November 4, 1997

Pot legalization movement picks up steam

By Micheal Dobie & Sharon Ashaiek

MONTREAL (CUP) - The movement pushing for the le- galization of marijuana is gain- ing strength as a nascent pro- pot political party gets ready to run candidates in the upcoming Quebec election while Torontonians are being invited on the Can-Abyss train.

The Bloc Pot is being organized by 28-year-old Mon- treal musician Marc St. Maurice, a six-year veteran of marijuana activism.

He has collected the nearly 1,000 signatures needed to get official party status and is looking for 10 people to run for office. St. Maurice says lots of people have stepped forward, adding that it only remains to work out who will run in what riding.

One of those who has thrown his hat into the ring is Larry Duprey, who owns a pot paraphernalia store in Mon- treal.

By putting pot on the political agenda, Duprey says activists are looking for a gradual change in official atti- tudes towards marijuana.

“We’ve got to look at the edges of this law. We have to dance around ittill we get to the centre,” he said.

Charlie McKenzie, /

former chief janitor of the Parti Rhinoceros who now does human rights research for a United Nations agency, 1s 4 consultant for the Bloc Pot.

“Bloc Pot willengage at the provincial level because enforcement is a provincial jurisdiction. Bloc Potcan have an effect because of the po- larization of politics in Que- bec,” he said.

St. Maurice says that electoral races are so close in Quebec that any percentage lost is a threat to the main parties. This will ensure, he adds, that marijuana will be an issue inthe next provincial elec- tion.

“I’m confident we'll get a man in somewhere,” St. Maurice said.

According to the Cana- dian Centre for Justice Statis- tics, the number of people ar- rested for marijuana-related offences has steadily risen over the past several years. The number increased to 29,562 in 1996 from 27,662 in 1994, reports Now, an alterna- tive Toronto weekly. And those being caught by the long arm of the law for marijuana offences are facing stiffer pen- alties

because of tougher anti- drug legislation which the fed- eral government brought into effect earlier this year.

There are also efforts in Ontario to raise awareness about the need to take a differ- ent legal approach to mari- juana. Every Thursday night this fall at the Comfort Zone, a Toronto club, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws has been spreading the word about the

legalization of marijuana.

“The Can-Abyss train is going to go through that abyss, hopefully pick every- body up, and arrive at destina- tion legalization, whereby we remove the criminal records from these people,” Umberto lorfida, president of the or- ganization, said. He adds that 1.2 million Canadians have a police record for possession of marijuana.

lorfida says drugs area health issue and the govern- ment’s criminal approach has backfired. “We’re treating [marijuana] as a criminal sub- stance [when] we should be treating it as a drug,” he said. “We should be sending people who mess up on marijuana or any drug, for that matter, to doctors.”

He adds that he fore- sees the legalization of mari- juana by the year 2000 due to government cutbacks.

“It will come because the country can no longer af- ford the so-called waron drugs, lorfida said.

The Can-Abyss cam- paign is also raising aware- ness about the hemp plant, which is essentially the mari- juana plant grown without the active ingredient which gets users high. There are, accord- ing tolorfida, over 30,000 com- mercial uses for this plant, and most are more environmen- tally friendly than materials and processes already in use.

The Cadre

National news CUP

Ontario gov't employeer tattle on Tories as —

profits reaped on — student debts

By Shauna Hemingway

TORONTO (CUP) - Ontario government employees and students are demanding an explanation from the educa- tion minister over the govern- ment’s deliberate refusal to collect outstanding loans. Last week, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) announced that some of its members were advised by the government in May 1996 not to collect more than $300-million in defaulted

This coincided with the developmental stages of the SOE planto privatize

collection of outstanding

loans.

In a $320-million deal that could be signed with three private collection agencies as early as December, agen- cies would take a 20 per cent commission off the amount they collect for the govern- mention.

_ Sixmajor private collec- tion agencies are currently in the running for the govern- ment contract, including EquiFax Accounts Receiva-

bles, who contributed to the _

1995 serv ve election campaign, say OPSEU repre- sentatives. — a

“several hours, a smaller Froups of protestors broke o headed to a nearby shoppin

Protestor roughed up at Nike demonstration

By Chris Anderson

BURNABY (CUP) - A pro- test against Nike’s labour prac- tices turned ugly for one ofthe Vancouver participants join- ing in an international day of protest against the sportswear

: manu(/acturer.

The worldwide protest, held Oct. 18, targeted Nike’s use of low wage labour in de- rte te

e Vancouver protest

~ began when approximately 40

people gathered outside a downtown sports store. After

and

centre, where they continue

the protest outside a Foot Locker store whichhada large selection of Nike merchandise.

After about 10 minutes, the protestors were asked to leave by shopping centre se- curity guards. Protestor Jaggi Singh refused to do so until he spoke with a police officer.

Singh says police ar- rived after about 20 minutes end arrested him under the charge “assault by trespass.” He ended up spending the night in jailafter he was booked, finger-printed, Pars hed and strip-searched. While in jail, he says he was visited by one of the arresting officers, who told him that he was also going to be charged with re- sisting arrest.

Singh was released the next morning, all charges against him dropped.

Singh says he is consid- ering filing a complaint with the Vancouver Police Depart- ment and also laying assault charges against the shopping centre security guards.

_ The American. Eroup Campaign for Labor Rights has collected reports from 20 of the protests in Canada, the United States and New Zea- land, many of which occurred in shopping malls. The Van- oe was the only one at which violence was re- ported. |

Pita RA ES AS in lente! See: SS