MarijuanaNews.com : How The Canadian Media Import Counterfeit News From The States. The Drug Czar Lies and Even The Best Papers Don’t Check the Facts.

Posted March 17, 2005
Analysis by Richard Cowan

Yesterday, the lead editorials in both The New York Times
and The Washington Post denounced the Bush Administration’s policy of
distributing “fake” (The Post) or “counterfeit” (The Times) news videos – that
are really just government propaganda.

The irony – hypocrisy? — of their complaints will not
be lost on anyone familiar with their coverage of the Drug War.
See

The Czar’s Lies Courtesy the Washington Post and the Facts Courtesy National
Review
and

New Media Merger: Washington Post Merges With NIDA.

and

New York Times Prohibitionist Propaganda On Vancouver Slanders Amsterdam
and

How Prohibitionism Corrupts the New York Times: “Educating” the Children with
the Party Line, and Undermining Journalistic Integrity. Analysis by Richard
Cowan.
and

Quacks and Hacks and The New York Times — Reefer Madness 2002 — Atoning for
Printing NORML’s Ad?
and

How The New York Times Misleads Americans About the Canadian Marijuana
Situation.

Still, their point is certainly valid.

The Times said, “The Bush administration has come
under a lot of criticism for its attempts to fob off government propaganda as
genuine news reports.…

But it is time to acknowledge
that the nation’s news organizations have played a large and unappetizing role
in deceiving the public….

(M)ore than 20 federal agencies, including the State
Department and the Defense Department, now create fake news clips. The Bush
administration spent $254 million in its first four years on contracts with
public relations firms, more than double the amount spent by the Clinton
administration.

Some of the videos clearly cross the line into the
proscribed territory of propaganda, and the Government Accountability Office
says at least two were illegally distributed….”

The Washington Post says, “As a legal matter, the
prepackaged news releases run afoul of the prohibition on the use of government
funds for domestic ‘propaganda.’

The administration’s
interpretation — it’s okay to hide the source as long as the spot is “purely
informational” — is untenable: Highlighting some “facts” and leaving out
others can be even more persuasive than outright advocacy, which is why the
administration chose this device. More important, this kind of propaganda
masquerading as news is a deceitful way for a democratic government to do
business…”

Oh, really? Then why does this
not apply to the Drug War and especially the war on cannabis? For years, I have
documented the abject failure of the elite media to do even the most basic
fact-checking on any claim by the prohibitionists.
See

Drug Czar’s Massive Anti-Cannabis Media Campaign Shows How Prohibitionist
Propaganda Machine Works In (Fill In Blank for Your Community), Says (Fill In
Blank with Name of Someone In Jail.)
and

The Seemingly Inexhaustible Torrent Of Prohibitionist Propaganda Reminds Me Of
The Greek Myth About Hercules And The Stables Of King Augeas. Analysis By
Richard Cowan
and

We Have Reality Entertainment, So What About Some Reality News? Public Distrust
And The Reality/Media Credibility Gap.
and

How Marijuana Prohibition Corrupts All Of Our Institutions
– Medicine, Law Enforcement, Journalism
And How That Corruption Sustains Prohibitionism

But it is not just the DEAland media who fail to do
their duty to their customers. Almost exactly eleven months ago, I posted an
analysis of ridiculous claims by Drug Czar John Walters about the supposed
impact of Canadian cannabis in the US.
See

Bush Should Have John – Comical Ali – Walters Explain The Iraq War, Then The
Media Would Never Ask Any Embarrassing Questions. Doctrine Of Drug Czar
Infallibility? Blame Canada, Again.

Now, following the murder of four Mounties in what was
wrongly reported as a marijuana grow-op raid, the prohibitionist propaganda
machine in both countries went wild.

Admirably, many of the best Canadian papers quickly
pointed out that the murders had little or nothing to do with cannabis, and some
strongly editorialized in favor of the full legalization of cannabis, including
the National Post (one of Canada’s two excellent national papers) and The
Vancouver Sun.

Nonetheless, both the National Post and the Vancouver
Sun and many other Canadian papers, including the Ottawa Citizen, carried two
stories in which they took at face value claims by Walters that repeated the
April 2004 nonsense and then added some other statements that were truly
bizarre.

Sadly, the stories originated in the National Post, but
I have posted excerpts from the Citizen and the Sun because of their delicious
headers, which are not written by the articles’ author.

Excerpts From the

Ottawa Citizen
By Tom Blackwell, National Post
March 8, 2005

LAX DRUG LAWS CREATE
MEXICO
OF NORTH
See

As Canada Moves Toward Some Form Of Decriminalization, Canadian Narks and
Walters Escalate Lying. The New Math. “Canada Replaces Mexico” As Leading
Supplier of Cannabis. And If You Believe That…
and

Now, How the Narks Created Smack in Mexico. Replacing Marijuana With Poppies.
The Iron Law of Prohibition Keeps Working, But The Media Don’t

and

How Marijuana Prohibition Really Works on the Texas/Mexico Border. Contrast with
the Situation at the Canadian Border. Great Journalism.

U.S.: Canada’s
Marijuana Policy a Growing Irritant to American Neighbours

WASHINGTON - The killings of four RCMP officers in
Alberta last week may or may not end up having much to
do with the marijuana grow operation the killer maintained. But the
incident has still managed to generate fresh American
irritation and fear over the growing flood of
potent Canadian marijuana into the U.S.
See

Voice of America Becomes Latest Organization to Be Corrupted By Cannabis
Prohibition. Canadian Collaborators Lie To Undermine Their Country’s Freedom and
Sovereignty. The Myth of BC Bud.

As if the two countries needed another irritant, the
deaths have only underlined concern among U.S.
officials and politicians that Canada’s relatively lax treatment of grow-op
criminals is fuelling the influx of drugs.

There are calls for more agents at the northern
frontier, and parallels drawn between Canada and what has traditionally been
considered a much more lawless neighbour — Mexico. The fears were embodied in
the headline for a recent front-page New York Times
article: Violent New Front in Drug War opens on the Canadian Border.

(MarijuanaNews note: I have done an analysis of that Times piece.
See

Front Page Fantasy: The New
York Times Pushes Fact Free Journalism Supposedly About “BC Bud”

However, the absurdity of the headline is a
clue as to how bad it was. The murder of the Mounties had nothing to do with
smuggling, and took place far from the border. Those facts did not keep it from
being cited with respect. Especially ironic in this context, eh?

Speaking in the House of
Commons, Conservative MP Belinda Stronach, an auto parts heiress who is socially
liberal enough to support gay marriage, cited the Times article, and urged the
government to withdraw its “misguided” decrim bill, because
of ” warnings from the U.S. ambassador that there will be
consequences resulting from decriminalization causing costly cross-border
delays.” For auto parts? That seems unlikely.)

The problem is especially bad in British Columbia,
which is showing early signs of becoming a “narco-province” along the lines of
some South American countries, charged Representative Mark Souder of Indiana,
chair of the congressional sub-committee on criminal justice, drug policy and
human resources.

“In British Columbia, one of the things they seem to be in a state of denial
about is that they have become a huge exporter of this
really lethal form of marijuana,” he said in an interview.
From Brian Bennett’s excellent site,
See

Marijuana Induced Deaths
and

Marijuana Induced Deaths by Age Group
and

Marijuana Induced Deaths by Gender and Race

“It’s close to getting out of hand … I feel sorry
if four police officers died because of the mistakes of politicians.”
(MarijuanaNews note: Why did
the reporter seek out Souder for an interview? He is the sort of person who
gives wingnuts a bad name.

He is the author of the
smoke-a-joint-lose-your-student-loan bill. In 2001 he told an Indiana newspaper,
Kendallville News-Sun, “Now there are new, more dangerous drugs crossing our
borders. At my hearings in New York and
Vermont, we heard about Quebec Gold and BC Bud marijuana as well as Ecstasy and
methamphetamines heading to New York and Boston through these border crossings.
In many places, Quebec Gold and BC Bud is selling for more than cocaine. Don’t
be fooled by its name: it is not marijuana. It is far more potent than
traditional marijuana, and is as dangerous as cocaine.”)

See

Smoke-A-Joint-And-Lose-Your-Student-Loan: Will This Move the Campuses?

An Excellent Overview
and

Learning About Prohibitionism: House Debate on Medical Marijuana Bill Offers New
Insight Into Police State Ideology.
and

The Miami Herald Does Not Question Prohibitionist Propaganda As It Reports On
Hearings

He acknowledged the marijuana is being traded for cocaine and guns from the
U.S., but said the marijuana business is
fuelling that exchange….
(MarijuanaNews note: A
prohibitionist “acknowledged” the prohibitionist party line?? There has never
been evidence that a significant amount of marijuana is bartered for guns or
cocaine, but that has been a part of prohibitionist propaganda for years.
From 1998 See

Now USA Today Is Parroting The DEA Line That Canadian Marijuana

Is Swapped “Pound For Pound For Cocaine”
Also see my analysis of
the New York Times article

Front Page Fantasy: The New
York Times Pushes Fact Free Journalism Supposedly About “BC Bud”for
official Canadian data on the subject.)

Starting with the development of the legendary B.C.
bud in British Columbia, the number of marijuana grow operations has exploded in
the last decade. Much of that product has flowed across the border into the
United States, a fact highlighted in last week’s State Department report on
world narcotics trends.

“We are now working intensively with Canadian
authorities to address the increase in the smuggling of Canadian-produced
marijuana into the United States,” President George W. Bush said in a statement
issued with the report.

“However, we are concerned the lack of significant
judicial sanctions against marijuana producers is resulting in greater
involvement in the burgeoning marijuana industry by organized criminal groups.”

See

Would BC Have Less Bud if It Had More Prisoners? Lying to Canadians To Support
the Cannabis Prohibition.

The expanding cross-border marijuana problem has the
potential to become the newest policy logjam between the new countries, ….
especially as the federal government moves toward de-criminalizing marijuana….”

(MarijuanaNews note: Of
course, Maine, New York, and Ohio, which border on Canada, as well as other
states, have decriminalized
possession of more marijuana than is contemplated by the Canadian government.)
See

Decrim Okay With Drug Czar Walters? A Gaffe or a Miracle? Lessons for
Canada.They Should Also Notice Alaska.

And then there was this jewel:
Excerpts From The Vancouver Sun
By Tom Blackwell, The National
Post
March 11, 2005

U.S. OFFICIAL: CANADIAN POT
NO SOFT DRUG
(MarijuanaNews note: Could
this have been a signal from the Sun headline writer that this is BS?)

White House Drug Czar Claims High-Powered Marijuana
Sends Teens To Emergency Wards

WASHINGTON — The number of
American teenagers and adults who are ending up in emergency wards or seeking
treatment because of marijuana use has soared in recent years and seems linked
to the “dramatically” growing influx of high-test Canadian pot, the White House
drug czar said Thursday.

John Walters estimated the industry is also
funnelling “billions” of dollars into the pockets of organized crime north of
the border and said Canadian prosecutors tell him they
need tougher laws to combat the growing-operations bonanza.

“It has grown dramatically,” he said of the northern
pot trade.

The elevated THC content –
which is the active ingredient in pot — of Canadian marijuana means it can no
longer be considered a soft drug, argued Walters, director of the White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy.

His concerns, voiced
at a news conference, reflect a growing anxiety
among some politicians and government officials in the United States about
Canada, a country not traditionally viewed as a major
supplier of drugs.
(MarijuanaNews note: Perhaps
because it is not??)

The export of ecstasy pills made in Canadian labs and
of the chemical ingredients of illicit narcotics, such as methamphetamine, have
also caught the attention of the Americans, as underlined in a State Department
report released last week.
See

Meth and Marijuana. Now: How the Narks Created Crank in Canada. The Iron Law of
Drug Prohibition. The Inescapable Economics Of Contraband.

and

Marijuana Bigger Problem Than Meth? DEAland And The Bush Administration Have a
Very Serious Walters Problem. We Couldn’t Make This Up!

But Walters focused Thursday
on marijuana.
See

The Drug Czar Harvests BC Bud Propaganda Campaign At Canadian Border. The Jails
Are Full, But He Likes That.

The number of Americans
admitted to hospital emergency wards because of marijuana use has doubled to
120,000 annually in the last five years, he said.
(MarijuanaNews note: Then it must be true?? No,
that number refers to the number of mentions of marijuana by people visiting
emergency rooms. It has nothing to do with the reason for their being
“admitted.”)
See

Cannabis Prohibition Prostitutes Science In New Emergency Dept. Data. Hiding the
Truth Behind A Cloud of Lies.
and

“Marijuana Isn’t Harmless.” Okay, But Why Isn’t It Sold Over the Counter? Or
Would You Ban Something That Causes 300,000 ER Visits Every Year, And Kills A
Child Every Month? (Trick Question)

Meanwhile, the number of teenagers seeking treatment
for marijuana dependency has grown to the point where it is more than for all
other drugs combined, including alcohol, said the official.
(MarijuanaNews note: Then it
must be true?? No, the reason for the increase in “treatment” for marijuana
dependency is that people who are arrested with small amounts of cannabis are
given a choice between “treatment” and jail.)
See

Walters Tells a New Lie. Oh Happy Day! People Need Treatment If They Are Sent to
Treatment, By Definition. And How Do They Treat “Marijuana Addicts?” We Couldn’t
Make This Up, But They Did.
and

Reported Treatment Admissions for Marijuana Use
and from Brian Bennett:

Dawn ED Marijuana Mentions (1995 - 2002)

The phenomenon has paralleled
a growing potency of marijuana available in the North America, from containing
one to two per cent THC less than a decade ago to eight to nine per cent and, in
some cases, 20 per cent or more in recent years, he said.
(MarijuanaNews note: Then it
must be true?? Not even close. Since the early 1980s, the THC content was around
3%, according to the official US government data based on the University of
Mississippi Potency Monitoring Project. Moreover, there is essentially no
difference between cannabis grown in the US and that grown in Canada. Insofar as
growers use the same genetics and the same methods.)

Speaking of fake news,
See

Time Magazine Reports BC Bud 20% Less Potent Than Four Years Ago?? Incompetent
Prohibitionist Propaganda and Even Worse Journalism. As Some Reporters Die to
Find the Truth Others Live to Lie.
Also from Brian Bennett
See

Marijuana Potency Through the Years

Other countries, such as Mexico, do supply such
high-powered marijuana, Walters acknowledged. “But the big new factor on the
scene is . . . the enormous growth of very high potency marijuana coming from
Canada.”

(MarijuanaNews note: Then it
must be true??

From

the RCMP website:
“Increasingly, Canadian
marihuana is being referred to as “high-grade,” with reported THC levels
averaging 20percent or more. It should be pointed out, however, that such
statements are not quite accurate. According to Health Canada official
laboratory analyses of marihuana (grown outdoor and indoor) samples since 1998,
THC levels average 10 percent. One single marihuana exhibit in the last
two-years did test at a THC level of 27 percent. However, the majority, or some
60 percent of exhibits, recorded THC levels of 9 percent or less, and 32
percent of exhibits had THC levels of between 10 percent and 14 percent.”

Or this on the US DEA’s website:
“Between 1998 and 2002, NIDA-sponsored Marijuana
Potency Monitoring System
(MPMP) analyzed 4,603 domestic samples. Of those samples, 379 tested over
15 percent THC, 69 samples tested between 20 and 25 percent THC and four
samples tested over 25 percent THC.”

In other words, less than ten
percent of cannabis tested in the US was over 15% THC. It is also very unlikely
that American teens are using the most expensive cannabis. Of course, more
potent cannabis is not more dangerous. Prohibition makes it impossible to know
the potency, which does create a risk for inexperienced users.)
See

Fantasy and Reality in UN and US Reports on The Global Drug War. The Real
Numbers Are There. DEAland is The World’s Largest Producer, Importer, and
Consumer of Cannabis.

He said most people,
especially those who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, view marijuana as a soft
drug that does not warrant much concern. But the higher potency means that one
in five pot-smoking Americans age 12 to 17 progress to needing treatment or
“intervention” for marijuana abuse, he said.
See

Dan Forbes Documents Walters’ Lies About Potency. Understanding That The War On
Cannabis Is Built On Lies Is Key to Understanding More Than Just Drug War.

A spokesman for the Canadian
Embassy in Washington said Thursday that Canadian marijuana still only
accounts for one to two per cent of the product sold in the
U.S., while Canada
imports most of its cocaine from the U.S….
Copyright: 2005 The Vancouver Sun
(MarijuanaNews note: At the
very end of the second article is a fact from the Canadian government that made
clear both of these articles are based on a false premise. Oh, never mind! But
somehow one almost expects the reporter to say that he wiped the tears from the
Drug Czar’s cheeks. However, there was really nothing new in any of these
stories.)
From 2000,
See

ABCNEWS Joins the Prohibitionist Propaganda Chorus on BC Bud: “Rocket Ship
Marijuana”
and

The Boston Globe Wins Another Reefer Madness Award With Its Prohibitionist
Propaganda On Manitoba Marijuana.
and

Canada’s National Post Parrots UN Prohibitionist Propaganda In Two Shameful
Articles