Pubdate: Sun, 04 Oct 2015
Source: North Shore News, The (CN QU)
Copyright: 2015 The North Shore News
Contact:  http://www.ns-news.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4497
Author: Brent Richter
Page: A1

FEDERAL PARTIES WEIGH IN ON LEGAL POT DEBATE

Canada's three major opposition parties agree: It's time to reform 
Canada's pot laws - though they all have their own take on how that 
ought to be done.

The federal Liberals were the first to make a declarative stance that 
Canada needs to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana.

"We don't think this war on drugs has worked," said Pamela 
Goldsmith-Jones, Liberal candidate for West Vancouver-Sunshine 
Coast-Sea to Sky Country.

A recent World Health Organization report noted that Canada has the 
highest teen usage of marijuana, something that would likely go down 
if it were better regulated, Goldsmith-Jones said. "Right now, it's 
easier to get a hold of marijuana than cigarettes or alcohol for 
minors," she said. "We're trying to address that because we want to 
keep young people healthy. We think legalizing marijuana is the best 
way to keep it out of the hands of children and to keep the proceeds 
from funding criminal activities." Goldsmith-Jones said the exact 
model for how marijuana would be sold legally would be determined in 
consultation with the Canadian people. "We have to have a public 
debate. Right now, we have not been able to do that," she said The 
NDP's campaign is promising to decriminalize simple possession of the 
pot, but their plan stops short of full legalization. 
"(Decriminalization) is something we can do immediately and we don't 
have to work with the provinces to do it," said Carol! Baird Ellan, 
NDP candidate in Burnaby North-Seymour and a former judge. "Our view 
is no one should be criminalized for simple possession. They 
shouldn't have a criminal record. ... It's something where the 
penalty is unnecessary for those kinds of issues."

As for what happens next, Baird Ellan said it would have to be studied.

"We're going to look at what is the best approach. We've talked about 
striking an independent commission, talking it out with the 
provinces, and studying the issue," she said. "We obviously need an 
approach that removes it from the current situation in terms of 
organized crime being involved in supply."

The Green Party's plan not only includes legalization, regulation and 
taxation but also estimates on how much money the government could 
rake in as well as how to spend it.

"Our party makes decisions and policies based on a pragmatic approach 
to issues and based on science and expert advice," said Ken Melamed, 
West Vancouver candidate. "The war on drugs has failed. We lost the 
war on drugs."

Money raised from the sale of pot would go to fund "the rebuilding of 
the country," Melamed said.

"Within four years, it could be around the $5-billion mark and that 
doesn't include the savings to the Canadian economy. We know that 
there's millions of dollars in law enforcement still being spent on 
trying to keep fighting the war on drugs that will be saved."

No one from any of the North Shore's three Conservative campaigns 
made themselves available for an interview. The Conservatives brought 
in mandatory minimum prison sentences for people caught growing as 
few as six pot plants, though that law was struck down as "cruel and 
unusual" by the Ontario Supreme Court early this week.

The Conservatives issued a press release on Friday promising a 
re-elected government would continue to combat illegal drugs. "Our 
national anti-drug strategy is working," South Vancouver candidate 
Alice Wong said. "But there is much more that needs to be done to 
combat drug use, particularly among youth."

The party is promising to set up a toll-free phone line for parents 
concerned their kids are into drugs; direct the Canadian Mental 
Health Commission to focus on the link between substance abuse and 
mental health; and increase funding for the RCMP's meth lab and 
grow-op enforcement.

An Insights West poll released this week found 65 per cent of 
Canadians favour full legalization compared to 30 per cent who oppose it.

"I would say the Conservatives are completely out of step with 
prevailing attitudes," said Neil Boyd, SFU criminology professor. 
Boyd said Canada's pot laws are still enforced, although it varies 
from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

"You're 25 times more likely to be stopped in Kelowna as in St. 
John's, or about six or seven times more likely in Kelowna as opposed 
to Victoria," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom