Pubdate: Tue, 28 Apr 2015
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Authors: Thomas Kerr and Julio Montaner
Page: B4

OTTAWA OUT OF STEP WITH CANADIANS' VIEWS TOWARD POT

Drug policy: The time to explore alternatives to the failed approach
of marijuana prohibition has come

Once again a familiar story about drugs is unfolding in Canada and it
goes like this. A municipality, not surprisingly Vancouver, wants to
take a new approach to drug policy. Simply put, the municipality,
largely because of a failure on the part of the federal government to
effectively administer medicinal cannabis, is responding to an
explosive growth in cannabis dispensaries locally by seeking to
regulate them. The federal government has immediately responded by
expressing its strong disapproval with such novel measures, largely
because they will undermine the ruling party's anti-drug stance and
apparently lead to a massive escalation in cannabis use.

Why is this story so familiar? It's because Canada has continued to
take countless steps backwards in its approach to drug policy since
Stephen Harper took power. Canada's National Drug Strategy was changed
to the "Anti-drug Strategy," and all references to harm reduction were
removed. Whenever there has been an attempt to move beyond existing
failed approaches, the Conservative government has responded with
contempt and claims that the sky is falling.

So now the Conservative government is very unhappy that the City of
Vancouver is seeking to regulate cannabis dispensaries. Within 24
hours of the City's announcement, Minister of Health Rona Ambrose
issued a statement of extreme disapproval. She noted that legitimizing
cannabis sales and use would only have the effect of increasing
cannabis use and addiction.

Conservatives said the same things about Insite - that it would
somehow legitimize injection drug use and lead to escalated drug use,
crime and public disorder. However, a large body of peer-reviewed
evidence found these claims to be entirely false. Fortunately science
trumped ideology and Insite remains in operation today.

So will the regulation of cannabis dispensaries lead to such terrible
outcomes? It remains to be seen, but given what information we have it
seems unlikely. Although cannabis coffee shops have been tolerated in
the Netherlands for decades, the rate of cannabis use in that country
is much lower than in the U.S., which has spent billions enforcing
anti-cannabis laws. So far, following the legalization of cannabis in
Colorado, no significant increases in cannabis use or associated
health problems have been seen.

Interestingly, there could be many positive unintended impacts of
allowing dispensaries to exist that extend beyond the expected
benefits related to increased access to medical cannabis. A recent
U.S. study found rates of fatal overdose due to prescription opioid
misuse were lower in states with medicinal cannabis laws than in
states without them.

However, there are other important benefits of alternative approaches
to cannabis regulation that should not be overlooked. In the first 10
months following the legalization of cannabis regulation in Colorado,
more than $40 million was raised in tax revenue, some of which went
toward youth focused drug programs.

The time to explore alternatives to the failed approach to cannabis
prohibition has come. Poll after poll shows Canadians are ready for
this. Yet here we are once again hearing the same old sad story about
drug policy change in Canada. However, just as when the city of
Vancouver and the Province of British Columbia resisted the
Conservative government's efforts to close Insite, the feds'
opposition to its move to regulate cannabis dispensaries should again
be ignored. In fact, they should explore innovative approaches to the
regulation of cannabis production, distribution and use in a manner
that protects and promotes health, which in turn could generate much
needed revenue for our ailing health care system.
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MAP posted-by: Matt