Just wanted to see what others think... I'm guessing you are NOT from CANADA based on "vote for Ron Paul" by your display pic... which means it does affect you, so you don't care.
Very well produced clip. Canada is morphing from the old system into a new system. True many people who have invested large sums of dollars will now be considered criminals if they continue to grow. I am in the US so I don't have a dog in this fight. That said there is a positive side to this debate however small. What I believe Canada is doing is setting up a production/distribution system that will enable it to supply the country with a controlled product once it is ready to legalize. This new scheme HealthCanada has implimented starts with medical, licences large corporate...or soon to be corporate producers/distributors to create a supply chain. In the meantime HealthCanada is relaxing it's stranglehold on doctors and allowing them more freedom to write scripts for medical. As the demand grows, and the corporate producers/distributors iron out the distribution system, a blueprint is created for the enevitable legalization. Hence the country will already have in place a tried and true system of production and distribution. Obviouslly many Canadians will be mad at what I just said. Citizens who once had the "right" to grow will now be banned from growing. Most small grow ops will not be able to afford to spend the hundreds of thousands of dollars required to meet all the requirements HealthCanada has set forth to get licenced. Like here in the US even though WA. and Co. have legalized, many are upset with the reglatory structure that comes along with legalization. There is no right or wrong, IMHO we are better off not being locked up for marijuana offenses, and the luxury of being able to go to a marijuana outlet and purchase your pot legally tends to suit the masses more than the few who enjoy growing their own. Of course the ones who now grow will not be happy because it is them that tend to feel the sting more than the weekend warriors who just want to legally burn a couple on the weekend.
You've been completely defeated spiritually if you think corporations providing something is better than jail. That is hobson's choice at its finest. There is most certainly right and wrong. Much of which is in the bill of rights and our Constituion. We all KNOW its wrong to threaten and jail people for actions which ultimately harm no one if responsible. (And how do we draw the line there as a society?) Don't put the word right in quotes. "Rights" are not implied. The quotation marks make them look optional. You're not seeing something happening in Canada that is a potential future model to follow. These GLOBAL decisions have already been made long ago. You're just seeing what is coming. There is no "tweaking" the law when the producers become entrenched. Think you could change the alcohol lobby's laws now? Good luck.
I put the word rights in quotation marks because IMO our rights are NOT guaranteed under the constitution as evidenced by the NSA and FBI data mining that has been exposed. I would love to be so nieve as to think our constitution was some form of protection from government overreach but as evidenced by so many actions of our government/courts the implied rights we so passionatly defend are not rights at all and drift further away with each new administration. As far as corporations....you should be thankful to them for defending the implied 2nd ammendment right they fought so hard to retain through the NRA. (if you are a gun supporter) Even the press these days have realized their rights are limited. This is the new America...get used to it.
Why are you so defeated? Jury nullification. If the government is rogue, the people HAVE to take the power back. The corporations cannot imprison us if we do not allow them to. They cannot steal our minds from us. So long as we still have that, we have jury nullifcation. You have my word I'll never convict someone for simply using or growing pot in a way that harmed no one else.
I am defeated because I found out first hand what happens to an individual that dared to go against the laws of the state and trust me, it was not pretty. I see every day news stories that show an out of control government fed by an out of control corporate world. I watch in amazement as our Federal legislators babble incoherantly to the mindless masses who couldn't name a single politician in their district, never mind the congress. I do not disagree with your stance on Jury Nulification, my problem is I have no faith anyone can educate the masses, or make them care enough to incorporate this tactic in their communities. Perhaps If I am allowed to leave this state and start over somewhere sane, I can re-capture my old self and find the faith in humanity I seem to have lost.