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Chill, America
By Cathy Kropp
Published:
Monday, October 21, 2002
Cathy Kropp -- Guest Column
The United States government needs to stop using strong-arm tactics and threats to influence policies in other nations.
A perfect example of how our government oversteps boundaries revolves around the possible changes in the drug policy of Canada.
The Canadian government is currently considering relaxing its current marijuana laws. Recent changes in Canada include the implementation of a medical marijuana program and the creation of a legal hemp industry. The United States government is up in arms over the possible changes.
To influence the policy makers in Canada, the U.S. government has dealt a severe blow. We have declared that if Canada goes through with the proposed changes, we will be forced to tighten our border checks, thereby limiting trade between the two nations, which happens to be a $1 billion per day partnership.
Those who believe that this is a superficial scare tactic being used by our government need only look back at our trade policy with Canada involving hemp products.
Canada has a legal industry for hemp, and rightfully so. They also conduct a good portion of their business in the United States. This ban effectively eliminated much of their hemp product trade. A small Canadian company, Kenex, is suing the United States government, claiming that our government undermined their ability to do business here through policies and extreme border regulations.
In fact, one interesting tidbit related to the case that I uncovered described how in 1999, U.S. customs impounded a Kenex shipment of hemp birdseed.
Yes, you read that correctly–birdseed. Incidents like this one only serve to prove how ridiculously fanatical our border checks already are.
Now we are threatening Canada with even tighter border checks in order to influence their decision regarding marijuana policy. Surprise, surprise.
Not only is the government unwilling to admit that the War on Drugs is a failure in this country, but it persistently pressures other nations to continue down this same wrong path.
John P. Waters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, states that the tightening of our borders between Canada and the U.S. would be necessary in this case because, “We would have no choice. We intend to protect our citizens.”
Okay, so where was this protective instinct when only four months prior to the September 11 attacks, the FBI requested eight additional agents to combat terrorism while the DEA has seen a 26% increase in personnel over the last couple of years? Was our safety really a priority?
Our government needs to stop pushing its ineffective laws on other nations. The times are changing and America needs to strap on its boots and come along for the ride.
