When Hotbox Magazine was first conceived, it seemed like maybe it could work. Ten months later as the magazine prepares for launch, the economy is in the crapper, the Democrats have been restored to power in the United States, the Mexican drug war is spilling across the continent, and despite the massive decline of the print publishing industry, we endeavour to launch a print edition of this magazine. This means Hotbox comes at an auspicious time for the legalization movement, and offers something new to the community.

The North American war on drugs has been a war of attrition for as long as it has been going on, and the federal governments involved are the ones who are losing. Governments are realizing this to varying degrees, and we’ve seen strides towards decriminalization in both Canada and the United States. As the movement grows in strength, the war grows in futility.

The influence of marijuana users has been staggering in fighting back against prohibition. After U.S. President Barack Obama laughed off the popular question regarding legalization as saying something about the types of people on the Internet, donations to the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws quadrupled, and the movement’s resolve strengthened. The Obama administration has promised that prohibition laws will only be enforced in cases where both State and Federal law are being violated, and support for medicinal marijuana has been on the rise across the country, with States across the country debating legalization for medical use or decriminalization for personal use.

Following Michael Phelps’ sacking from a Kellogg’s sponsorship deal over a photograph of him taking a bong hit made it out into the public, a variety of boycotts were organized in opposition. Apparently the company had to open a separate line at their customer service desk to handle sudden increase in volume of complaints and has experienced profit loss.

With the economy doing badly, more and more politicians and commentators are looking towards the legalization of cannabis as a solution. Even Republican Ron Paul gone as far as proposing a bill with nine Democrat co-sponsors for the legalization of industrial hemp, which is currently illegal due to its connection to its smokeable relative.

Meanwhile, in Canada the state of prohibition laws is completely up in the air. Several key court decisions, especially in Ontario, have pushed toward legalization. In particular R. v. Parker 2000 Ontario Court of Appeal, R v. Long 2007 Ontario Court of Justice, and R. v. Bodnar/Hall/Spasic 2007 Ontario Court of Justice have all challenged possession laws as unconstitutional. Federally, Sfetkopoulos v. Canada 2008 Federal Court found that the government is unable to provide easily accessible medical marijuana to applicable patients under a single producer and patients are forced to illegally obtain their medicine, and this policy is also unconstitutional.

The Conservative government continues to propose tighter legislation, while the Greens and New Democrats are in favour of legalization and Liberals want it decriminalized. In 2003 and 2004, the Liberals proposed decriminalization legislation, but never made it to vote after parliament was prorogued and an election an election was called. Despite the Conservative government’s lack of interest, support for legalization in Canada continues to rise, evidenced by a June 2007 Angus Reid Global Monitor poll, which found 55 per cent of Canadians support legalization.

The war on drugs in Mexico has gotten so bad that the conflict has spilled across the entire continent, notably along the west coast where there have been a number of drug-related shootings in California and British Columbia. The Obama Administration even plans to send redirect over 500 additional federal agents Mexican border to join the fight, announced last month.

We believe we’re standing on the threshold of the legalization of marijuana. Recent evidence of growing support of the movement have made the need for a voice of a community clear; the war on drugs is an expensive waste of money that the end of would result in an economic boon. In a time of recession and prohibition, Hotbox Magazine founds itself on protesting unjust laws, while also looking at the lighter side of cannabis culture. Our mission is to produce high quality community-driven content, be it photography, writing, or other forms of art, acting as a forum for discourse on culture, art & entertainment, legalization, and other opinions.