Pubdate: Sat, 10 Mar 2012
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Copyright: 2012 The Leader-Post Ltd.
Contact: 
http://www.leaderpost.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor.html
Website: http://www.leaderpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361
Author: Douglas Quan

LEGALIZATION ACTIVISTS FACE A CONUNDRUM

What exactly would a world with legal pot look like?

About 75 years ago, parliamentarians sounded the alarm over an
emerging "menace" - marijuana - that if left unchecked, could have
"far-reaching, poisonous and demoralizing effects" on the country's
youth, according to debate records.

A front-page Globe and Mail article from 1937 said the "narcotic evil"
had the potential to cause insanity and turn "quiet, respectable
youths into raving murderers." How far we've come. Today, marijuana is
accepted as a medical treatment. Stores peddle all forms of
paraphernalia, from ganja party games to bong cleaners. And some
groups are lobbying to end pot prohibition altogether.

Even though the Harper government remains firmly opposed, the
pro-legalization movement has picked up some allies in recent weeks. A
majority of Liberal party delegates voted to support legalization at
their convention and four former attorneys general in British Columbia
came forward to declare prohibition a "failure," joining groups of
police officers, provincial health officers, academics and politicians
who've done the same.

A trending topic on Twitter last week was #If weed w-ere legal. But
it's not all high-fives and hookah parties on the pro-legalization
front. Activists acknowledge deep divisions within the movement over
what the best post-prohibition model should be.

Should there be heavy government restrictions on production,
distribution and consumption, or a hippiedippy free-for-all? Control
in the hands of a few or open to everyone?

"There is a lot of division among activists regarding what model
should replace prohibition. Many relationships have been strained
because of it, too, unfortunately," said Vancouver activist Jodie
Emery, wife of the "Prince of Pot," Marc Emery. "Even some of my own
friends and I strongly disagree about where to go from here.

"It's a cannabis conundrum."

There are a lot of things members of the movement agree
on.

They concur that prohibition has failed because it has created a black
market overrun by violent gang members, and because the drug's
availability and consumption - including among teenagers - has not
fallen, despite billions of dollars spent on enforcement.

They agree that legalization is a better way to go because police
resources would be freed up to deal with more serious crimes and that
it would boost tax revenues.

They firmly reject doomsday scenarios trotted out by the
anti-legalization crowd. No, there won't be a sudden decline in
workplace productivity. No, park benches won't be suddenly awash with
people high on dope.

"I don't think that things would change that much on the street," said
Eugene Oscapella, an Ottawa lawyer and member of the Canadian Drug
Policy Coalition.

But what our society will look like if pot becomes legal - and how
visible marijuana will be - will depend to a large extent on what
sorts of regulations lawmakers impose. And within the pro-legalization
movement, members are all over the map when it comes to which
blueprint is best.

Vancouver activist David Malmo-levine, who many years ago, fought the
constitutionality of prohibition laws all the way to the Supreme Court
of Canada and lost, envisions a marijuana industry modelled after the
wine industry in B.C.'S Okanagan Valley - lots of commercial growers
of varying sizes, producing hundreds of varieties.

A post-prohibition world, he says, has to be one that is inclusive,
doesn't deny consumers a variety of choices of strains and potencies,
and doesn't push aside companies and private citizens who want a piece
of the commercial pie.

It's fine to want to spread the wealth, says legalization supporter
Line Beauchesne, a criminology professor at the University of Ottawa.
But you also need stringent regulations to ensure the quality of the
product.

Her main concern? Big companies - with deep pockets - will try to
lobby the government to water down regulations. Look at the example of
big tobacco, she said.

A similar debate exists over how marijuana should be distributed.
While some activists, such as Malmo-Levine, favour making licences
available to everyone, others say restrictions are needed.

Beauchesne thinks marijuana only should be sold through government-run
drug stores. That's the best way to prevent access to children and to
ensure proper training for vendors, she said.

Mark Haden, a Vancouver author and educator on drug policy, prescribes
an even more restrictive model. He envisions government-run
apothecaries that are hospital-clean with a low-key street presence.
Advertising would be banned, and so would any form of branding on
product packages.

Marijuana is not something that should be glamorized, Haden said. In
fact, the goal should be to make marijuana look as "boring" as possible.

Like prescription pill bottles, marijuana packaging should provide
plain information about concentration, dosage and strain, and warning
labels to not smoke and drive.

"Our history with alcohol is problematic as alcohol is a branded
product which is advertised and glamorized. We receive many
contradictory messages about alcohol, based on the different agendas
of the different players," he said.

"Having an apothecary model would allow for a fresh start without
contamination of the pro-consumption model."

But Toronto activist Matthew Mernagh, who favours distribution of
marijuana through outlets modelled after provincial liquor stores
(instead of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, there could be a
Cannabis Control Board of Ontario, for instance), said he is not
opposed to product branding or advertising.

In fact, Mernagh, who is in the midst of a court battle over the
country's medical marijuana laws, said one day he would love to
mass-produce a strain of marijuana and market it aggressively.

"We'd probably put my face on it," he laughed.

No doubt, the transition to a post-prohibition world will be slow, and
there'll be lots of experimentation between provinces, experts say.

"I don't mind being initially strict on it out of an abundance of
caution," and then maybe easing up over time, said Oscapella, the
Ottawa lawyer.

Emery admits she's torn. She understands the point of view of
"old-school" activists who want limited regulation. At the same time,
she realizes that the only way prohibition is going to be lifted is if
grassroots activists work with "establishment" types to reach a
solution, which may mean they don't get everything they want at the
beginning.

Serving a five-year sentence in the U.S. for selling marijuana seeds
online, Emery's husband, Marc, via email, echoed the need for
accommodation from all sides.

While he still believes the ideal model of legalization is one with
"no controls" on who may cultivate and distribute cannabis or how much
they can grow, he also recognizes that progress in politics is
incremental.
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MAP posted-by: Matt