument that no credible research exists. If universities like Harvard, Columbia, and UCLA are not credible, then I'd like to know what is. Add to that, the multi-millennial use of cannabis for treating a variety of ailments from arthritis pain, menstrual cramps, anorexia, morphine and alcohol addictions, multiple sclerosis, depression and more.
The effects of cannabis prohibition are far-reaching. From obscene human rights violations and police corruption, to medical cannabis research and the blackmarket economy, the war on cannabis has failed miserably and at tremendous human, environmental and economic cost, burdening the global community and our planet as a whole.
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