Promoting environmental aspects and legalization goals of organizer
By Jarett Churchil
A proposed club at Ryerson is interested in encouraging the growth of a little more than just self-esteem.
“I want the club to raise public awareness and corporate awareness of the environment, economic, religious and medical uses of hemp,” said Neev Tapiero, the third-year technical theatre student behind the idea of a hemp awareness club.
Tapiero needs at least 20 signatures to apply for a student club at Ryerson. He has about nine.
“What I need are genuinely interested people. What I don’t want this to be is a stoners club.”
Hemp, which comes from marijuana plants, can be used to make textiles, plastics and paper with little harm to the environment. Tapiero points out that three times more paper can be produced from an acre of hemp than an acre of trees.
“Hemp will replace all the fossil fuels, many wood products and many plastic products,” Tapiero said. “What we need to do is convenience industries to switch to this non-toxic, environmentally friendly plant.”
There is a stigma attached to the plant and Tapiero thinks a club, “can halt all the misinformation about hemp.”
As for those who say such a club is just a mask, Tapiero replied, “those people probably don’t know much about hemp other than smoking it.”
Tapiero wants the club to inform people about current issues involving hemp.
In 1981, Prime Minister Jean Chretien (then Minister of Justice), in reference to hemp, said “we want to change the form of the penalty and modernize it… We do think that once in a while we have to modernize laws which have been on the books for so long and do not cope with the realities as they exist.”
Pro-hemp activists are using this quote to encourage the Prime Minister to review Bill C-7 which would redefine “Sharing a joint” as “Trafficking” and carry a maximum sentence of 14 years.
“It’s in your face hypocrisy,” Tapiero said. “People are getting busted for something the Prime Minister himself does not mind.”
The club will also promote awareness of decriminalization, the first step to legalization.
In the April 1995 edition of Cannabis Canada a report appeared on the findings of the BC Chief Coroner’s report on overdose drug deaths. It recommended the BC Attorney General seriously inquire into the merits of legalizing the possession of marijuana and decriminalizing the use of “hard drugs” by those shown to be addicted to them.
“The Police are reluctant to charge for possession of marijuana anyway,” Tapiero said.
According to an RCMP officer “resin” is official grounds for a possession charge, but unofficially it is a judgement call.
“If some guy’s walking down the street smoking a roach, people expect you to do something,” said the Mountie. “But then you’ve lost two officers from the street filling out paper work and the judge will probably throw it out anyway.”
The club hasn’t run into any real opposition yet.
“When I asked the people at RyeSAC, some people were supportive, some people were ‘Hah’ing. It’s a controversial subject.”
If you’re interested in getting information about the club, contact Tapiero through the Internet at ntapiero@acs.ryerson.ca.
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