Pubdate: Thu, 13 Dec 2012
Source: Martlet (CN BC Edu)
Copyright: 2012 Martlet Publishing Society
Contact:  http://www.martlet.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3140
Author: Erica Martin
Cited: Stop the Violence BC: http://stoptheviolencebc.org/

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION NEEDED IN CANADA

The recent legalization of marijuana by the states of Colorado and
Washington shows that attitudes towards the drug have been changing.

A Canadian poll recently cited in the Toronto Star revealed that 65
per cent of Canadians support either legalization and taxation of the
drug or decriminalizing it in small amounts. These aren't just the
votes belonging to your campus college liberal meme or peacenik
hippie. As a whole, Canada is tuning into the economic and societal
benefits of legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana.

The Huffington Post recently reported on a study that found that,
between 2010 and 2011, California experienced a 20 per cent decrease
in juvenile crime, bringing underage crime to its lowest level since
record keeping began in 1954. According to the study, this improvement
can be attributed to the punishment for possessing a small amount of
marijuana being reduced from a misdemeanour to an infraction, which
generally garners only a fine or a ticket. This incredible reduction
in youth being sentenced and jailed for possession has helped them to
stay out of the criminal justice system and pursue more positive
lifestyle choices. The effect of those more positive lifestyles is
clear: serious youth crime in California has decreased faster than in
the rest of the nation.

The Vancouver Sun also recently cited a study that found that 75 per
cent of B.C. respondents favour taxation and regulation of marijuana
possession as opposed to prosecuting marijuana users. Instead of
adopting this approach, the Conservative party opts for mandatory
prison sentences for non-violent marijuana offences. Even so,
prohibition has been an epic failure. Despite marijuana's illegality
and the countless dollars spent on ineffective or incomplete law
enforcement, British Columbians still buy, in total, about half a
billion dollars' worth of pot per year, according to a study published
by University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University
researchers.

Instead of solving the problems that the war on drugs set out to fix,
government policy has created new ones. For example, one of the most
prominent issues in B.C. is that various gangs are competing in the
marijuana market, each seeking to gain full control over this
immensely profitable plant. Instead of taking the money and power out
of the hands of these gangs, the government chooses not to tax and
regulate marijuana. Hey, why not keep the cash flowing to the gangsters?

A coalition called Stop the Violence B.C. states that legalizing and
regulating marijuana would reduce gang violence and convert criminal
profits into tax revenue for the government. According to an Angus
Reid poll published in 2011, 87 per cent of B.C. residents think that
gang violence is linked to organized crime control of the marijuana
trade.

Data from Washington, a state that has roughly the same number of pot
smokers as B.C., suggests the state could bring in $2.5 billion in
taxes from the marijuana industry over five years.

The Conservatives are making a mistake by not addressing this issue.
They should take a page from some U.S. states' book and reform
Canada's drug policies. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D