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Welcome to 420 B.C. This site currently functions as a repository for news and scientific information pertaining to the battle to legalize marijuana , with a focus on Canada and British Columbia. For the most up-to-date news check out the live RSS news feed below. Latest Noteworthy News: October 27, 2008: Ottawa's monopoly on medical pot broken by a Federal Court of Appeal decision rejecting the federal government's argument that their monopoly somehow benefited patients by ensuring a steady supply.  April 9, 2007: Online
Jewish culture portal Jewcy.com reports on how marijuana improves
the parenting experience. February 18, 2007: It's official—BC smokes the most pot in Canada. December 19, 2006: Marijuana is the most lucrative US cash crop, reports Reuters. No prizes for guessing this, just as there is no prize for guessing B.C.'s most lucrative crop. Thus is explained the rancour felt by those who have "cops, tryin' to snatch [their] crops." Parallels with alcohol prohibition are highly relevant. August 5, 2006: The UK Times seems to have declared war on marijuana with a series of editorials demonizing the herb (see also the unintentionally hilarious Thomas Stuttaford editorial which evokes Reefer Madness). The chief argument appears to be that marijuana is not harmless (Stuttaford's article goes one step further to rehash the disproven 1970s myth that marijuana affects fertility). Somehow this is major news to the Times—would someone please point out to them that whether marijuana is mildly harmful is irrelevant to the question of whether adults should be free to use it if they make an informed choice to do so? No mention is made of the fact that alcohol and tobacco are also, shock horror, not harmless. March 21, 2006: The BBC reports on Canada's marijuana "problem" today, in a reasonable summary of the issue. A highlight is the laughable position taken by the police and the Conservatives in the article—that of simultaneously condemning organized crime's involvement, and recommending against legalization. March 5, 2006: Psychiatry Research reports further weakening of the schizophrenia link theory in March 2005's issue (apologies, only abstract is available). Funnily enough, this particular research has not been widely reported, contradicting as it does one of the few scaremongering arguments still used in the US and UK against marijuana use. The article concludes: "...the onset of schizotypal symptoms generally precedes the onset of cannabis use. The findings do not support a causal link between cannabis use and schizotypal traits." March 2, 2006: A 420bc.ca Editor has written a letter to Montréal MPs condemning the recent arrest of the Heaven's Stairway marijuana seed company owners. We encourage you to do the same! January 7, 2006: Jesus was a medical marijuana advocate and user, says a professor of classical mythology at Boston University—the Guardian reports. January 5, 2006: The Independent reports on UK government dithering about the recent decision to downgrade "cannabis" from a class B to class C drug. It did seem at the time like a startlingly common-sense and progressive position for Labour to take. The new uncertainty is due to the tenuous research alleging a causal link between marijuana and mental illness, a prime example of an association being confused with causality. November 15, 2005: An article in the Vancouver Sun concerning a police raid on a Vancouver legal medical grow seems to be largely unavailable online due to the subscriber-only blocking of the Sun's website. So, it's reproduced without permission on our Articles page. October 23, 2005: Health Officers Council of British Columbia have released a report entitled A Public Health Approach To Drug Control In Canada (PDF file), which revisits many of the arguments made time and time again by academics and scientists the world over in favour of treating recreational drug use as a societal and health reality rather than a criminal issue. Will the weak-willed Canadian government ever ignore pressure from the fascist US Drug War regime long enough to act on such research? Don't hold your breath. October 19, 2005: Canadian Doctors Jittery On Pot The Canadian Medical Protective Association and the Canadian Medical Association warn members of liability risks from prescribing pot as reported in this Globe and Mail article.  September 22, 2005: A co-op of 50
Canadian hemp growers plan one of the world's largest hemp processing
plants: the Parkland Industrial Hemp
Growers Co-op Limited. The photo at left depicts hemp home insulation,
which is touted as superior to fiberglass, not least for its non-itching
nature. |
 Hard Science
Corner: Full-text article download here of "Preliminary assessment of the efficacy, tolerability and safety of a cannabis-based medicine (Sativex) in the treatment of pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis" Full-text article download here of "Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects" 
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