Pubdate: Fri, 28 Dec 2012
Source: Nelson Star (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 Black Press
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/4kNvY8sy
Website: http://www.bclocalnews.com/kootenay_rockies/nelsonstar/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4866
Author: Greg Nesteroff

Top stories of 2012 #4

Nelson City Council Debates Marijuana

WHEN THE THC HITS THE FAN

While Washington state voters approved decriminalizing marijuana this
year, the idea of supporting a similar initiative in BC unleashed the
greatest furor around the Nelson city council table in recent memory.

In June, councillor Donna Macdonald introduced a motion asking the
mayor to join eight of his counterparts in backing Stop the Violence
BC - a coalition of academics, law enforcement officials, and others
hoping to "starve organized crime of the profits they reap as a result
of [marijuana] prohibition."

An impassioned Mayor John Dooley, however, said he would do no such
thing.

"I won't be signing this," he said in an uncharacteristic outburst.
"If it is asked of me, I won't, based on the mountain of information I
have come up with ... I believe it will have a negative impact on our
community."

"I don't believe it lessens the safety of our community," councillor
Deb Kozak replied. "When alcohol was regulated it did stop a lot of
violence. The gang warfare ended."

"Prohibition brought us all these problems," councillor Paula Kiss
agreed. "I'm saying please let us be leaders in coming up with a
better system."

Dooley, however, insisted he was showing leadership, and wanted more
information before supporting the campaign. "I'll go to the wall on
this," he said.

Macdonald's motion passed, with councillor Candace Batycki also in
favour and Dooley opposed along with councillors Robin Cherbo and Bob
Adams. But Macdonald suggested deferring her motion until after the
Union of BC Municipalities convention in September, which Cherbo and
Dooley felt was the proper venue for the debate.

At the convention, a resolution asking the federal government to
decriminalize and regulate marijuana passed. "The Union is generally
fairly conservative," Macdonald said, "so to see delegates supporting
decriminalization sends a very clear image that it is not a fringe
issue."

Stop the Violence BC also refuted some of the mayor's
comments.

"The situation simply is not working and we need to have a sober and
adult conversation that gets away from the rhetoric and ideology that
got us stuck in the quagmire we're in," Dr. Evan Wood, a professor of
medicine at the University of BC, told the Star.

When the issue returned to Nelson council soon after, cooler heads
prevailed and a much more subdued discussion took place. In fact,
there was little debate as council adopted Macdonald's revised motion,
endorsing the UBCM position.

But Dooley said many questions remained, including actual cost savings
on policing through decriminalization and whether municipalities will
see any return on taxation. And though a majority of local governments
support change, he doesn't expect to see it anytime soon.

For his part, Nelson police chief Wayne Holland saw Stop the Violence
as contributing to an important dialogue. "Proposals such as this
start a conversation," he said. "They rejuvenate a debate that has
been going on for decades."

Holland doesn't expect this proposal or any other to offer a magic
solution, but thinks it may contain some worthwhile strategies.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D