Pubdate: Tue, 03 Feb 2015
Source: Parksville Qualicum Beach News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Black Press
Contact:  http://www.pqbnews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1361
Author: John Harding

PV WEED PRIORITY

Parksville Mayor Marc Lefebvre is in quite the pickle.

On Thursday, eight people with signs and their own version of Bob 
Dylan showed up at Coffee With Council and asked the mayor what he 
was going to do to help his constituents who use marijuana as medicine.

Lefebvre is the mayor of a city. He is not a Member of Parliament who 
helps make laws or a lawyer or a doctor or a police officer.

Our experience with Lefebvre has shown him to be a compassionate man 
who cares about the less fortunate in our community. He has been a 
champion of accessibility issues, for example.

He is from a generation that generally does not question authority 
or, if he did, that feeling died soon after Woodstock.

There isn't much Lefebvre can do about marijuana laws in this 
country. However, he can no longer say he is powerless, a stance he's 
been trying to take since we broke the story about the medical 
marijuana dispensary setting up shop in his city.

Lefebvre has been saying he takes his advice from the chief of police 
on this matter. Oceanside RCMP Staff Sgt. Brian Hunter's view is 
marijuana is a controlled substance and the possession and/or 
distribution of such is an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada.

True, for the moment, and we don't believe we'd want a chief of 
police to say anything other than he will enforce the criminal code.

However, from time to time, city council meets with the chief to talk 
about priorities. They discuss problems of the day and the need to 
shift enforcement priorities to or from one problem or another 
(graffiti, theft from vehicles, etc.). The criminality of these 
certain acts has not changed in the criminal code, but they change in 
frequency and the people paying the freight (taxpayers) could suggest 
their police force deal with the most pressing issues.

Lefebvre, along with city council, could if they wish direct the RCMP 
to back off any medical marijuana dispensary. It's up to Hunter 
whether he will, or can, pay attention to that request. Hunter was 
scheduled to appear before council last night, after our press time.

Until he's done that, Lefebvre cannot continue to say there's nothing 
more he can do about this issue.

- - Editorial by John Harding
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom