# But Officer, this card says I'm allowed to smoke pot
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-officer-this-card-says-im-allowed-to-smoke-pot/71198
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [July 4, 2001, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-officer-this-card-says-im-allowed-to-smoke-pot/71198 "2001-07-04T11:38:16Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2001, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-officer-this-card-says-im-allowed-to-smoke-pot/71198/1 "2001-07-04T11:38:16Z")
Sorry about the shouting.
CANADIANS LEGALLY ALLOWED TO GROW MARIJUANA WILL SOON HAVE ANOTHER CARD TO STICK IN THEIR WALLET. LEGAL POT USERS AND GROWERS WILL BE GETTING PHOTO IDENTIFICATION CARDS TO PREVENT NEEDLESS HASSLE BY POLICE. NEW FEDERAL REGULATIONS GO INTO EFFECT ON JULY 30TH, AND WILL DEFINE THE TERMS UNDER WHICH CANADIANS CAN POSSESS MARIJUANA FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES. THE SUPREME COURT RULED LAST YEAR THAT CANADIANS HAVE A LEGAL RIGHT TO MARIJUANA IF THEY NEED IT FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES.
Comments?
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### Author:  [@Xerxes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xerxes)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2001, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-officer-this-card-says-im-allowed-to-smoke-pot/71198/2 "2001-07-04T11:58:43Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Sorry about the shouting.
Er, so… why then shout? [sub]If it was because the article you quoted from was all uppercase, and you cut’n paste, then Ok[/sub]
Comments. Well, if Canada has chosen to make legal the use of marijuana for medicinal use (I personally have no problem with that) then to carry a card makes perfect sense to me. We carry driving licenses to prove we are legal to drive cars…
I’m a bit more interested in the implication that it might be legal to grow it. My personal position is that it should be legal, period, but wouldn’t it make more sense for the gov’t to procure it itself, and for it to be a prescription drug (hence monitored use, and better quality control)?
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### Author:  [@Gregor\_Samsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gregor_Samsa)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2001, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-officer-this-card-says-im-allowed-to-smoke-pot/71198/3 "2001-07-04T14:48:59Z")
> [@](#):
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> \*Originally posted by Xerxes \*
> \*\*…but wouldn’t it make more sense for the gov’t to procure it itself, and for it to be a prescription drug (hence monitored use, and better quality control)? \*\*
Actually, the government is working on that [right now.](http://www.drugtext.org/press/webster/dec00/%5B%5D%20Canada-%20Legal%20Marijuana%20Operation%20Opens.htm) As I understand it, there’s been some red-tape delay getting seeds from a supplier in the States.
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### Author:  [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2001, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-officer-this-card-says-im-allowed-to-smoke-pot/71198/4 "2001-07-04T15:37:34Z")
You guys need a _license_ to smoke weed? 😃
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### Author:  [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2001, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-officer-this-card-says-im-allowed-to-smoke-pot/71198/5 "2001-07-04T15:39:35Z")
Yeah, I’m still waiting for my card cuz I’m like, really tense.
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### Author:  [@starfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starfish)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2001, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-officer-this-card-says-im-allowed-to-smoke-pot/71198/6 "2001-07-04T17:03:21Z")
Coldfire
On this side of the pond there are government restrictions on almost everything.
How does the European Union handle the different country’s laws on things like pot? It seems like the courts there are forcing counties to change their laws to conform.
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### Author:  [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2001, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-officer-this-card-says-im-allowed-to-smoke-pot/71198/7 "2001-07-05T03:53:18Z")
Hmmm, maybe a move to Canada wouldn’t be such a bad thing. I’ve heard that they’re about to legalize prostitution as well.
I know you guys have given us Dave Thomas, William Shatner, Dan Ackroyd, and “The Kids in the Hall,” but are you really about to become the Amsterdam of North America? If so, I’m gonna have to emigrate.
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### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2001, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-officer-this-card-says-im-allowed-to-smoke-pot/71198/8 "2001-07-05T04:17:43Z")
Actually, the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on this issue. The highest court to deal with it so far was the Ontario Court of Appeal, which held that those who have serious medical conditions have a liberty interest to use pot to alleviate it. The new federal regulations are in response to that ruling, while the federal government is simultaneously appealing the case to the SCC.
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### Author:  [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2001, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-officer-this-card-says-im-allowed-to-smoke-pot/71198/9 "2001-07-05T06:18:18Z")
I thought this was going to be about those joke cards you can buy at convenience stores and gift shops, the ones that say you have permission to possess, smoke, buy, and sell marijuana, signed by Bill ‘I didn’t inhale’ Clinton. I had one once in my wallet, and one time when I was being booked (for something unrelated) and they were going through my stuff, the cop looked at the card, read it, then went and made a phone call, either because he thought it was that clever and had to tell someone, or (I hope not) to check on it’s validity.
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### Author:  [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2001, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-officer-this-card-says-im-allowed-to-smoke-pot/71198/10 "2001-07-05T11:02:38Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by starfish \*
> \*\*How does the European Union handle the different country’s laws on things like pot? It seems like the courts there are forcing counties to change their laws to conform. \*\*
Right now, the focus is on confirming boring stuff like tax laws, et cetera. But yeah, the time will come when the Pot Issue will become a problem for The Netherlands. Hell, if it wasn’t for the fact that the rest of Europe like us so much, France would have nuked Amsterdam already.
We’ll see if this 16 million people country is powerful enough in Europe to change all the other countries’ minds. Well, not entirely true, Belgium is legalising pot as well, and many other countries have been more mellow towards personal marihuana use as of late. The Netherlands _have_ more power in Europe than the sheer size of the country would suggest. But it’s gonna be a hard battle. Even _if_ the real world shows that it DOES pay off to legalise pot: you’re not wasting money on hunting down harmless citizens, and you’ve got more recourses to battle the really dangerous stuff like cocaine and heroine. The French always conveniently forget that their per capita heroine junkie ratio of about 3 times as high as ours. :rolleyes:
We’re also catching a lot of shit for still being the #1 producer of XTC pills in the world, and rightly so. It turns out to be a hard industry to get a grip on…
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### Author:  [@Gartog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gartog)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2001, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-officer-this-card-says-im-allowed-to-smoke-pot/71198/11 "2001-07-05T13:02:29Z")
Cops in London are being _very_ lenient with the cannibis laws - mainly though because there is so much violent vrime they are conentrating on that . . .
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### Author:  [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2001, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-officer-this-card-says-im-allowed-to-smoke-pot/71198/12 "2001-07-05T15:16:07Z")
[QUOTE]
\*Originally posted by Coldfire \*
\*\*
> [@](#):
>
> Hell, if it wasn’t for the fact that the rest of Europe like us so much, France would have nuked Amsterdam already. \*\*
If they do, you can just get 3 expatriates armed with Swiss Army knives, invade, and conquer France by Tuesday.
Maybe use Matt as a merc since he speaks their language. Reward him by making him Grand Overlord of a province or two.