See
Lynn Harichy Says
That There Is No Point In Denying Medicinal Marijuana
and
Canadian MS
Patient Harichy Frustrated: "How naive I am. This issue is a full-time job without
pay."
But She Perseveres!
and
Canadian Court
Delays Trial Of MS Patient Harichy
Until Province’s Top Court Has Ruled On Medical Defense Issue.
and
Canadian MS
Patient Harichy To Begin Buyers Club Without Store:
"We Don’t Want Buyers Scared By Police"
and
Canadian MS Patient
Harichy: "We Don’t Want To Be Criminals But There Is A Necessity For It."
and
Canadian Health
Minister Says He Is "Taking Seriously"
Plea By MS Patient Harichy To Legalize Medical Marijuana
July 21, 1998
From the London Free Press
Editorial
letters@lfpress.com
http://www.canoe.ca/LondonFreePress/home.html(Ed. note: This editorial is an excellent example of moral muddle. On
the one hand they recognize that the police should have priorities, but they are not
willing to devote the hard thought to the matter to realize that laws have to have a moral
foundation. To paraphrase their opening sentence, there is justice and then there is
injustice.)
NO NEED TO PANIC OVER POT CLUB
There’s crime and then there’s crime.
In the grand scheme of things, a medical marijuana buyer’s club, the London
Cannabis Compassion Centre, while certainly illegal, isn’t really much of a crime.
The backers of the London pot club, Lynn and Mike Harichy, have a history of advocating
for the medical use of marijuana. Lynn Harichy has said smoking up to five joints a day
helps ease her multiple sclerosis symptoms.
Others believe it can ease symptoms associated with cancer, AIDS and epilepsy.
But there is no agreement in the medical community that is the
case, which is why it has not yet been legalized for medical purposes.
(Ed. note: Is there unanimity in the medical community for
all other treatments? Are all other drugs 100% safe and 100% effective? Is there unanimity
about the benefit of arresting sick people for their own good? This is slovenly thinking.)
Opening the club, and publicizing it, is just an extension of the Harichys’
protest of this state of affairs.
London Police Chief Julian Fantino knows this club is basically
part of a wider protest and has wisely decided to respond in kind. While noting that
selling marijuana, for any purpose, is illegal, he’s not rushing to arrest anybody.
At least for now.
That’s only right.
The police have a lot of crimes to be concerned about, many of a
more violent and pressing nature than a small group of people distributing very
small amounts of marijuana in a peaceful manner.
But the Harichys should take careful note of Fantino’s exact words on this club:
"If laws are being broken, at the appropriate time the issue will be addressed."
Protesters who venture into illegal activities to make a point
must be prepared to pay a price. That price may not come in a blaze of public glory, but
in a quiet trip to jail.
(Ed. note: First, this is insulting. There is absolutely no
indication that the Harichys are in this for "glory." Second, whether or not the
public reacts is a measure of the public’s conscience, not the moral worth of the
act. The mob jeered Jesus.
Third, before the age of the Internet, when we had to depend on editors to tell us what
the "news" is – and is not – then, someone might have had to go
quietly. No more.)
Copyright © 1998, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Supported