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UVic Convention A Hoot
By Hempology | February 9, 2006
The 7th Annual Cannabis Convention, held on Sunday February 5 at the University of Victoria’s David Lam Auditorium, was a huge success. Speakers included Renee Boje, a U.S. refugee that faces extradition to the States on multiple charges, Joanna McKee and Ron ‘Stich’ Millar of the Green Cross Patient Co-op, who have been serving the sick throughout Washington State since 1993, Minneh Kamau of SAN FAN (See A Need, Fill A Need) and the Cannabis Buyers Club and author and activist Chris Bennett.
The David Lam Auditorium, usually home to sociology classes and the likes, was alive with energy, as Minneh of SAN FAN opened with a passionate speech about her hardships and how to use hope and love to overcome adversity and survive through times of pain. Minneh was awarded the �Women of Distinction� award in Victoria in 2003 for her work in supporting the homeless and poor of the community and for donating countless hours of volunteer work for AIDS Vancouver Island, giving over 700 talks in the community to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS.
Minneh�s speech was complimented perfectly by the stories of adversity told by Joanna McKee and Stich co-founders of the Green Cross, a patient co-op that has been serving the sick in Washington State for 13 years. Their mandate �is to assist each other through education, information, counselling, support, verification, and registry.� Green Cross is open to Washington State residents �that present a bona fide need for medicinal cannabis on the advice of their physician.� About 75 percent of their patients are HIV positive. They were giving-out medicine for free until May 1995 when she was arrested, but charges were thrown out by a judge who ruled that 160 marijuana plants were seized without a proper search warrant. Joanna and Stich have fought their battles in the United States for 15 years.
Another American, Renee Boje, has not been so lucky in her cannabis activism in the United States. In 1997 she illustrated Todd McCormick�s book �How to Grow Medical Marijuana,� a book inspired by Proposition 215 that effectively legalized medical marijuana in the state of California. Renee, Todd and Peter McWilliams were arrested in a rented Bel Air mansion where thousands of medical cannabis plants were grown as research for the book. Fearing a ten year mandatory minimum to life sentence she fled to the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia and eventually applied for refugee status. Renee later met author, activist and Pot TV manager, Chris Bennett, whom she married and has had one child with, Shiva. On June 17, 2005 the Canadian Minister of Justice, Irwin Cotler, ordered her surrendered to US authorities; she turned herself in that same day and was released on bail pending an appeal. She was given a six-month extension to stay in Canada, but faces a crucial court date on March 27, 2006.
Chris Bennett, author, activist and manager of Pot TV decided to pay us a surprise visit and gave a fascinating talk about the biblical history of cannabis based primarily out of his book �Sex, Drugs, Violence and the Bible.� Moreover, he touched on the global war on drugs and the influence the United States has on manipulating Canada�s drug war, his wife Renee being a prime example of the innocent persecution of a woman, who wants nothing more than to help each other with the healing plants of the earth.
Perhaps the highlight of the day was the gameshow, �Reach For the Pot.� Created by Ted Smith, the gameshow pits two teams of four against each other in a pot-based trivia show. It was a close and competitive game until the last couple of questions, when Chris Bennett�s team pulled ahead of a team from the Cannabis Buyers Club. Reach For the Pot is usually played every week on Wednesday at 7:15pm in Victoria, B.C.; meetings are currently held at the Ministry of Health Building, located at the corner of Blanshard and Pandora. There are prizes for all competitors. You can sign up to play by coming to the Ministry of Health at 7:15 on Wed. or by emailing us at hempology@gmail.ca. We are all looking forward to next year�s convention.
Topics: Articles, CD-9th, Spring 2006 | Comments Off
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