T
The420Guy
Guest
Canada's Marijuana Policies May Put It On A Collision Course With The United
States
The two countries share the world's longest unprotected border and annual
trade tops $400 million, but they have clashed before over such issues as
Cuba, eliminating land mines and the death penalty.
Add marijuana to the list.
"It will be a sticking point between the two countries," said Eric Sterling,
president of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, in Maryland.
Although marijuana is illegal in both countries, enforcement is a lower
priority in Canada and the criminal penalties are less severe.
Canada has also instituted a nationwide medical marijuana program,
precluding the kind of conflict now flaring between the U.S. government and
states that have adopted their own medical marijuana laws.
At the same time, President Bush has stepped up the U.S. war on drugs.
As a result, more Americans -- medical pot users, activists, some who face
criminal charges, others who don't -- are heading to Canada.
Sterling and other experts say the migration will increase conflicts between
the two countries, especially if people facing U.S. charges successfully
resist attempts to extradite them from Canada.
The U.S. Justice Department won't comment on ongoing extradition cases. It
refused to say if it plans to pursue extradition of Ken Hayes, a former
Petaluma resident who faces federal charges in San Francisco.
Hayes' attorney said U.S. officials haven't asked Canada to return Hayes,
nor has Canada moved to deport him.
Sterling, a former counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, thinks the
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will lobby hard for extradition.
"They know how dangerous it would be, if they seem to be allowing people to
flee to Canada on a marijuana case," he said. "I think you could make a
very safe bet that the United States will seek extradition of these people."
The United States has been trying to have Renee Boje extradited since 1999.
Two years ago, a Canadian judge ordered her returned to the United States.
Boje appealed the decision, and filed for political refugee status in Canada
under guidelines of the United Nations Convention on Refugees.
She is waiting for a ruling by the Canadian minister of justice on her
appeal and for a special refugee board to schedule a hearing on her
application.
"Once someone puts that claim in for refugee status, everything else is put
on hold, including the extradition," said Gary Botting, a visiting scholar
at the University of Washington law school who specializes in extradition.
Some suggest Canada will walk a tightrope, trying to avoid angering its
neighbor to the south or returning Americans to face criminal charges in
U.S. courts.
"I think this Liberal government would be embarrassed" to return people like
Hayes and Boje, said Inky Mark, a member of the opposition in the Canadian
Parliament.
"That's probably true, and was probably the same case during the Vietnam
War," said Melvin Small, who teaches Canadian-American relations at Wayne
State University in Detroit.
Rather than rule on fleeing Americans' requests outright, Mark said Canada
may "just let them float" in the application process.
"My opinion is that they're probably pretty safe," said Mark, his party's
spokesman on immigration affairs.
In response, a spokesman for Immigration Minister Denis Coderre said: "We
won't start judging why you want to extradite a person, that's up to the
courts. The government will not decide that."
Newshawk: Dale Gieringer www.canorml.org
Webpage: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/local/news/24pot_a15empirea.html
Pubdate: Sun, 24 Mar 2002
Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)
Copyright: 2002 The Press Democrat
Contact: letters@pressdemo.com
Website: Home, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Bay Area Newspaper, CA news
Details: MapInc
Author: Jeremy Hay, The Press Democrat
States
The two countries share the world's longest unprotected border and annual
trade tops $400 million, but they have clashed before over such issues as
Cuba, eliminating land mines and the death penalty.
Add marijuana to the list.
"It will be a sticking point between the two countries," said Eric Sterling,
president of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, in Maryland.
Although marijuana is illegal in both countries, enforcement is a lower
priority in Canada and the criminal penalties are less severe.
Canada has also instituted a nationwide medical marijuana program,
precluding the kind of conflict now flaring between the U.S. government and
states that have adopted their own medical marijuana laws.
At the same time, President Bush has stepped up the U.S. war on drugs.
As a result, more Americans -- medical pot users, activists, some who face
criminal charges, others who don't -- are heading to Canada.
Sterling and other experts say the migration will increase conflicts between
the two countries, especially if people facing U.S. charges successfully
resist attempts to extradite them from Canada.
The U.S. Justice Department won't comment on ongoing extradition cases. It
refused to say if it plans to pursue extradition of Ken Hayes, a former
Petaluma resident who faces federal charges in San Francisco.
Hayes' attorney said U.S. officials haven't asked Canada to return Hayes,
nor has Canada moved to deport him.
Sterling, a former counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, thinks the
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will lobby hard for extradition.
"They know how dangerous it would be, if they seem to be allowing people to
flee to Canada on a marijuana case," he said. "I think you could make a
very safe bet that the United States will seek extradition of these people."
The United States has been trying to have Renee Boje extradited since 1999.
Two years ago, a Canadian judge ordered her returned to the United States.
Boje appealed the decision, and filed for political refugee status in Canada
under guidelines of the United Nations Convention on Refugees.
She is waiting for a ruling by the Canadian minister of justice on her
appeal and for a special refugee board to schedule a hearing on her
application.
"Once someone puts that claim in for refugee status, everything else is put
on hold, including the extradition," said Gary Botting, a visiting scholar
at the University of Washington law school who specializes in extradition.
Some suggest Canada will walk a tightrope, trying to avoid angering its
neighbor to the south or returning Americans to face criminal charges in
U.S. courts.
"I think this Liberal government would be embarrassed" to return people like
Hayes and Boje, said Inky Mark, a member of the opposition in the Canadian
Parliament.
"That's probably true, and was probably the same case during the Vietnam
War," said Melvin Small, who teaches Canadian-American relations at Wayne
State University in Detroit.
Rather than rule on fleeing Americans' requests outright, Mark said Canada
may "just let them float" in the application process.
"My opinion is that they're probably pretty safe," said Mark, his party's
spokesman on immigration affairs.
In response, a spokesman for Immigration Minister Denis Coderre said: "We
won't start judging why you want to extradite a person, that's up to the
courts. The government will not decide that."
Newshawk: Dale Gieringer www.canorml.org
Webpage: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/local/news/24pot_a15empirea.html
Pubdate: Sun, 24 Mar 2002
Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)
Copyright: 2002 The Press Democrat
Contact: letters@pressdemo.com
Website: Home, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Bay Area Newspaper, CA news
Details: MapInc
Author: Jeremy Hay, The Press Democrat
