Powerful By Nature - Weed Legalization & Criminalization

By -

Date:  May 13th, 2019
Hosts:  Shuhita & Nicole


Guests: Caryma Sa'd, Criminal Lawyer

Topic: Weed Legalization & Criminalization

On May 13th, we decided to talk about weed legalization and criminalization. Recreational cannabis was legalized on October 17, 2018 in Canada however, it was not decriminalized. For example, it is illegal to possess more than 30 grams of dried cannabis, to grow more than 4 plants per residence, and it remains illegal to sell cannabis. 

An estimated 500,000 Canadians already have a criminal record for possessing this now-legal drug. Although the federal government has said they will pardon Canadians with a record for simple pot possession, how accessible and just that process will be remains questionable. Charges for marijuana possession have disproportionality effected racialized communities, especially black and Indigenous people, and black and Indigenous people are given longer criminal sentences for cannabis related offenses. For example, a 2017 Toronto Star analysis found that black people in that city with no criminal record were three times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than their white peers. We brought in Caryma Sa'd, a criminal lawyer who is devoted to defending civil liberties especially related to drug offenses to talk to us about weed legalization, criminalization and racism and the pardon process. We finished the show with a discussion with youth about their experiences with marijuana and their thoughts of weed legalization and criminalization. Listen here: https://www.regentparkfocus.com/radio/media/jessies/2019-05-13.mp3 _________________________         


To learn more about Jessie’s Centre and/or the Community Education Program, please visit: www.jessiescentre.org.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @PowerfulXNature
To connect with Carmya Sa'd find her on Twitter @CarymaRules or on her website: http://sadvocacy.com/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Camping with the Divas Girls Group

By -
Image
This past week the girls group headed to Guelph for a three day retreat to celebrate the end of this year’s program. It rained almost the entire time, but we still managed to have a great time! For many of the girls it was the first time they had been out of the city. They were excited to go canoeing, take part in a scavenger hunt and spend time in the conservation area exploring and drawing in their sketch books. Because of the rain we also came up with lots of creative ways to have fun inside. We painted tote bags, learned to cook lots of delicious food, and put on a “Kids Canadian Idol” show. The girls all said they wished the trip could have been longer and were already planning next year’s trip on the way home.
Read more

Catch da Flava - Discussing Mental Helath and Peacebuilders

By -
Image
On today's Catch da Flava radio show for Tuesday, January 14, 2020, we focused on two separate but intertwined issues. They were youth mental health and the youth justice system. Our hosts were Shajuanah and Jamelia with co-hosts Kaila, Thalia, and Fazra. Our guests for the mental health segment was Michelle Cauch, a Student Success Advisor at Centennial College and Michelle Galeotalanza, a mental health professional and professor at Centennial College. They discussed what is mental health, why is youth mental health important, why is youth mental health different from the other age groups, what are the major youth mental health issues, where should the youth get help, how can they seek trusting professionals to speak to on issues of mental health? These were just a few of the many interesting topics and questions we discussed. Our guest for the next segment was Rachelle Bloomfield, a staff, leader, and counselor at Peacebuilders. Peacebuilders is a nonprofit organization
Read more

Catch da Flava - Pro-Life and Pro-Choice

By -
Catch da Flava’s topic for our third week was abortion, from how to get an abortion in Canada, the Unplanned pro-life film, and people’s personal opinions about pro-life and pro-choice. The hosting was done by André and Iman since I lost my voice, but I was still there listening to the conversation. Our 11 am to 12 pm timeslot was slightly hijacked in the beginning by our guest Minerva Navasca, who wished a very happy 19th birthday to our other guest Lorena Florea. Happy birthday Lorena, you’re finally 19! After we got the show back on track Minerva and Lorena gave their opinions about being pro-choice, and how the pro-life side is adapting to the times. We also discussed the Unplanned movie, an adaptation about Abby Johnson’s switch from pro-choice to pro-life. After Lorena and Minerva, we had Carolyn Egan from Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada to answer some questions about the current abortion system in Canada and what their organization is doing to help women. Carolyn also
Read more