# Canadian Justice Minister introduces Cannabis Reform Act **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 27, 2003, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-justice-minister-introduces-cannabis-reform-act/177820 "2003-05-27T17:49:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-justice-minister-introduces-cannabis-reform-act/177820/21 "2003-05-29T21:22:23Z")
This law is definitely a step in the right direction, but it has its problems. Why make growing one to three plants a crime punishable by possible jail time? If they’re trying to discourage large-scale distribution while leaving minor users unscathed, why force the users into a system in which they have to buy from the exact distribution system the law wants to limit? It’s not like these small, personal growers are profitting. From what I’ve read, one-to-three plants grown indoors would be enough to keep a couple of heavy smokers supplied with a personal stash, but very little more. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-justice-minister-introduces-cannabis-reform-act/177820/22 "2003-05-30T05:39:01Z")
I’m an advocate of drug legalization, but I must say this seems like a stupid way to go about it. Economically speaking, what the government will do is increase the demand for and decrease the supply of marijuana. The likely result will be increased prices, which will entice more growers into the business until there is a new equilibrium. That’s going to attract more organized crime like gangs into the pot distribution business, instead of Ted’s brother Steve who’s got four plants under a gro-lux bulb in his parent’s basement. What they should have done was simply begin to slightly lower the penalties for both cultivation and possession at the same time. And while they’re at it, they can increase penalties for importation. Hey, if you’re gonna smoke righteous bud, at least you can buy B.C. prime rather than some Venezuelan ditch weed. Am I right? ---
**Author:** ![plain\_jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@plain\_jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plain_jane)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-justice-minister-introduces-cannabis-reform-act/177820/23 "2003-05-31T22:40:33Z")
Can someone clear this up for me? I thought the new pot laws had gone into effect already, but from reading this thread, it sounds as though it isn’t law yet. When is it supposed to go into effect, then? There’s been much talk on the news, on and off, about legalizing pot and I’m confused about when it will actually happen. Not that I am planning some sort of party for that date or anything. I don’t smoke pot, but I keep hearing about this legalization and thinking, “oh, so it’s legal now”, only to hear the same topic come up in the media half a year later… so I think, “oh, so it’s legal _now_.” ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-justice-minister-introduces-cannabis-reform-act/177820/24 "2003-05-31T23:09:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Here in the Czech Republic they have a strange drug law. They don’t classify between hard and soft drugs, and the difference between a wrist slap and 10 years in jail is in the eye of the beholder/police. When caught if you have “a little” you get a fine, if you have “more than a little” you go to jail. Yes, that is how it is worded in the law “more than a little.” So if the cop wants to screw you, he can say that your 2 joints are “more than a little.” There are new laws being voted on that would change this, but I don’t know what is happening with them. If such a law were in place in the U.S, I have little doubt that they would be struck down in court as being void for vagueness. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-justice-minister-introduces-cannabis-reform-act/177820.md?page=1)