Canada’s ‘Prince of Pot’ celebrates court’s medical marijuana decision

The country’s highest court has ruled that medical marijuana cannot be limited under the law to just dried cannabis. The ruling allows patients to use all forms of the drug, including cannabis oil, which will allow consumption of baked goods.

Yahoo Canada News spoke to the self-described “Prince of Pot,” Marc Emery, about the ruling and about his campaign to legalize the drug.

Q: What is your reaction to the Supreme Court’s ruling today on the definition of medical marijuana?

A: The great thing is that it was unanimous. All nine – francophone, Anglophone, male, female – all agreed the government’s current program is simply inadequate. The laws that prohibit access to the most complete array of medical material is unconstitutional. And it’s pretty final. There is nothing more to debate. Every kind of cannabinoid ought to be available to anybody with a medical need for it in Canada.

Q: What’s next?

A: This kind of gatekeeper mentality is what government is founded on. Government is all about control. This took down their ability to control so our next struggle is to make it that every Canadian can access all these products for whatever good reason they deem – not just because it’s good medically, but good therapeutically, good psychologically. It will be good to have more Canadians with access to marijuana from reliable and trusted sources, where you can measure the dosage and know where you getting it from, local businesses, where most of those baked goods will come from.

Q: Do you see this a step toward decriminalization?

A: Decriminalization is really not where we’re going. We want complete ‘de-stigmatization’ and legalization.

People still have these clichés and stereotypes about the kind of person that uses marijuana and that they’re committing a moral failure or a sin. For example, the idea that marijuana impairs you is completely unacceptable to us. We won’t fully get normalization until people realize that we don’t take marijuana to impair ourselves. Nobody does that. We take marijuana to become more self-aware and get more in touch with what we’re doing in our lives.

Our job is much like it was with homosexuality, anti-semitism and women’s rights and other struggles: We have to explain to people that what we’re asking for is normalization. We don’t want you to spite us and sneer at us.

Q: How does Canada compare to the U.S. right now?

A: We have several state initiatives coming up next year to legalize marijuana – a total of eight will be on ballots, including California, that’s pretty huge. We have medical initiatives on in other states. Every state legislature has some representative trying to legalize marijuana.

You have cities like Detroit and Vancouver and Victoria, legislating a legalization program of their own.

This is happening in Europe, too, and it’s going to continue happening with a faster and faster wave of events.

Q: Do you think the next step you’re looking for is imminent?

A: It is. We’ll see complete legalization around the world in the next two to five years. It will happen so rapidly people will be astonished.

[Emery says the influx of international corporate interest and corporate cash in the marijuana industry will make it increasingly difficult for lawmakers to ban marijuana.]

The money will begin to be more confused as it crosses borders so the governments are going to be compelled to legalize it, to normalize that trade of money and, ultimately, diminish the impact of the cartels.

But don’t think that the cartels by now haven’t already invested in the legitimate industry and are beginning to influence that debate.

Legalization will achieve all its ends: it will turn gangsters into businessmen and that means they won’t be using violence anymore; they’ll be using the marketplace and the courts. And that’s exactly what the end of prohibition is supposed to do.

Q: What is the next pivotal moment?

A: The upcoming Federal Court ruling in the Allard case on the right of medical patients to grow their own pot. I’m sure the Federal Court will uphold the earlier decision that people should be able to grow their own marijuana if they have been growing it up until now. The government can’t take that away from them.

Q: When do you expect that decision?

A: That decision will probably be in September.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: Emery plans a 40-city tour across Canada in August and September to encourage people to vote in the upcoming federal election.

“And not [to drum up support] for anybody in particular. I even have a message for Conservative voters because polls show even the majority of Conservative voters want to legalize pot. There is no demographic left that supports prohibition in Canada.

Q: But the current government has been quite clear with its approach toward marijuana use.

A: They’re going down with the ship. That’s not a political party that readily changes what its strategy has been. They stick to the tried and true. It’s too late for them.