Post Script: Owner Richard Standon's reopened the Peterborough Cannabis Culture dispensary on Tuesday, September 27th. It was raided and closed again on the 29th. There is currently a warrant out for Richard. Two of the employees are remanded on charges until Monday. More details @ Examiner My follow up blog @ Here!
Richard Standon y Marc Emery outside Peterborough Police HQ's!
“Plant the Seeds of freedom. Overgrow the government!”
[Marc
Emery 09-18-16]
Marijuana activist spirits soared high outside downtown
police headquarters in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada Saturday! Not even a torrential
rainstorm could dampen the enthusiastic crowd of Cannabis Culture [CC] dispensary
supporters expressing their anger and dismay over Thursday’s raid on the newly
opened Peterborough pot shop. Leading the charge? Busted CC dispensary store
owner Richard Standon along with CC’s infamous Canuck marijuana activist Marc
Emery!
Standon, now out on bail, announced plans to reopen the Peterborough
outlet again in a few days. The crowd cheered wildly outside the ominously
silent police station, despite the hard falling rain quickly turning our
protest stomping grounds into a giant puddle. Emery then lead us out of the torrential
downpour into the raided George St dispensary, it’s shelves stripped bare, for
an candid, impromptu Q+A on his response to the thunderous rash of police pot dispensary
raids now sweeping our province.
It was high times again -a new millennium pot protest
love-in revival, led by Marc Emery; Canada’s most high profile and
controversial marijuana activist, or as CNN has nicknamed him; our “Prince of
Pot”! The Peterborough CC shop was once more packed to the rafters, but this time with
eager, angry, pissed off activists! And simply concerned medical and recreational
marijuana customers of all ages and stripes! Each keenly expressing their deep,
heartfelt frustration over the ill effects of the Trudeau government’s badly
flawed legalization process in Canada!
Our fears soon went up in smoke as Marc spoke passionately
for over 2 hours, expanding on CC’s mission statement, inspiring the faithful
with an action cry for the “power of activism and peaceful civil disobedience
to advance Cannabis law reform and demonstrate what legalization should look
like”.
In Solidarity with Peterborough CC's Richard Standon!
So. What was said? What is to be done?!?
First the basics! Marc spoke from a soundly progressive business point
of view, explaining that Cannabis Culture takes great pride in paying it's workers a decent living wage. CC hires locally to create jobs within the
community. They also cover any legal expenses resulting from the dispensary
raids to protect those in their employ. Considering that CC plans to open 200 more
dispensaries across Canada by next year that certainly seems a good standard to set! Perhaps an interesting business proposition too, for anyone who's so inclined. Indeed as
Marc stressed, now's the time to get in on the ground floor of CC’s indie
marijuana craft dispensary movement by starting one up following his model.
Note well dear reader: Regretfully, last week's Peterborough CC dispensary raid
is but the latest dazed and confused episode of our own unique brand of Ontario Reefer Madness, as we await the Federal government legislation
to legalize marijuana across Canada in 2017. Mayor John Tory’s Wild West show has
simply spread further outside Toronto into Ontario’s “Wild East”. Peterborough
City Hall has also decided to order its constabulary [“Me too! Me too!?”] to
try to nip the cities first, new budding CC marijuana dispensary, since Trudeau
announced legalization in the spring!
Marc was quick to emphasize that it is City Hall and
not the police whom decide to lay charges! It’s the same in Peterborough as in “Toronto
the Good”, or rather the “Bad”, especially considering all the senseless marijuana
turmoil and grief that’s ensued. As Marc points out, municipal police don’t
make local political decisions nor do they set the regulations. Moreover, with
marijuana dispensaries, there aren’t any municipal regulations in place, period, to enforce. That's a result of the legal vacuum existing at the provincial and federal
level of government in Canada.
In the absence of any clear leadership from Trudeau in
Ottawa or Ontario’s Wynne government, the tragedy we now face across the province is truly
deep and profound!
Also pretty crazy!
Marc notes that owner Richard Stanton, now out on bail,
can’t even enter his own shop! That only 2 ounces of weed were seized and no
cash! That local restaurants and businesses in the depressed downtown area had stood
to benefit from the heavy new influx of overwhelmingly peaceful, everyday customers filing into CC’s new shop.
Marc Emery squarely places blame for what happens next at
the foot of Prime Minister Trudeau for refusing
to decriminalize pot while we await the Federal Liberal government’s new legal marijuana
laws. Good, decent, everyday citizens imbibing medical and recreational weed, along with our counties enthusiastic
crop of budding, craft boutique dispensary owners are still unnecessarily being
busted and getting criminal records as we wait. Even with legalization pending
in 2017, there aren't any assurances that the befuckling legal nightmare will be over anytime soon. Far from it!
As Marc warns, “Legalization will be a legal mess.” Most
regretfully, our federal legalization committee consists of a dog’s breakfast
of unlikely, former, anti-pot heads including former Reefer Madness “Health”
Queen Ann McLennan. Also former Toronto Police Chief Bill “G-20” Blair, among
others of their ilk.
Some early indicators of the legal problems ahead can be found within the misguided and highly controversial
scientific, medical and legal half truths and faulty premises in Trudeau’s
“Towards Legalization” discussion paper being used to framework the process. [LINK] Not to
mention Ontario Premier Wynne’s highly discriminatory and oppressive Bill 45,
seriously limiting our future rights to buy and enjoy our weed freely without
unnecessary hassle. [LINK]
According to Marc, we face a very serious dilemma! Are we really free citizens living in democracy? Then why are we being manipulated and dictated to about what we can "legally" put
into our own bodies? And why is the government, along with the Big Pharma industries and other such con men, treating us like big, bad criminals? Like little children? Telling us alcohol is okay, but marijuana is not?!?
Prohibition? It’s good for the police budget! Or perhaps, as
Marc claims for their “inferior egos”. Seems when it comes to pot everybody benefits except for the
very most vulnerable citizens whom our elected government are supposed to be
here to serve, the police to protect!
According to Marc, parents, teachers, priests, police and
politicians are still guilty of working together to suppress the real truth about
marijuana’s medical, and naturopathic benefits! They need to be stopped from spreading their ugly reefer madness lies now! Taken to task! As Canadian citizen's we need to clearly and forcefully tell them that this is NOT OK!
Tragically, Ontarian's are remaining especially quiet while our new marijuana laws are being set! Perhaps with the faint, misguided hope that our "leaders" are somehow actually looking out for
us?!? As if! We proceed at our own peril!
As Canadian activists we certainly must all help pave the
way for more constructive, reasonable changes to our marijuana laws across the country, province by province, and in Ottawa! Especially in Ontario, before
it’s too late! Hence Marc’s call to action!
Unlike in British Columbia, we need to
get off our duffs! Sound marijuana reform can only come about by very loudly insisting and acting upon our all too often allusive rights and freedoms as truly, free Canadian citizens living in a real democracy! Fighting to change our oppressive and highly discriminatory marijuana laws provides an excellent rallying point for political activists of all stripes from across our country. Hopefully it's one that many of us, as free thinkers, can appreciate.
To paraphrase the Bible, as Marc is apt to do, from little
seeds grow great things!
Moreover, as he wrote on at least one protester's placard, we all desperately need to rally together for the good fight to, “Plant the Seeds of freedom. Overgrow the
government”.
It’s a worthy catchphrase that says it all! In his Q+A Marc outlined a
very pragmatic approach to political action. Everyone needs to work together. Provide a very loud and clear barrage
of phone calls and complaints to all three levels of government, municipal, provincial and federal, to tell them in no uncertain terms that we've had enough of all the BS!
Unlike in BC, Ontarian's are far too
complacent. As a result the authorities here don’t even think twice before
trampling roughshod over even our most basic human rights and freedoms. Are we really prepared to just allow Trudeau, Wynne and Tory’s Reefer Madness agenda to unfold as it will? Accept without
reservation, their new corporate agenda for growing, buying, selling
and using marijuana across Canada? In our own province? Cities?
Of course not!
We shouldn’t be!
Marc called upon Prime Minister Trudeau to take the lead in immediately calling for a halt to the rash of marijuana busts and dispensary raids! How
can we even think that moving “Towards Legalization” is going to be anything but one huge legal mess with all the dithering and ham fisted government maneuvering going on?
He pointed out that medical marijuana patients are still finding it especially difficult to fulfill their medical prescriptions using
the discriminatory, restrictive and highly impractical mail order procedures that
the government has set for its licensed producers, such as Tweed.
We are referred to legal aid Lee Hathaway, who then explained that we can now file a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Lee explained that legal costs will be covered for any medical marijuana patient who wants to lodge a formal complaint. It’s a new legal option, only available since August 18, which very few of us were made aware of. Gee, I wonder why?!?
Our familiar activist rallying call of “No
Justice! No Peace!” should never just consist of empty words. What compensation does Marc think is in order? To make up for all the unjust harassment and discrimination that has ensued under marijuana prohibition?
Don’t exclude the dispensaries from the legalization process!
Marc insists that our craft dispensaries should be entitled to 20% of the new upcoming legal
marijuana trade to compensate for all the awful police raids.
Marijuana consumers and business
operators alike, who've been charged under prohibition, are owed an official apology. Criminal records must be expunged and financial remuneration provided for any jail time served. Also 50 years of free pot in compensation for the grave injustices suffered would be nice!
Will Marc’s call to action prove successful? As he points out,
at the heart of our problem is the government’s fear of "free thinkers". Marc expects to be arrested again very soon. It's happened all ready 2 dozen or so times while he’s championed the good fight over the years. As the saying goes, "Into everyone's life a little rain must fall". In Marc's case, it's been a flood! Don't be too surprised if he gets arrested again, in the very near future!
Still, this isn't really all about Marc Emery per se. Saturday afternoon’s Peterborough Love In provided an
excellent opportunity for developing a protest movement out of the growing crowds gathering to meet and learn more about how to effectively fight the battle for legal pot in Ontario and across Canada. To go spread the word that legalization must first and foremost be "for the people", not big business and big
government!
It's especially interesting that many of the protesters, like in Peterborough are now from a very new and blended generation of avid political activists, medical-recreational marijuana consumers and just plain, salt of the earth, everyday citizens alike. It's hardly just a crowd of older pot heads and politicos who's caught the buzz! On Saturday, Marc left them with very excited and enabled with some do-able ways to flex their protest wings and take flight!
As Marc's Q+A drew to a 4:20 pm close many of the younger protesters sat enthralled as he reveled us over … er …
munchies with his many often hilarious, absurd, real life tales of marijuana bummers, burns
and rip-offs from over the years. The stories were only too familiar for an older protest generation who've long suffered the thrills, spills, and chills of marijuana prohibition. However, it's a great relief to see that there is now also finally a new budding political activist front, in Peterborough at least, mobilizing to help finally take our long Ontario fight across the finish line towards legalization!
Marc Emery is eager and ready to try help jump start our Ontario
protest movement. He's doing so with a refreshing BC style that's both alive and kickin’! He stands in direct contrast to the lethargic activist stupor we otherwise find across our province. We shouldn't be too surprised if he is arrested again soon to try to silence him and strike fear into the new activist front. What then?
As Marc noted in wrapping up Saturday’s Q+A, he has often
proved to be most effective while in jail. Last time when he was imprisoned
in the US, 4 states legalized marijuana! Imagine; this time a whole country will cross the line! Of course, to do it right takes an effective, enabled activist movement. If need be, Marc is clearly quite ready, willing and able to provide us with a martyr for the cause! Moreover, his long range plans include a South
American legal marijuana initiative. It will be done Che Guevera style, after he's finished lighting the legalization fires in Canada. In the meantime, Marc Emery has definitely arrived here with us in Ontario, in no uncertain terms, to help point the way!
NEWS LINKS
Peterborough police raid CC pot shop @ MyKawartha
Two charged @ JK
Richard Standen out on bail @ Peterborough
Protest planned Saturday @ Examiner
Cannabis Culture reports @ HERE!
Saturday's protest news report @ Chextv
Marc Emery video from Peterborough @ Facebook
My blog "On Cannabis Culture + Toronto's Wild West" @ HERE!
Regular Updates in my September News y Views blog @ THERE!
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