Pubdate: Wed, 24 Feb 2016
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2016 The StarPhoenix
Contact:  http://thestarphoenix.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Morgan Modjeski
Page: A2

PROF. ARGUES POT SALES IN PUBLIC LIQUOR STORES MAY SHRED STIGMA

A Brock University professor says Canada's provincial governments 
should consider distributing marijuana through public liquor stores 
as a way to change people's perspective on the drug following the 
federal Liberals' 2015 election promise to legalize it.

Dan Malleck, an associate professor of health sciences, is among the 
panellists scheduled to speak at a symposium on marijuana 
legalization at the University of Saskatchewan this week.

Malleck, who has studied the history of liquor control and drug 
prohibition, said provincial governments sold alcohol in the past not 
to perpetuate prohibition principles, but rather to normalize alcohol 
use for the public.

"A lot of people look at these liquor control systems and say, 'Oh, 
this was just a temperance movement in government,' but it wasn't the 
case," Malleck said.

"They were trying to make it available and accessible, but not 
consumed in an overly problematic way."

He argues a similar approach should be considered to change the 
perception around marijuana, since many people are concerned about 
marijuana as a dangerous drug associated with criminality.

"A moderate introduction of cannabis legally would follow, in some 
ways, the same process that liquor control did and make it less 
problematic and really alleviate concerns about (marijuana) as a 
problematic substance," he said.

The event, entitled The Rise of Big Cannabis: A Symposium Examining 
Legal and Illegal Weed, was organized in part by Lucas Richert, a 
history of medicine instructor in the U of S Department of History.

Richert said the conference will examine the future of recreational 
and medicinal marijuana use, alongside marketing and regulation of 
the drug, providing insight into the issue on multiple levels.

"The conference is meant to provide a big picture for the public and 
help answer questions," he said.

"The public can get a lot in terms of context ... It helps to answer 
esoteric policy questions and helps to frame some of the debates that 
are going on right now at the national and the provincial level."

Richert said the ethics of marijuana use and how police services 
respond to it may also emerge as topics of conversation.

"It has the potential for real impact on everyday citizens' lives 
here in the city," he said.

Brent Zettl, president and CEO of Saskatchewan-based CanniMed, is 
scheduled to speak at the event. He said he hopes to further clarify 
the differences between medical and recreational marijuana.

"Our role, really, is to help make sure that we get a clear message 
of what medical access is and what medical use means for this 
particular plant," he said.

Zettl said he'll also pay close attention to conversations around 
marketing regulations, noting there has been a some strain between 
his company and Health Canada over how it informs patients about its 
products. Advertising narcotics is prohibited.

"(We) provide educational materials or information so that a patient 
can choose correctly," he said. "It's always been a tension between 
us and Health Canada in terms of how far we can go ... that it starts 
to promote versus educate. Our role is really one of education."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom