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.
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MAP posted-by: Matt