DENISE SAVIOE TO SPEAK AT
PROTEST AGAINST BILL C-26 ON DECEMBER 17, 2007
Friday, Dec 7, 2007
For Immediate
Release:
Victoria, B.C.: Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants everyone
growing cannabis for sale to go to jail for no less than six months.
The Federal Conservative government has introduced legislation into the
House of Commons that would see mandatory minimum sentences for a variety
of cannabis offences.
On Monday Dec 17, rallies will be held at noon at MP offices across
Canada to protest Bill C-26. The International Hempology 101
Society will be organizing protests at the offices of Conservative MP Gary
Lunn in Sidney and NDP MP Denise Savoie in Victoria. Denise will be
speaking at the Victoria rally, to be held at the downtown library beside
her constituency office. The NDP has opposed Bill C-26, and Denise
will explain her position on the proposed laws and how the NDP supports
drug policy reform and drug abuse prevention programs over mandatory
minimum sentences.
These mandatory minimums include 6 months for anyone caught with a
single plant for sale, or 9 months if the plant was grown in a residential
neighborhood, on rental property of if a minor was present. The
maximum sentence for cultivating cannabis is doubled to 14 years.
Anyone caught selling cannabis or resin to a minor faces a mandatory
minimum sentence of 2 years. Mandatory minimums of 1 year will be
given to anyone caught selling cannabis as part of an organized group (5
people or more) or to anyone convicted of trafficking cannabis or resin in
the past 10 years.
The federal government currently spends $5.4 billion a year enforcing
drug laws in Canada, 36 times the $147 million spent on prevention and
treatment programs. In a 2006 Macleans Magazine poll 63% of
Canadians wanted cannabis prohibition to end, with 93% supporting the use
of the herb for medical purposes. Tax dollars would be better spent
on health care with new revenues from licensed cannabis cultivators.
The effects of Bill C-26 will be felt far beyond the cannabis
community. Courts and jails, which are already full, will become further
clogged. Mandatory minimum sentences deter defendants from making plea
bargains; so more trials and appeals will consume valuable court
time. While small operators quit growing due to the increased risk,
organized criminal groups will take advantage of higher prices.
For more information see hempology.ca or call 250-381-4220.
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