Pubdate: Mon, 27 Apr 2015
Source: Metro (Vancouver, CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Metro Canada
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3775
Author: Trish Kelly
Page: 12

FEDS SHOULD GET OFF THEIR HIGH HORSE OVER DRUG USE

Rona Ambrose doesn't want Vancouver to discuss regulating medical
marijuana dispensaries at Tuesday's city council meeting - as she made
eminently clear in a stern letter to Vancouver's Mayor Robertson, who
may have paused to wonder what the honourable health minister may have
been smoking when she wrote it.

We shouldn't be surprised the federal government wants to harsh
Vancouver's mellow. The Conservatives have been against Vancouver's
progressive drug policies since Insite - North America's first
safe-injection site - opened 10 years ago. But that didn't stop us
from continuing the fight and becoming international leaders in saving
lives through a harm-reduction model.

The federal government has been too busy (possibly watching Reefer
Madness) to address the logistical issues created by their halfway
legalization of medical marijuana, so the city should step in and regulate.

Make no mistake, the more than 80 unlicensed dispensaries currently
operating in Vancouver are not just playing nice of their own accord;
someone is regulating them, and it's not any level of government. It's
happening underground, conducted by organized crime.

I am not a pot smoker. I actually find most stoned people pretty
annoying and I don't have the activity level to support frequent
snacking. I hope I never need medical marijuana, but a recent stint
with back pain made me more sympathetic to the demand for it. After
Day 5 of constant pain, if I'd been offered a lit bong full of puppy
tears, I would have smoked it.

My sympathy for sufferers of chronic pain aside, please believe how
little personal investment I have in seeing leniency for this
controlled substance.

But, like the City of Vancouver, I can be practical and acknowledge
that there is a need for this kind of service, and that the best way
to remove the risk and criminal influence is to impose government 
regulation.

Vancouver has done its homework. On Tuesday night, city council will
hear a 28-page report prepared by city staff who consulted with
Vancouver School Board, Vancouver Coastal Health and Vancouver Police
Department.

They've gathered best practices from other jurisdictions like
Washington and Colorado, where marijuana was legalized for
recreational use - without the sky falling.

The staff recommendations include a hefty licensing fee, buffer zones
around schools and community centres, and annual criminal record
checks for owners and employees.

The federal government loves to offload responsibilities to municipal
governments when it's convenient. This is one case where cities can
beat the feds just by being first to get off their high horse.

The reward is a handsome revenue stream and the respect of realists.
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MAP posted-by: Matt