Pubdate: Thu, 18 Jul 2013
Source: Chief, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2013 Whistler Printing & Publishing
Contact: http://www.squamishchief.com/section/squamish0303&template=letter
Website: http://www.squamishchief.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2414
Author: Ben Lypka
Cited: Sensible BC: http://www.sensiblebc.ca

HOTBOXING THE BALLOT BOX

Just how "sensible" are voters in British Columbia?

We should find out this autumn.

The SensibleBC group wants your signature and if they can gather 
400,000 names, it'll be the first step to decriminalizing the 
possession of cannabis in this province through the Sensible Policing Act.

Of course that would mean all the pot users would have to get out of 
their mother's basement, put down the Cheezies and stop watching the 
Wizard of Oz and listening to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon at 
the same time.

And that's exactly what those against marijuana would want you to think.

The fact is that cannabis users come in all shapes and sizes. There's 
the senior who uses pot to help deal with the nagging pain of 
debilitating disease, the corporate drone who lights up a joint to 
take the ease off a hard day of work and the university student 
breaking out the bong to deal with exam stress.

Not only would decriminalizing help give relief to certain users, it 
would also give relief to our court and police systems.

According to the SensibleBC website, B.C. police spent their time 
with more than 19,000 incidents of marijuana possession in 2010 
alone, far more than any province. Just last year, more than 3,500 
B.C. residents were charged with simple possession (under 30 grams).

Police and courts should be dealing with real criminals and real 
issues, not wasting time picking on relatively harmless pot users.

And it's not just stoners who seem to be supporting the idea of 
decriminalization. In recent years, everyone from Vancouver mayor 
Gregor Robertson to former premier Mike Harcourt and even the Union 
of BC Municipalities have spoken out in support of the issue.

Locally, Coun. Bryan Raiser and former MLA Joan MacIntyre have spoken 
out in favour of some sort of legalization of marijuana. In fact, as 
noted in an article in this week's Chief, there are at least two or 
three commercial medical marijuana operations in town.

The potential for "B.C. Bud" as an industry is huge. Worldwide our 
marijuana is recognized as some of the best available. It could 
create jobs and even build a little tourism boom - just ask Snoop Dogg.

All that being said there are obvious risks to marijuana use but not 
any more or less than tobacco, alcohol and caffeine. After Colorado 
and Washington State both legalized marijuana the time is now for 
B.C. to jump on board and not lose the cash cow that could very 
easily be marijuana production.

If and when the SensibleBC people get their way, one other "sensible" 
thing to remember is to do as my pot-smoking friends used to do - 
always, under all circumstances pass to the left.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom