Pubdate: Wed, 16 Apr 2014
Source: Nelson Star (CN BC)
Page: Page 5
Copyright: 2014 Black Press
Contact:  http://www.bclocalnews.com/kootenay_rockies/nelsonstar/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4866
Author: Greg Nesteroff
Note: With files from Brian Lawrence, Creston Valley Advance

Marijuana 'Virtually Legal' In Nelson, Website Says

POLICE CHIEF REFUTES CLAIM

A website devoted to marijuana tourism claims pot is "virtually legal"
in Nelson, although its editor admits the page is "pretty outdated"
and the city's police chief disagrees with most of it.

Creston RCMP Staff Sgt. Bob Gollan recently referred to webehigh.org
in a quarterly report to town council. He said they find pot in just
about every vehicle they stop and noted the website rated Creston at
4.5 and Nelson at five on a scale where one is "very illegal" and five
is "virtually legal."

They are the only Kootenay communities profiled on the site. A related
blog contains articles like "Top 10 Marijuana travel destinations
2014" (Canada comes in at No. 8) and "Five useful tips for finding
weed while on vacation."

The Nelson page is dated August 2012, like most entries on the site,
but appears to contain much older information. After giving some
background on Canada's marijuana laws through the early 2000s, it states:

"Law enforcement: Some cops will take your stash to smoke it, others
just want to bust you. Public smoking is more or less okay if you're
not dumb about it.

"Where to buy marijuana in Nelson: You can ask around Baker Street. 
This should be mentioned ... there is a head shop that will SELL you 
weed directly if you are 19 or over and have your ID ... For legal 
reason[s] get to Nelson and find the shop name yourselves, everyone knows it."

But if that's a reference to the Holy Smoke Culture Shop, it's been
out of business for several years.

"Actually that page is pretty outdated," the site's editor said in an
email. "I have over 1,200 articles on the site and it's hard to find
time to edit the least popular ones. As for the head shop that sells
weed, I can't really comment since I don't know, but the article is
old and was user submitted well over two years ago."

Police unimpressed

Nelson police chief Wayne Holland refuted many or most of the
article's assertions, including the central premise that marijuana is
practically legal here.

The same year the review was posted, the Star published a story noting
more than twice as many possession charges had been laid in Nelson in
recent years compared to a decade earlier and the per capita rate was
much higher than the rest of the country.

"We are by no means a 'virtually legal' city," Holland said, although
he added the police department prides itself on marijuana enforcement
strategies and policies that deal with each incident individually.
Immediate enforcement is only be applied when there is "blatantly
egregious conduct," a connection to organized crime, or a chronic
offender. "Discretion is something our officers rely on and exercise
very wisely, given the 'pro-usage' attitudes on marijuana that are
especially prevalent in Nelson and the Kootenay region," Holland said.

He said the notion local officers would steal drugs and consume them
was "offensive" and "likely confirms the author has imbibed too much
of his/her own stash and/or is extremely ill-informed with regards to
the standards associated with the hiring of police officers in this
country." (Holland said he has investigated one or two such cases in
his career, but it is "extremely rare.")

He also said the statement some police "just want to bust you" is
"ridiculous" because officers are already busy with more important
things and the work required to run someone in for a minor drug
offence isn't "palatable or practical."

He noted most police chiefs are advocating for a ticketing process in
simple possession cases, similar to traffic and liquor offences, which
require no arrest and result in no criminal record.

"Overall, I'd suggest the site is doing a bad job of providing
information on this issue," Holland said. "I have a feeling they are
being extremely general and unsophisticated in their opinions."

One area, however, he found closer to the mark was the site's
suggestion that the price of marijuana in Nelson is "$20 to $30,
usually $25 per 1/8 [ounce], $40 to $50 per 1/4 [ounce]. $100 to $150
per ounce."

Holland said that's "not too far off," but the amounts are a "a bit
low."

Philip McMillan of the Nelson Cannabis Compassion Club said the prices
"seem about right on the low end. On the high end they are a bit off."

He also said that regardless of the community's tolerance for
marijuana, "I don't recommend smoking in public, even in Nelson. It's
a bit of a crap shoot."

- - With files from Brian Lawrence, Creston Valley Advance 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D