George Graham

Sense and Nonsense

pot2

Why does it seem to me that America’s northern border is becoming a line between sense and nonsense? Why do Canadians seem increasingly practical and reasonable and Americans increasingly susceptible to whim and fantasy?

Do you believe for a second that Donald Trump could get nominated for any public office in Canada?

Can you imagine the Tea Party flourishing in the True North?

Not a chance. Canadians would just laugh at such nonsense.

In Canada, which has just rejected a ten-year experiment in “conservative” government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is planning to legalize marijuana use.

Meanwhile, Canadians are still being prosecuted for possessing the “wisdom weed.”

So what does a judge in Gatineau, Quebec do when he must sentence a man for growing pot? He scoffs at the absurdity of the law and fines the man a measly $1.30. That’s $1.30 Canadian – about  a buck in American money.

In announcing the fine, Judge Pierre Chevalier called Canada’s marijuana laws “antiquated and ridiculous.”

The same could – and should – be said about America’s marijuana laws.

Only in the US do you have a legal crazy quilt in which you can be prosecuted by the feds for using marijuana in a state where it’s been legalized.  How ridiculous! How antiquated!

But with the kind of blind prejudice that increasingly passes for thought in so much of America, it’s no more than I have come to expect.

Click for the news story.

About the author

gwgraeme

I am a Jamaican-born writer who has lived and worked in Canada and the United States. I live in Lakeland, Florida with my wife, Sandra, our three cats and two dogs. I like to play golf and enjoy our garden, even though it's a lot of work. Since retiring from newspaper reporting I've written a few books. I also write a monthly column for Jamaicans.com