Dutch01

There currently isn't a roadside test, no. Several companies are working on one though. I'm not sutre why that should be a roadblock to legalization. There's currently no roadside test for how long you have been awake, no test for cough medicine or legal opiate's such as oxycodone, etc. Also, under current law, an officer can charge you for impaired driving under the influence of marijuana solely based on his observations/professional opinion. If you have an accident then they can blood test you as well.

Most polls I read still put a third or so of the country in the anti-legalization camp. On the plus side, I do believe that number is going to dwindle further with time. I agree with you regarding impaired driving, but I don't consider that issue to be related specifically to weed. We should add texting, reading the newspaper, putting on lipstick and every other kind of distraction or impairment to that list (you wouldn't believe the things I see Toronto drivers do!). Driving is a privilege (legally speaking), and with freedom comes responsibility. I guess that's kind of my point. Hold people responsible for their own actions. Don't hold me responsible for what others might do. Impaired driving can't be the "reason" (excuse) for not legalizing. Impaired driving is dangerous and illegal. Increase enforcement, increase penalties. If we as a society limit the most responsible of our citizens to only the freedoms that the least responsible can handle, we wouldn't be a free society at all.

Bill, clearly I misread you on this, my apologies. I'll edit my post accordingly! Dutch PS: I like a good rye whiskey now and then too. If you want to try something new, try it on ice with coconut water. Rum is even better like this.

Bill, The tone of your post leads me to believe you're in the "anti" camp. If I'm wrong then the rest of my comment will miss the mark, but I'm going to go there anyways... An open question for the "anti" camp I had a hard week at work. We all do, that's nothing special or deserving of any sympathy. I'm just setting the tone here. I have too many vacation days left (I have to use them or lose them), so I booked today off at the last minute. This morning I slept in a little. When got up, I made a coffee and went out back on the patio to have a little puff. I sat out there for about an hour. It was cold, but warm enough sitting in the sun. The air was crisp and fresh. I listened to the birds sing, and paid attention to the sights and sounds of the forest. I felt the stress of the week melt away, and I felt fully present in the moment and connected to the world around me. I'm recharged, literally. I'm curious if you can tell me, did my actions this morning affect you in any way? Did they affect society in any way? Have I been unreasonable in my actions or in any way overstepped the freedoms I have (or should have) in this country? I ask because I'm not sure what skin you have in the game. I want to understand what makes people so against my freedom on this issue.

Aww shucks, you guys are gonna make me blush ?

Thank you! I'm very passionate about this issue, so I apologize to those that think I've hijacked the thread, but it's nice to know some of you see it my way too.

So he was fishing, and I bit? Dang, this thread IS fishing related

Lucas, my cousin passed away from MS about three years ago. Her quantity and quality of life were improved immeasurably by marijuana. No one who watched what she went through could tell her she shouldn't use weed unless they had a heart of stone. I wish you the best of luck with your Dad's cousin.

I don't think I missed your point but rather was making a different point. I am not a medical marijuana patient, and I'm not trying to use "medical marijuana" in order to "back door" recreational legalization. I do not accept that our government (who govern by our leave) has any right to restrict my personal use of marijuana for any purpose. Full stop.

You are 100% on point here. Big pharma is against legalization because they cannot patent marijuana. Plain and simple. Prescription drug overdoses cause 23.6 deaths per 100,000 people every year in Canada (Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2789126/). To put that in perspective, many on this very site have ranted about the "rampant" gun killings in the USA recently. Homicides by gun in the USA occur at a rate of about 3.5 homicides per 100,000 people (source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/homicide.htm) According to these stats, we have an epidemic of deaths by prescription overdose. But by all means, lets listen to these drug companies say "weed is bad, Mmmkay?" while they wash the blood off of their hands.

He absolutely has a right to an opinion. I also have the right to hold him accountable for the odious nature of said opinion.

You're the guy who made the derogatory slur about Wynne right? If so, I'm not interested in what you bring to the table. If I am wrong and it wasn't you then I apologize.

Since your primary criteria appears to be safety, I assume you support full prohibition for alcohol, cigarettes, transfats and any recreational activity that can lead to harm? Trudeau is not an "admitted pot head". He admitted to using it once after a dinner party. More than 3 million Canadians have admitted to trying pot in their lives, so he is not alone. As for the USA, they are leading the charge right now and we are behind the curve. Finally, and the most fundamental issue for me, is the matter of civil liberty. I do not accept this government's right to infringe on my civil liberties unless they can show demonstrable harm to society will result. No government hearings of this sort have ever made the determination that my personal pot use causes harm to society (quite the opposite in fact, see the Le Dain commission). Further, I do not accept unequal treatment under the law. If alcohol, which is demonstrably harmful, is legal, then the government cannot make a case that pot prohibition is about the degree to which a drug (which alcohol also is) is harmful. I do not agree with organized religion (and on another day in another forum I could perhaps make the case it is more harmful than pot), but I will fight for your right to believe and worship because I believe I have to live and let live. The same can be said of those here who in recent weeks have used derogatory slurs against Wynne. I despise the woman personally, but I respect her right to sleep with whom she wants. We, as Canadians, have to decide if we want a truly free society. If the answer is yes, you are going to have to tolerate some things you don't like (as others may have to tolerate your lifestyle choices that they may disagree with). That's the kind of Canada that I want to live in. How about you?

Deleted x2 post, sorry.

First, no one is advocating making it available to kids, that is pure Harper propaganda. Canada has the highest per capita use of marijuana in the developed world, despite many decades of prohibition. Kids can already get it more readily than beer or alcohol. In fact, a high school is probably the easiest place in Canada to get pot. Continuing with the status quo is not a solution to what you consider to be a problem. Let's look at smoking cigarettes as a comparable. For decades smoking rates have been falling due to an effective education campaign. How about we do the same with pot and see if it works since the status quo has not made a dent in usage rates? Also, as posted above, pot use among youth is correlated with schizophrenia, but correlation is not the same as causation. Pot does not cause schizophrenia, period. It can only advance the onset of it. It's important to be clear about that point. We cannot base sound public policy on propaganda and lies. Finally, the majority of mass shooters in the USA do not suffer from schizophrenia, this just isn't factual and unfairly stigmatizes those suffering from this debilitating disease.

This was my deal breaker with Harper. In past I held my nose and voted for him because I bought the party line that he believed in smaller government and not spending more than you make. In fact, he added greatly to our debt, and added tens of thousands of federal civil servants. Last week he claimed that science has "proven" that marijuana is "infinitely worse than alcohol or cigarettes". When pressed to cite one source, he couldn't, and said he would "defer to Health Canada". FYI, Health Canada concedes that there's not one recorded death due to marijuana, while millions have been killed by alcohol/tobacco. So here is a man who will lie about facts in order to restrict my rights because of his beliefs. Additionally, since he is so keen to go with the science, what about all the science on climate change? Oh don't worry, that science doesn't jibe with his beliefs either so it is also ignored. When you are willing to ignore facts to rule according to your beliefs, your are no different - NO DIFFERENT - than Saudi Arabia. It's unacceptable, and he had to go. All of you guys claiming the sky is going to fall are drinking the Harper Koolaid. Trudeau can hardly do worse.

Thanks Dan. Quite a few people offline saying I'm crazy there's no bobcats in southern Ontario. Glad to hear I'm not the only person to have seen one.

You're right, I didn't really see a tail at all (it was dark). I know it wasn't a cougar it wasn't quite big enough and no long tail. I really thought bobcat or lynx right away but wasn't sure they can be seen around here...

Wouldn't want to hit one of those with my truck! I wish I got a better look at this thing. I'm sure it was a big cat.....

Driving home from my favorite Kawartha lake late last night (around 100am) when a very, very large cat ran across the road in front of my truck. This was east of Beaverton. I see coyotes and bears up there all the time and I KNOW it wasn't one of those.. I don't think it was large enough to be a cougar, and it didn't have a long enough tail. Had anyone ever seen a lynx or bobcat this far south before?

Try Port Perry Auto Glass by the beer store. They do marine upholstery and I think covers too.

I haven't (yet) had a single problem with mine. And it was only $143 end of season at LeBaron.....

This!

I have an HT 3 man popup hut. It's not the Ritz but I really haven't had any problems with it for whatever that's worth.

Yes, because no one ever commented on Rob Ford's appearance.....