It's hard to tell which way the winds are blowing in the marijuana decriminalization evolution in Canada.
Harper's tough-on-crimers have eased up slightly on who can be prescribed medical marijuana, but at the same time they're taking steps to ensure that legal weed and the profits thereof go to corporate types rather than to small scale cottage-industry folks who grow for their own use and may have a little surplus left over to share with friends.
Guy's like Steven Stairs will no longer be able to grow their own medicinal pot if the Harperites get their way. He'll be forced to buy it from the corporate growers Harper has been empowering.
The judge's decision on Friday merely delays this process. The issue has in effect been kicked up the courts, so it could take years before we get that Supreme Court ruling. In the meantime everybody is operating in more or less of a legal limbo.
The blessing here is that it gives regular folks an opportunity to draw a little bit of publicity to the matter. Why should the cultivation and distribution of marijuana be rendered just another commodity in our consumer supply chain, just another profit centre for the corporate douchebags who've managed to take the joy out of everything else they touch?
Marijuana is a sacred sacrament to some, a medicinal herb to others, and a nice way to unwind after a long day for others still. Wally Tucker fought his whole life to get respect for pot; he wasn't fighting so money guys in suits could build a corporate empire.
Let's twist one up and see if we can come up with some better ideas.
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