Pubdate: Fri, 16 Nov 2012
Source: Parksville Qualicum Beach News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 Black Press
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/5n7vJzqp
Website: http://drugsense.org/url/zLXtMKI5
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1361
Author: Neil Horner

A CALL FOR A REFERENDUM

'The drug laws do far more harm than the drugs themselves'

Allan Boisvert doesn't think a person caught smoking a joint should
have it dog them for the rest of their lives.

Because of this, the Parksville resident and marijuana activist is
organizing two public forums on the marijuana issue, featuring former
NDP leadership contender and decriminalization promoter Dana Larsen.

The first of these is slated to be held at the Qualicum Beach Library
on Friday, Dec. 7, from noon to 1 p.m., with a second event at the
Parksville Civic Centre from 7 - 9 p.m.

The subject of the talk, Boisvert said, will be an impending
provincial referendum on marijuana decriminalization.

"This is not just for people who want to decriminalize marijuana," he
said. "This is for all the people in the province who vote."

The referendum, he said, will not seek outright legalization or even
complete decriminalization. Rather, he said, it will seek to amend the
Police Act.

"We want to put cannabis enforcement as the lowest priority," he said.
"It's not decriminalization in the sense that if you are caught you
get a monetary fine. It's decriminalization in the sense that police
procedures and priorities would put it to the lowest end of the scale,
so there would be no fines." Boisvert said the idea has merit in
several areas.

"The drug laws do far more harm than the drugs themselves," he said.
"If you catch some poor kid smoking pot, it follows him for the rest
of his life. Why do that? Tens of thousands of Canadians are already
in that boat. They can't travel across the border."

Besides taking away the criminal sanction for possessing and using
small amounts of marijuana, Boisvert said the move would also take
away a crucial source of funding for criminal gangs.

"This is just the groundwork for the vote, which probably won't happen
for another two years," he said. "It's not a scary thing. It's really
a pretty sensible policy. The way it is now, the only ones making
money are the criminals. All the profits go to them."

The meetings come after federal Liberal heavyweight Justin Trudeau
came out in favour of decriminalization and a group calling itself
Stop the Violence B.C. -made up of former attorneys general, mayors
and other high-profile figures - issued a call for cannabis use to be
decriminalized in the province.

"It's the sensible thing to do. For adults, it would be taxed and
regulated, while the penalties for minors would be the same as if they
were caught using alcohol under-age."
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MAP posted-by: Matt