Pubdate: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Copyright: 2010 Times Colonist Contact: http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/letters.html Website: http://www.timescolonist.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481 Author: Lena Sin, Postmedia News Cited: Proposition 19 http://yeson19.com/ Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/find?272 (Proposition 19) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Marijuana - Canada) B.C. LIKELY TO FEEL PINCH IF CALIFORNIA LEGALIZES POT Could Weaken Gangs: Expert British Columbia's illegal marijuana industry will be dealt a heavy economic blow if Californians vote to legalize pot Tuesday, says a criminology professor who has studied the effect of B.C. bud for more than a decade. Darryl Plecas, criminology professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, predicts that decriminalizing pot in California would have a significant economic impact on the illegal trade of B.C. marijuana -- and would weaken organized crime groups. "The single biggest fuel for organized crime in B.C. is grow-ops," says Plecas. "It's hard to imagine it could not have some significant impact." Californians will vote during the midterm elections on Tuesday on whether to legalize pot. If passed, Proposition 19 would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to 28.5 grams of marijuana and to grow pot at a private residence in a space as large as 25 square feet for personal use. Plecas says 70 per cent of B.C. bud is destined for export, with Washington and California being major markets. California, with a population of about 36 million -- about three million more people than all of Canada -- has been a particularly important market because the farther south pot travels, the higher the price it yields, says Plecas. And if Californians are able to legally cultivate even just small amount of marijuana in their own backyards, that will drive the price of B.C. marijuana down and weaken the strength of organized crime, he says. "One way to look at it is mass layoffs," says Plecas, suggesting there will be fewer people needed to cultivate the drug. B.C.'s illegal pot industry generates between $3 billion and $7 billion annually, estimates Plecas. Diminishing demand would not only negatively impact the underground economy, but could cause a wider ripple effect, with retail and restaurant industries taking a hit, as well as real estate. Plecas estimates that at least 10,000 homes in the province are used as grow-ops. Still, it's un-likely, he said, that legalizing marijuana in California would mean the end of gangs in B.C. "I definitely worry about what will they do next," says Plecas. "We'd be naive to think [they'll say] 'Oh, that's it, I'll go and get a job at McDonald's.' " Jodie Emery, longtime pot activist and wife of Marc Emery, the so-called Prince of Pot who has been jailed in the U.S. for mailing marijuana seeds south of the border, echoed Plecas's views. Emery said legalizing pot will have a negative economic impact on B.C., noting that the underground economy helps drive "cannabis tourism" to B.C. She adds that many unemployed workers from the sagging forestry sector throughout the province have also turned to growing pot, but are not connected to organized crime. But Emery supports California's Proposition 19 and planned to fly to Oakland, Calif., to help pro-legalization activist Richard Lee campaign for the yes vote. Const. Michael McLaughlin, spokesman for the B.C. RCMP federal drug enforcement branch, says he is not authorized to speak about the issue other than to say that "We'll continue to enforce Canadian laws, there will continue to be organized crime, we'll continue to go after large-scale drug-traffickers and producers in B.C." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake