Pubdate: Fri, 21 Sep 2012
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 The Vancouver Sun
Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Ian Mulgrew

FIX B. C.'S ' DRUG PROBLEM' BY LEGALIZING MARIJUANA

Eliminating Pot Possession Charges Would Ease Court Backlogs, Fall in 
Step With Other Western Jurisdictions

With three western American states mulling legalized marijuana and 
the Union of B.C. Municipalities set to debate it, a new group wants 
the province to stop enforcing the federal criminal ban on pot.

Several prominent cannabis crusaders have drafted a proposed law, 
called the Sensible Policing Act, and are asking for a provincial 
commission to study the regulation and taxation of the demonized plant.

Vancouver lawyer Kirk Tousaw said the would-be act instructs police 
to stop arresting adults for possession, while minors still would not 
be allowed to possess pot.

"The new law also calls upon the federal government to let B.C. go 
our own way on cannabis policy, and sets up a provincial commission 
to figure out exactly what legally regulated cannabis will look like, 
since it will fall mostly under provincial control, like alcohol and 
tobacco," Tousaw said.

The wished-for legislation is available on the group's website: 
www.SensibleBC.ca.

"Setting police priorities is within provincial jurisdiction," Tousaw 
continued, "and our proposed legislation has been accepted by 
Elections B.C. as constitutionally sound and suitable for a ballot 
initiative. While we hope that the provincial government will see fit 
to pass the Sensible Policing Act into law, we're focusing on 
building support for a referendum."

According to statistics, the number of people charged with simple 
possession of cannabis in B.C. has risen steadily in the last decade. 
More than 15,000 possession charges went through the courts in 2010.

There's a current Provincial Court backlog of about 22,000 cases; 
eliminate the pot possession charges and you would practically erase it.

By comparison, roughly 2,600 people were charged in 2010 with 
possession of cocaine - down from nearly 4,700 in 2006 - and only 305 
with possession of heroin, down from 362 a decade ago (or 515 in 2006).

Marijuana is our "drug problem" and the approach we've been taking 
for almost a century - the draconian laws and expensive prohibition - 
isn't working.

It's time for change. And what's being proposed is not as far-fetched 
as it sounds.

Washington, Oregon and Colorado are debating such reforms and have 
ballot initiatives in the offing.

Former B.C. attorneys-general, Vancouver's erstwhile mayors, 
provincial medical officers of health - all kinds of smart people are 
pushing for legalization.

The cost of policing, corrections and judicial resources isn't worth 
it and the violence that accompanies the underground drug economy is 
out of control.

On Sept. 26, the UBCM will vote on a resolution from Metchosin 
district council, endorsed by the Association of Vancouver Island 
Coastal Communities, urging "the appropriate government to 
decriminalize marijuana and research the regulation and taxation of marijuana."

Under the province's Recall and Initiative Act, a question that meets 
the requirements could be put to voters on the fixed referendum date 
next September.

"We will be launching our official signature-gathering effort next 
year, in the fall of 2013," said Dana Larsen, a director of the new 
group and a founder of the Vancouver Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary.

"Under the rules, we will have only 90 days to collect the roughly 
400,000 official signatures we need. So over the coming year we will 
be putting on local events across the province, building a network of 
volunteers and registering our supporters."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom