Pubdate: Sat, 20 Apr 2013
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2013 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Stephen Quinn
Page: 76
Cited: Stop the Violence BC: http://stoptheviolencebc.org/
Referenced: Sensible Policing Act:
http://sensiblebc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Sensible-BC-Sensible-Policing-Act.pdf

MARIJUANA REFORM HIGH ON ELECTORATE'S LIST

Here's something you won't see happen on Saturday: Christy Clark or 
Adrian Dix's campaign buses rolling up to the north lawn of the 
Vancouver Art Gallery to the cheers of thousands of marijuana 
activists. Neither Mr. Dix nor Ms. Clark will push their way through 
the happy crowds and skunk-scented smoke, glad-handing potential 
voters. It is even less likely that either will make their way to the 
stage brandishing a freshly rolled spliff, spark it up and declare 
4/20 officially "on."

Neither will inhale deeply, nor extol the virtues of weed, nor pass 
the dutchie to the left-hand side. And you certainly won't hear them 
making speeches calling for the decriminalization, legalization, or 
the regulation and taxation of pot.

A pair of polls released this week suggests that the party leaders 
are lagging behind their constituents when it comes to attitudes 
about the decriminalization and eventual legalization of marijuana in B.C.

In fact, if the poll numbers are right, not driving the campaign 
buses on to the art gallery lawn with Bob Marley blaring from the 
speakers and waving marijuana-leaf flags out the windows might be 
something of a missed opportunity.

The first poll comes from the Sensible Change Society of B.C., a 
group headed by one-time federal NDP candidate Dana Larsen, who 
withdrew from the 2008 race after a video showing him with a mouthful 
of joints surfaced on the Web. Three years later, Mr. Larsen ran for 
the leadership of the BC NDP and won just 2.7 per cent of the vote.

Mr. Larsen has proposed what he calls "The Sensible Policing Act," 
which would, first, direct police to ignore minor marijuana offences, 
and second, call on the federal government to repeal the prohibition 
on marijuana so the province could legally regulate pot the same way 
it regulates alcohol and tobacco.

The poll shows that roughly 70 per cent of respondents support both 
parts of the plan. It also shows that just under half of those 
surveyed say they would be more likely to support a political leader 
who called for marijuana reform.

A second poll, also timed to coincide with the annual 4/20 "cannabis 
celebration," shows that nearly three-quarters of British Columbians 
would support further research into the regulation and taxation of 
marijuana. The Ipsos Reid poll shows significant support for leaders 
who would endorse such research.

In both polls, support for marijuana reform crosses all political 
stripes, geographic boundaries, age groups and levels of education.

This is, of course, not a new issue in our province. Stop the 
Violence B.C., a coalition of law enforcement, health and academic 
experts which commissioned the Ipsos Reid poll, has been arguing for 
marijuana reform since the coalition was founded in 2011.

Along with many others, Stop the Violence contends that regulating 
and taxing marijuana production and distribution would take the 
profits out of the hands of criminal gangs, and result in not only 
safer streets but also in a potential tax windfall for the province.

But so far, even with numbers that show support for reform, even with 
the arguments that regulation would curb violence and contribute 
significantly to provincial coffers, both Christy Clark and Adrian 
Dix have ducked the issue. When questioned, both have repeatedly 
pointed to the fact that drug enforcement is a federal responsibility.

Dana Larsen notes that neither leader has had trouble commenting on 
other issues that are regulated by the federal government.

"We take action and talk about federal issues all the time, whether 
it's the Coast Guard station being closed or pipelines, or the 
long-gun registry back in 2003, so there's really no reason the 
province can't take action on this issue as well," Mr. Larsen said in 
an interview.

Indeed, "Pressing for new Coast Guard resources to be placed in 
Vancouver" even appears in the Liberal Party's platform.

As for the NDP, Mr. Larsen suspects that while the party may be 
sympathetic, it would be folly to tackle an issue as controversial as 
marijuana legalization during an election campaign.

Professor Neil Boyd, who teaches criminology at Simon Fraser 
University, agrees that making marijuana reform an issue during a 
provincial election campaign is difficult.

But like Mr. Larsen, Prof. Boyd says the province can play a part. 
"The province does have power over the administration of justice and 
could certainly decide not to spend, for example, the $10-million a 
year it currently spends enforcing marijuana possession laws," he said.

Given that it happens to fall on Saturday, and in the middle of an 
election campaign, organizers of this year's 4/20 rally estimate it 
will be the biggest gathering of its kind Vancouver has ever seen.

But it may have little impact once the smoke clears.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom