It has been a while. I won't bore you with my excuses ...
Endless rain, a couple of hail storms, 40C temperatures have all had thier effect on my modest hemp crop. The hail storm damaged a lot of plants, but the ones that survived are growing strong.
Here are some pictures from today:
A couple of letters were published today in the Regina Leader Post and the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, respectively.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Marijuana and free speech
Published Letter
The Regina Leader-Post
As one of the protesters at the high school in Wawota in support of student Kieran King's civil liberties on June 12, I felt like I was in Selma, Alabama, in the 1960s or in the Soweto township in South Africa in the 1980s.
But this was Wawota, Saskatchewan, in 2007 with the Parkland high school under lockdown because a handful of patriotic Canadians had chosen to highlight the anti-democratic jackboot policies of the school's principal.
We are told by our government that our troops in Afghanistan are killing and being killed for the "freedoms we all enjoy", but our children in Wawota are not permitted to discuss soft drug policy without fear of intimidation or harassment by their own teachers!
Perhaps we should redeploy our troops to Wawota from Kandahar to defend freedom and democracy closer to home. (OK, they have not been invited, but then again I don't think they were invited to Afghanistan either).
For our desire to demand freedom of speech, we were accused of being "B.C. hippies" intent on spreading the "drug culture" -- this by a so-called public health nurse who seemed to make herself some self-appointed spokesperson for Wawota's parents.
Instead of discussing her perspective in a reasonable and constructive way, she yelled at us and attempted to belittle us with inferences of being alien and foreign.
This is something -- despite being born here -- I have had thrown at me a fair amount for "my different ways" in this province. It has been used to assail me, marginalize me and degrade me, but the anger and hate I felt in Wawota was the closest I have felt to being overwhelmed by such sentiment. All this because a modest number of folks from around the province wished to defend the right of a young man to explore all sides of an issue.
What is our beautiful, once-free nation becoming? A land of fascist-inspired no-fly lists where you cannot even discuss the potential rationalities of a nonprohibitionist soft-drug policy in a place of education?
May the spirits of true democracy and truly free education save us from ourselves!
Richard Wooldridge
Edenwold
Contact: letters@leaderpost.canwest.com
Contact: http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/letters.html
reginaleaderpost
The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon, SK)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Principal violates rights
The StarPhoenix
Published: Tuesday, June 19, 2007
What kind of neo-Stalinist gulag is principal Susan Wilson running at Wawota Parkland School that she would suspend a student for espousing his views on marijuana?
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the right of all individuals to "freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression" -- and that includes students.
Rather than encouraging students to think for themselves, Wilson seems intent on fashioning them into mindless, obedient "citizens" who will accept the party line and always do what they're told.
She might be running the show at the school, but that doesn't allow her to violate her students' constitutional rights in the process. Perhaps, Comrade Wilson is the one in need of some "re-education."
Keith Solomon
Saskatoon
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007
An excellent LTE published in the National Post regarding Kieran King's fight tohave his voice heard:
Canada: PUB LTE: Student Role Model
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n722/a06.html
Newshawk: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
Rate this article Votes: 0
Pubdate: Sat, 16 Jun 2007
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2007 Southam Inc.
Contact: letters@nationalpost.com
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Kieran+King (Kieran King)
Author: Kenneth Tupper
STUDENT ROLE MODEL
Re: School Suspends Teen After Drug-linked Protest, June 14.
The core question raised by the case of the Saskatchewan student suspended for telling the truth about cannabis, contrary to drug-war orthodoxy, is whether public schools are institutions for education or indoctrination. Education encourages students to think for themselves, even if it means challenging received wisdom; indoctrination demands students unquestioningly accept the dogma of authorities.
In this case, sadly, it seems clear that Wawota Parkland School feels it is in the business of indoctrination. Kieran King deserves an apology ( and a scholarship ) for speaking truth to power. He has demonstrated the kind of integrity, courage and leadership Canadian schools should be rewarding, not punishing.
Kenneth Tupper, PhD student, Department of Educational Studies, University of British Columbia, Victoria.
***
Other media references to Kieran are recordedat mapinc.org.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Schools decision to muzzle student sets bad example
Editorial
The Saskatoon StarPhoenix
A form of reefer madness has hit the tiny town of Wawota, where the principal of the local Parkland School recently suspended a 15-year-old student who shared with friends his view that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco.
Grade 10 honours student Kieran King says the principal, Susan Wilson, threatened him with police action, and reportedly accused him of using and selling drugs at the school after he did some independent research into marijuana and decided to share his findings with other students.
"In my opinion, cannabis is safer than they say, it is not worse than alcohol or tobacco," says King, who insists he's not a pot-head and is willing to take a drug test to prove it.
"I've never smoked marijuana. I've never even seen it."
When King, who felt the principal had violated his right to free speech by asking him to stop sharing his views with other students, tried to organize a walkout at the school, the school went into lock-down mode, with teachers standing at doorways and threatening to punish any student who left.
Four students walked out, among them Kieran and his brother, Lucas.
While the King boys received three-day suspensions, the other two students returned to school and avoided punishment.
The suspension meant Kieran King, who was scheduled to leave for China on Thursday to attend a course, would miss his final exams.
His mother Jo Ann Buler, who is teacher within the school division that oversees Wawota School, is trying to negotiate with the school to have his final exams faxed to the Canadian embassy in Shanghai, but even if Kieran misses out on the 30 per cent, his marks now in the 80s and 90s are enough that he won't flunk Grade 10.
"The main purpose wasn't cannabis. It was the defence of freedom of speech. I believe we have a right to freedom of expression. I don't believe in vulgarity," he offered.
While it likely didn't help the youth's case when pro-marijuana activists showed up in the town of 500 to wave signs and shout into megaphones, King was absolutely right to defend his actions.
Unless the principal had evidence the boy was selling drugs -- his mother is adamant that, "I know my children don't smoke, drink or take drugs" -- she had no business either levelling the charge or trying to muzzle him from sharing his opinion, one that certainly isn't an outlandish exception in society today.
An education institution whose objective should be to foster independent thinking and research to mold bright young minds shouldn't be trying to herd kids' behind some line of intellectual conformity.
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
saskatoon starphoenix
Submitted LTE:
The invitation of marijuana activists from the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party (www.skmp.ca) and eNDProhibition (www.endprohibition.ca) resulted in the situation in Wawota coming to light. What is surprising is that no other political figures seem willing to defend core Canadian values.
Kieran King has his basic rights severely abused. First by being silenced, then with threats of legal action based on fabricated accusations, and finally by vindictively holding back his grades.
The attitudes that foster this type of 'reefer madness' are clear in the video footage. Your readers may find videos at http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=SaskMarijuanaParty.
Moe Brondum
North Battleford, Saskatchewan
Wow ... Wawota, Saskatchewan is about the unfriendliest town I know. In fact, it is the only place they lockdown the school every time a stranger comes to town. Here is the video explaining why the lockdown occured from a school official...
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
p.s. I am sure I would not want to get health care there either. Yikes!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSNucl6mJVw
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