As Canada is just a few months away from legalizing pot, a first in North America, we are heading toward a collision course with a destiny that we aren’t even fully cognizant of at the moment, which will change us possibly forever.  That’s exactly what the Liberals wanted – but it’s sure not what you’re going to appreciate in the end…

In August 2014, then-Crown Prince (Now King) Justin Trudeau of the Land of Deep Thoughts, came up with yet another page-turner for the salivating press.  He wanted to keep marijuana out of the hands of kids.  He said that young people are finding it…

“…easier to buy a joint than it is to buy a bottle of beer. And that’s wrong.  Our current approach is not working. We are failing to protect our kids from the effects of marijuana. And you can say all you like about how it might not be as bad as alcohol or nicotine. But the fact is we want to keep marijuana out of the hands of the developing brains of our teenagers.”

In the United States, marijuana for recreational use went on sale in Colorado on January 1, 2014 and Washington state followed suit that summer.

Trudeau says a Canadian system of controlling and regulating pot would make it harder for young people to buy and would keep profits from going to organized crime and street gangs.

Seriously, what has he been smoking?

Regulate and Tax It To Death

“Its just POT”, we’re told. “It’s harmless, non-addictive and all natural”. Braver voices will even say it’s GOOD for you – touting examples of those suffering from the effects of cancer, HIV, chronic pain, and the benefits afforded by medical marijuana. And logically, if we regulated it and taxed it to death, it would protect kids from getting into it, and unsavory characters from profiting from an illegal trade. Right?

Nothing could be a bigger lie from the pit of Hell itself. Tobacco, for example, is already regulated to death. So how is it then that 14% of teens 14-19 smoke tobacco regularly in Canada, and 90% of those will struggle for life with it. And not one of them is supposed to have any legal access to cigarettes in Canada. It’s not even considered cool to smoke anymore amongst teens. What hope do we have to regulate something sexy like POT under the same conditions?

Teens are also banned from buying alcohol in Canada. It’s also taxed and regulated to death. Yet the stats related to teen drinking are staggering:

– 79% of people in Alberta over the age of 15 drink to some extent.
– 83% of grade 12 Ontario students admit to using alcohol
– 49% of Ontario grade 12 students admit to binge drinking
– Among Ontario grade 11 drinkers, 13 years was the average age of first exposure, and 14 years was the average age for first intoxication experience.

We shouldn’t worry though, we wouldn’t possibly see kids abuse pot like they do alcohol, right?  If you actually believe that, put the bong down now.

Then there are Mary Jane mindless wonders  who try to pass on the myth that gangs wouldn’t profit from a legal pot trade, especially if it was taxed and regulated to death.

Perhaps some insight into this can be found in a November 14, 2009, Toronto Star article, concerning the little city of Cornwall, Ontario, where…

“Cigarette smuggling may seem a harmless bit of the underground economy, but [RCMP Sgt. Michael] Harvey says it is anything but a victimless crime. Some 25 of 105 known criminal organizations operating in Canada are at work in Cornwall, Harvey told the Star.  These gangs are not only involved in smuggling tobacco, but in taking drugs back into the U.S. on the return trips. They also engage in firearms and people smuggling,” he said.

Taxing and regulating cigarettes to death is exactly why cigarette smuggling has become such a big business in some parts of Canada – they are becoming prohibitively expensive to buy (especially for young people) due to the government tax add-ons.

Making pot a legal venture wouldn’t kill illegal trade – but it will continue to kill low-level dealers, some drug customers, and those occasional unlucky bystanders that may in the future get gunned down in Greater Vancouver’s volatile drug wars.

In fact, it was recently reported on April 14, 2014 that my city of Surrey had 18 shootings in 45 days, with only one fatality:  Arun Bains, 22, the nephew of Surrey-Newton NDP MLA Harry Bains, who was shot dead that weekend and laid to rest on April 24.  Within 2 weeks, the number of shootings had more than doubled.

Tourists walking outside around the world-famous casino “Strip” or Freemont Street Experience zones in Las Vegas are legally allowed to carry around (and drink from as they please) giant 60-ounce Eiffel Tower glasses full of Budweiser; and tourists can get in touch with their tutti-fruity sides as they guzzle 100-ounce saxophone-shaped souvenir cups full of their favorite Hurricane, Mudslide, Long Island Iced Tea, Piña Colada, Blue Lagoon, Watermelon Buffalo, Goin’ Bananas, Cosmic Lemonade, Polar Punch, Grape Ape… and likely 100 other oddly-named and flavoured concoctions, the effects of which could be scientifically expressed as:

100 oz. alcoholic cocktails + 100°F temperatures = 100% chance of needing an ambulance

Now, while this idea of open liquor in Las Vegas may not be new, imagining that one could duplicate the experience in Calgary, Alberta or Charlotte, North Carolina (or at any point on God’s green Earth between) would be equivalent to eating Turkish Delight with the White Witch in Aslan’s Kingdom of Narnia.

For those unfamiliar with C.S. Lewis’ fantasy land, perhaps the phrase “Satan will get a snowblower first” brings the point adequately across. Or, as they say down South, “that dog don’t hunt“.

Ahem. It ain’t gonna happen.

And frankly, to repurpose the famous phrase: “what’s done in Vegas really should stay in Vegas”. The relative stupidity that’s inherent in that much free-flowing booze would be best kept hidden in back rooms and basements, as is our society’s common practice today.

However, find yourself wandering the streets of Metro Vancouver and you will find an even greater sense of entitlement than Vegas could dare dream of.  Yes, there’s open booze everywhere, though that is frowned upon. Sternly. Really it is. (Cough)

It’s just so difficult to take those rules seriously when people are smoking crack, pot, meth and shooting up heroin in our Downtown Eastside – all openly, unashamed and in some cases, even proudly. It’s possibly the only jurisdiction in the world that has created a union, with more than 2,000 members, who fight for better access to clean drugs, and the opportunity to do said drugs anywhere they wish.

The enforcement of marijuana possession and trafficking laws in this city is so pathetically weak – like the margarita sippers of Vegas, you can actually walk around in most areas of the Lower Mainland, openly smoking a joint.  Though I suppose if you weren’t able to, the police would have a lot of explaining to do, as people here openly smoke CRACK on the street too!

Anyone who thinks Vancouver is a “progressive city” because of the tolerance towards pot needs to walk through the Downtown Eastside during the day and just look around – and I am not suggesting you do this at night.  When the sun goes down on this “poorest postal code in Canada”, it turns into Night of the Living Dead. That is the real harvest we are reaping from nonsensical and non-existing drug enforcement in Canada.  And Justin Trudeau knows all about our drug problems in Vancouver – he taught drama class in this city for several years.

We aren’t losing the War on Drugs because the enemy is so organized, smart and powerful.  We are losing ground a little more every time the now-Prime Minister Trudeau voices his support for open marijuana trade in Canada…by default.

It’s without a doubt the only War Canada has ever fought where the longer we fight it, the less we remember why – and the more we actually identify with the enemy we originally swore to destroy. We even help finance the enemy’s operations.

Legalization to a 13-year old says endorsement, approval, acceptance…even advertising for drugs.  Now even if little Johnny is caught rolling a doobie, he’ll maybe have it confiscated at worst – and because there would be no legal impact, he’d find another doobie before the day even ends.

Every time a teenager in Canada lights up, they get a bit more dopey.  And a bit less healthy – we pointed out in an earlier article on 4/20 Day this year that smoking one joint is equal in carcinogenic (cancer-producing) materials to smoking five cigarettes.  So if you smoke 4 doobies over a weekend with friends, you’ve actually smoked a pack of cigarettes.  If you are a cigarette smoker already…you’ve doubled your chances of dying from lung cancer, one of the most horrific deaths possible.

Justin Trudeau makes such a great example as a self-confessed pothead – now, when he changes the laws to allow for legalization of pot, it’s like Peter Pan decreeing the laws for Neverland.  It has the optics, as Liberals often showcase, of being for and all about him.

Without a doubt, the biggest and most successful street-level dope dealer in Canada this year.. was the Liberal Party.  Unlike so many fellow Canadians, we at the Calling Out Community are not fooled by the mass hysteria “highs” promised by Justin TrueDope.  Like any dealer, the first things this goof promises are gonna make you feel good.  When you awaken the next day from your stupor, however, and realize he robbed you blind the night before, with true sorrow we’ll be here to remind you that “we told you so”.

And we’ll help you kick the habit…in the next election.

By Shawn Jorgensen, Founder
Calling Out Community
Posted: August 21, 2014.  Updated April 20, 2018.
[God’s Got A Plan For You!]