Pubdate: Tue, 10 Dec 2013
Source: Nanaimo News Bulletin (CN BC)
Copyright: 2013, BC Newspaper Group
Contact:  http://www.nanaimobulletin.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/948
Author: Chris Bush
Cited: Sensible BC: http://www.sensiblebc.ca

POT PETITION FAILS DESPITE LOCAL SUCCESS

Organizers Plan to Relaunch Legalization Campaign

The campaign to decriminalize marijuana in B.C. looked like it might 
end up on a high note, but big numbers of those in favour started 
turning out too late to force a referendum.

The petition drive got off to a slow start, but days before the close 
of the 90-day effort to get 400,000 petition signatures to force a 
referendum on the decriminalization of marijuana, the numbers of 
people willing to put their names behind the cause started ramping up.

"We've been at Country Club Mall for this past few weeks and it's 
been really slow, so we decided to switch to Port Place mall on the 
29th, so just last Friday, and we gathered 1,400 signatures," said 
Amanda Orum, Sensible B.C. campaign organizer for Nanaimo. 
"Parksville-Qualicum, Nanaimo, Nanaimo-North Cowichan have all hit 
their 10 per cent threshold."

The issue proved to be surprisingly divisive as local reaction swung 
wildly between those for or against.

Orum said at Country Club Centre, which allowed Sensible B.C. to set 
up a campaign table in the mall, campaigners were at times met with 
scorn, hollered at and spat on.

"We got more ridicule at Country Club mall," Orum said. "My husband 
got threatened to get gang-beaten by a bunch of 40-year-old guys. We 
had two retired RCMP officers come and scream at us and somebody 
tried to light our table on fire and we got spat on a few times. I'm 
really kind of happy the campaign's almost done. Nobody really likes 
body fluids projected onto you."

The campaign table was moved to Port Place Centre and a much more 
receptive population was found.

"In Port Place mall we actually got hugs," Orum said. "I didn't 
realize just how busy that mall really was. Just yesterday (Tuesday) 
we got over 800 signatures."

The two shopping centre locations combined tallied up 2,350 
signatures as of Wednesday and more people signed through the 
campaign's final days. Canvassers also went door-to-door gathering 
more signatures to create a cushion against signatures that might be 
invalidated by Elections B.C.

The rising tide of signatures was mirrored across most of the 
province, but Dana Larsen, leader of the Sensible B.C. petition, 
estimated Friday the number of signatures from across B.C. would top 
out at 200,000 - substantially short of the 300,000 needed to force a 
referendum and just half of Sensible B.C.'s target of 400,000.

The petition cutoff date was Thursday and all petition forms had to 
be submitted the Elections B.C. office in Victoria by Sunday morning.

"No, we're not going to make it this time," Larsen said. "If we had 
been getting signatures at the rate, at the beginning of the 
campaign, as we got them at the end of the campaign we would have 
made it. We definitely picked up a lot of momentum over those three months."

Larsen said canvassers who got off to a slow start gained experience 
as the campaign progressed.

Sensible B.C. will take time to study the lessons gained from the 
experience, reorganize and refinance before launching another 
campaign, possibly in mid 2015, Larsen said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom