Pubdate: Mon, 12 Nov 2012
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html
Website: http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476

'B.C. BUD' MAY GO UP IN SMOKE

Impact on $6-Billion-To-$8-Billion Pot Industry Is Difficult to Quantify

(CP) - The future appears hazy for British Columbia's thriving 
underground pot industry, even as two U.S. states have voted to allow 
citizens to legally use the drug recreationally.

Business consequences could range from mild to sending marijuana 
producers' livelihoods up in smoke, depending on how much of the 
estimated $6-billion-to-$8-billion annual economy is currently being 
exported south of the border, analysts say.

Opinion on the impact varies considerably, but those advocating for 
Canada to adopt a more evidence based policy on marijuana say this 
week's votes mean Canada is falling behind the U.S. in developing 
evidence-based policy.

Voters in Washington State and Colorado passed ballot initiatives 
held alongside the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday that remove 
criminal penalties for the possession and sale of recreational 
marijuana. Should the U.S. federal government not challenge the 
initiatives, which directly opposes federal rules, the states will 
begin regulated sales of the drug. An initiative in Oregon did not pass.

"Obviously we're not sending the army to the B.C.-Washington State 
border because of the vote," said Dr. Evan Wood, founder of an 
ongoing campaign for marijuana legalization that includes health, 
legal and justice professionals.

Canadian opponents of legalization have often noted that 
decriminalizing pot would prompt a negative reaction south of the 
border that could make it harder for goods and people to cross back 
and forth, Wood noted.

"This vote is obviously going to take that tool away that I think has 
quite successfully quashed debate on this topic in Canada."

The coalition, called Stop the Violence BC, contends prohibition of 
marijuana is a failed strategy that fuels gang wars and facilitates 
the influx of guns and cocaine when it's traded into the U.S. via 
organized crime.

The value of the export pot market cannot be easily quantified 
because it's based on smuggling. But experts who believe it's hefty 
argue the market for well-known "B.C. bud" will shrink simply because 
it won't be in such high demand anymore in places like Washington 
State, where users will be able to make legal purchases.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom