Pubdate: Fri, 12 Jul 2013
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2013 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html
Website: http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: James Keller

ACTIVIST'S POT PETITION GETS OK

Elections B.C.: Dana Larsen can launch reform campaign

A B.C. pot activist has received the green light to press ahead with 
a petition that, if successful, would force the B.C. government to 
address the question of marijuana reform and could eventually see 
voters casting ballots on the issue.

Dana Larsen is using the province's unique initiative legislation to 
propose a law that would effectively decriminalize pot by preventing 
police from enforcing simple possession laws.

Elections B.C. announced Thursday that Larsen's petition, which 
outlines proposed changes to the provincial Police Act, has been 
approved, giving Larsen and his Sensible B.C. campaign two months to 
sign up canvassers and prepare to start collecting signatures on Sept. 9.

To succeed, Larsen must then collect the signatures of 10 per cent of 
registered voters in each of the province's 85 ridings by November. 
That would either force a vote in the legislature or a province wide, 
non-binding referendum.

"We've got a pretty good shot at it ... but it's very challenging," 
Larsen said. "What I am confident about is that if we get on the 
ballot, we will win a resounding majority in a referendum. We have 
incredible public support for this."

The push for decriminalization has gained steam in B.C., with several 
prominent former politicians, including exLiberal attorney general 
Geoff Plant and former NDP premier Ujjal Dosanjh, calling for the 
legalization and regulation of pot. Their group, the Stop the 
Violence B.C. Coalition, has pointed to opinion polls that suggest a 
majority of B.C.ers agree with them.

But the Liberal government has largely opted to ignore marijuana 
reform, pointing out that drug laws are in the federal government's 
jurisdiction. During the most recent provincial election campaign, 
Premier Christy Clark ridiculed her NDP opponent for even taking a 
position on the issue. Larsen's petition, however, could force 
Clark's Liberals to finally tell voters where they stand.

While neither the petition nor a potential referendum would be 
binding, the process could send the issue to the provincial 
legislature for a vote.

B.C.'s initiative legislation, which was successfully used to kill 
the province's Harmonized Sales Tax two years ago, allows any voter 
to bring forward proposed legislation in the form of a petition. If a 
petition collects enough valid signatures, it's then sent to a 
legislative committee - which, in this case, would be dominated by 
the governing Liberal Party.

The committee can either send the petition directly to the 
legislature for consideration or ask Elections B.C. to hold a 
province wide referendum, which would require both a majority of 
voters across the province to approve the proposal, as well as 
majorities in two-thirds of the province's ridings.

Even then, a successful referendum would merely send the proposal 
back to the legislature, where it could be amended or voted down.

Larsen said it would be difficult for the government to ignore the 
results of a referendum if a clear majority of voters supported his proposal.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom