Pubdate: Mon, 30 Apr 2012
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2012 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Richard J. Brennan

TOUGH LAWS NOT THE ANSWER FOR B.C. MARIJUANA PROBLEM, VANCOUVER
COUNCILLOR SAYS

All the tough talk in the world from the Harper government won't put a
dent in B.C.'s often violent marijuana trade, a Vancouver city
councillor says.

The comment from Councillor Kerry Jang, a professor of psychiatry at
the University of British Columbia, comes on the heels of a letter
from eight B.C. mayors urging the provincial government to use its
powers to regulate and tax marijuana.

"Marijuana has actually become more available and there's more crime
than there ever has been because of that approach aE& federal policies
have failed British Columbia," Jang told the Toronto Star.

"Out here aE& it is one our biggest cash crops and we do see the
effect of organized crime in particular and the harm that brings.
We're talking grow-ops, shootings, everything that organized crime
brings," he said.

"The only way to really control it is to start treating it like
tobacco aE& by regulating it, it won't be lucrative for them."

While at the Summit of the Americas, Prime Minister Stephen Harper
acknowledged, with respect to the war on drugs, that "I think what
everyone believes and agrees with, and to be frank myself, is that the
current approach is not working, but it is not clear what we should
do."

Yet, the Conservative government is proposing mandatory prison
sentences for minor cannabis-related offences under Bill C-10, its
omnibus crime bill.

Jang encountered first hand drug "thugs" targeting his home by mistake
when they were attempting to rob a grow-op across the street.

"We were sleeping and they were trying to jimmy the lock to get in.
They were all ready for a home invasion but we happened wake up and
hear it and we tripped the alarm," he said.

Jang said despite the so-called war on drugs, "pot is available here
more than it ever has been. In fact, you are seeing a lot of
youngsters smoking it."

He said so far the provincial government is washing its hands of the
problem by saying legalizing marijuana is a federal government matter.

"Out here we are saying, 'gosh we got to do something else, it's not
working so let's just treat it like alcohol or tobacco, tax the hell
out of it,'" Jang said, noting that the province does have some
jurisdiction under the Canada Health Act.

Jang said until Harper's government sees the light, "we will continue
to amass the data and amass the support to bring about this
fundamental change in health care." 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D