Pubdate: Thu, 15 Nov 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: Barbara Yaffe Cited: Sensible BC: http://www.sensiblebc.ca DECRIMINALIZATION OF POT IN CANADA IS A SENSIBLE IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME The Harper Conservatives have newly nixed the idea of reforming Canada's pot laws but that's not stopping activists in B. C. from mobilizing for decriminalization. The issue is back in the news following Nov. 6 votes in Colorado and Washington to relax marijuana legislation. Like Canada's government, the Obama administration, remains opposed, making a showdown between state voters and Washington, D. C., almost inevitable. The same sort of showdown, between B. C. and Ottawa, doubtless would ensue should a proposed 2014 referendum to decriminalize pot be endorsed by B. C.' s voters. Of course, British Columbians have taken on Ottawa before. A 2011 referendum in B. C. killed the HST, mandating reinstatement of the PST and GST, set for 2013. And it seems the Harper government lately is finding itself on the wrong side of B. C. public opinion on a number of fronts. The PM wants a pipeline to connect Alberta's oilsands to the west coast - something British Columbians don't favour for environmental reasons. Harper also has long opposed the Downtown Eastside's Insite clinic, which has been embraced as a necessary evil by the province and many Vancouverites. The Harperites now are ignoring B. C. opinion on cannabis regulation; an early- November Angus Reid poll shows 62 per cent in favour of decriminalization, and 75 per cent in favour of legalization - the option just endorsed by Washington state. B. C. decriminalization, promoted by a group calling itself Sensible B. C., would represent a first step in addressing the mess that is the existing system of cannabis oversight. Right now, marijuana use is illegal under the federal Criminal Code. Sensible B. C. wants: * B. C. to pass a Sensible Policing Act, directing police away from searches, seizures or arrests for drug possession; and to establish a commission enabling citizens to help devise a legally regulated, taxed cannabis system. * Ottawa to grant a legislative exemption that would allow the province to regulate and tax pot. The longer term goal, of course, would be to discourage pushers and illegal growers through establishment of government run cannabis outlets where individuals could make their purchases legally. Sensible B. C.' s campaign officially launched its effort in October. The group is in the process of hosting information sessions around B. C., including a stop next January in the Lower Mainland. The group's chief, Dana Larsen, is a founding director of the Vancouver Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary. Included on his board are veteran criminal lawyer John Conroy and B. C. Civil Liberties Association director David Eby. A 2014 referendum would require Sensible B. C. to gather signatures over a 90- day period from at least 10 per cent of voters in each of B. C.' s 85 ridings - a task being scheduled for September to November of 2013. Meanwhile, Washington is busy with plans for a 25 per cent sales tax on marijuana, which could raise as much as $ 500,000 in revenue, a portion of which would help finance drug rehab programs. The more modest, pot decriminalization effort in B. C., is backed by - among many others - four former B. C. attorneysgeneral, the Union of B. C. Municipalities, and the federal NDP and Liberal parties. It's worth noting that many supporting decriminalization aren't pot users; they're pragmatists who recognize prohibition isn't working and want to stop wasting police and court resources (some 3,000 people in B. C. get charged annually for pot-related offences). They're folks who want taxation imposed on a B. C. industry worth as much as $ 8 billion a year. Sensible B. C.' s website predicts: "Decriminalizing the simple possession of cannabis ... will save taxpayers money, help unclog our justice system and stop young people from having their lives ruined over a joint." What a sensible idea. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt