SASKATCHEWAN MARIJUANA PARTY
THANKS THE NDP FOR THEIR SUPPORT
OF MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

November 19, 2021 : For Immediate Release

Saskatoon, SK – The Saskatchewan Marijuana Party (SKMP) wishes to extend its congratulations to the SK NDP for passing a resolution calling for an end to marijuana prohibition, during their annual convention held in Saskatoon this weekend.

The NDP resolution reads: “BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Saskatchewan NDP support the federal NDP's call for a non-punitive approach to cannabis law, including elimination of all penalties for personal cultivation and possession by adults, and actively work to institute non-punitive cannabis policies at the provincial level.”

The resolution passed with a near unanimous vote.

“Only seven months after the official registration of the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party, we are pleased to see that the NDP is already adopting parts of our platform,” said Jonathan Bodvarson, SKMP President.

“While the NDP are moving in positive direction, action to reduce the harms associated with prohibition are needed immediately,” added Bodvarson. “The Saskatchewan Marijuana Party is ready and willing to work with the NDP, to turn this resolution into reality.”

The Saskatchewan Marijuana Party is a registered provincial political party which promotes marijuana legal reform, and preservation of the civil liberties afforded to every Canadian. A half-dozen SKMP members attended the NDP convention as Observers.

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For more information:

Jonathan Bodvarson
President, Sask. Marijuana Party
tel 306-229-2265

    This great victory would not have been possible without the work of Ben Greer, the President of eNDP Prohibition  Saskatchewan, and Dana Larsen, eNDP Prohibition's founders. Ben Greer, tabled and proposed the resolution and Dana provided the much needed moral support. Thanks to you guys! 

  (Calvert, Greer, and Larsen)

The Full wording of Justice resolution 2 went as follows : 

    WHEREAS cannabis has a long history of social, religious and medicinal use in a wide variety of cultures around the world;  

    WHEREAS government figures estimate 3 million Canadians or 14% of Canada's population are current cannabis users, and about 45% of Canadians have used cannabis during their lifetime, and that virtually all these people are otherwise law-abiding citizens; 

    WHEREAS numerous public opinion polls conducted since 2000 show that most Canadians support eliminating criminal penalties for cannabis;

    WHEREAS the value of the Canadian cannabis industry is estimated at between 5 and 20 billion dollars, and that if taxed and regulated this industry would generate substantial revenues for provincial and court time and resources,

    WHEREAS the two major Canadian studies into the effects of cannabis and cannabis law, the 1971 LeDain Commission and the 2002 Canadian Senate Report, both recommended removing punishment for personal cultivation and possession, with the Senate report also recommending that cannabis should be regulated and made legally available to adults, 

    WHEREAS Canada's federal NDP advocates for non-punitive cannabis legislation, and in February 2006, the BC NDP passed a resolution showing their support for non-punitive marijuana laws,

     THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Saskatchewan NDP support the Federal NDP's call for a non-punitive approach to cannabis law, including elimination of all penalties for personal cultivation and possession by adults, and actively work to institute non-punitive cannabis policies at the provincial level.

This passed! Now all Cannabis activists in Saskatchewan need to pressure the NDP to follow through with this resolution. Here at the SKMP, we will provide the road map by providing ways a province can set the ground for fairer laws to Cannabis users. Priority bars set with the provincial contract with the RCMP for arresting Cannabis users and personal growers is one step. As well as providing support for the City Police to do the same. There are avenues to follow in the provinces control of Health, Education, Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Rehabilitation centers. Other efforts like lobbying the Federal Government to make  further amendments to the Controlled Drug and Substances Act, and lobbying the International Community to change their direction in 2008 at a United Nations for a new global drug policy. The SKMP wants to navigate the efforts of the provincial government in the right direction.