— Musings —08.18.2011 12:14 PM
Tweet of the week: Hudak and dope
Great one! So, Fratboy Tim blows up his announcement with an admission that could’ve been gotten out, quietly, way before this. The story then becomes how he’s a hypocrite, and not really tough on crime.
Smoking dope is not a crime in Canada, selling it is. In any event, the real issue is not whether he smoked dope, but whether he is still smoking dope, or perhaps doing something more powerfel — LSD comes to mind — given some of the bizarre policies this guy has been spitting out.
“Smoking dope is not a crime in Canada”
um, really?
It may not be a well enforced crime, particularly since some jurisdictions have ruled it unconstitutional, but I thought, as this preliminary Google hunt shows, that:
“It is not legal in Canada to use cannabis for recreational purposes, or for any purposes other than medical use. ”
http://www.marijuanalaws.ca/legal-laws.html
Offence description: Possession of marijuana (up to 30 gms.) or hashish (up to 1 gm.)
[applicable law]: Controlled Drugs and Substances Act Section 4(1);
a Hybrid offence (rather than Summary or Indictable)
Minimum penalty: 0
Discharge available: yes
Maximum Penalty: 6 mos./$1,000 fine
http://www.defencelaw.com/printversion-chart-contents.html
And it seems Hudak thinks so, too:
“Despite Mr. Hudak’s own extra-curricular pursuits during his youth, he said he supports the status quo that makes it a criminal offence to possess small amounts of marijuana.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/has-tim-hudak-smoked-dope-yes-i-have/article2133701/
But, laughing it all off and referring to himself in the third person, he testifies here in this Flash video excerpt that it was “quite some time ago” since he last smoked it: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/video/video-ontario-tory-leader-admits-smoking-pot/article2133879/
Another irony here, given yesterday’s dust-up, is that this whole event was: a re-announcement *
— you know, the very type of thing his candidates were out protesting yesterday, as being somehow unworthy of notice or as amounting to “lies” unless or until they are delivered.
* (of his plan to set up a registry of drug-producing, and so likely badly damaged, houses: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1041179–i-lived-a-pretty-normal-life-hudak-admits-to-smoking-pot-in-university?bn=1 )
Wait until Toews brings in the Rat Our Your Neighbour program.
Possession of dope is a crime. How does one smoke dope without holding a joint in one’s fingers (possession) or lips (possession again)?
I suppose he could have inhaled the evil smoke while a buddy held the joint close, but never touching his lips.
This has to be clarified before October 6th.
He should put himself in one of his own prisoners-in-parks programs!
Warren. I have a picture of Hudak committing the crime, but I don’t have your email address.
More fun w. numbers: this isn’t an academic discussion — over the past two years, about 50 & 56,000 Canadians were arrested with simple possession as the most serious charge
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2011001/article/11523/tbl/tbl04-eng.htm
and almost 22,000 — or 165 out of every 100,000 — Ontarians were arrested in 2010 with simple possession being (at least one of) the charge(s)
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2011001/article/11523/tbl/tbl05-eng.htm
h/t to http://www.thegridto.com/city/politics/hudaks-criminal-past/ whose tweet prompted me to look up those numbers
From the article: “I was a normal kid, I had a normal upbringing, a normal life in university so I experimented from time to time with marijuana,” Yet, he doesn’t support decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana. So I guess he wouldn’t mind if he or any of his buddies or any young person today ended up with a criminal record for doing something that he just described as “normal” behavior. I’m having a hard time following the logic.
Totally agree with Ted. Just one more strange saga – he must be a comms team’s worst nightmare.
Imagine that if he had been caught under a regime like the one he is proposing, we’d see him on a Chain gang in his orange jumpsuit picking up garbage….wait, maybe that isn’t such a bad proposal afterall!
I do not like word tough on crime
each crime link to judgment and justice when i hear some one said tough on crime It means use more power of police to beat more than they deserve criminal not because thier act to help or fix or correct them just tough to show amount of anger toward criminal while that is not solution to show anger to them but we
need to show them way out of crime and find better way for living
all people has brain but how brain function and work made peopel different from each other
one has knowledge has experince or smart enough or at least has sense of feel ONLY responsibilty to do or do not do certain job in pulic or even in private
as you practice in privat so many wrong doing it will finaly can show one day your wrong doing in private transfer to public too like cancer
when brain not able to analyze data and your emotion over come your brain then you stock to find or choose always wrong choice
i think alchol and drug and depresion will cause more add to wounded heart and it will boste more bad choices
over time anger but not release each person act is come from faimly freind school and palce he is working
value of we see human right in Palstinian and Israel destroy and nobody find solution over 60 years we see this ange show more to middle east now to US and recently in Europe and London too
some people not say somthing it does nto mean they are agree with all what politicain doing too
they may bloew up of anger suddently as see that person went too far
no matter what responsibilty of what your indidual or group action never should leave them their angre to lead new criminal activies
wehn you hate some one you say it you act against that person
now that anger and hate maybe over use and lead to abuse too
therefore touch on crime is for me no meaning how to balance society in public to communicate not beat up each other and pull string toward one pole is important
it will start each person has minimum need to live and not be angry and now more than than and grid for more is differnt story… need to control prevented too
all clashes of society and all people dead on floor proof right conservative and theri toughness are nto resolving just not stop anger people or direct people to right path just war people and stop them by allow them angry and arrest them for right to proceed faster to theri needs when they identify who is left and against them this is easier for them to go to their home and arrest them but it does not mean all are criminal and all right are real right and they are wrong too pull the power for sure
One thing after another with this guy. The Liberals must be thrilled to have Hudak as the opponent. He keeps producing his own attack ads.
Righteous dude.
well done!
Unbelievable that possession of small amounts of pot remains illegal and that politicians continue to support the status quo when they would all be candidates for criminal records themselves!
The only reason we aren’t ALL criminals is that we can’t afford enough police to put us ALL in jail; in effect, we rely on a lack of enforcement to keep unreasonable laws on the books – then we use the resources we do have to enforce the laws on people our society doesn’t like (eg, the poor) while letting others (like Hudak, Eves, McGuinty, Layton, Iggy etc.) walk free.
All of our political leaders should know from their own life experiences that simple possession should not be a crime, but not one of them has put anything on the line to make it happen. For shame.
well said, and Bravo for saying it
Thanks 🙂
Well said sir. Well said.
I think I just agreed with Pedro. In other news, Hell has apparently frozen over.