Pubdate: Wed, 10 Aug 2016
Source: Sooke News Mirror (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Sooke News Mirror
Contact:  http://www.sookenewsmirror.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2142

OTTAWA MUST ACT ON POT ISSUE

Sooke mom Kate Karassev began an online petition last week asking 
Sooke council to consider regulating medical marijuana dispensaries here.

Karassev's concerns are well founded.

The City of Victoria is moving toward regulating marijuana 
dispensaries that have popped up on city streets. There are 38 known 
dispensaries known to operate in Victoria.

Karassev's fear is that some - or many - of these dispensaries will 
move to Sooke. Since April, two marijuana operations have opened in 
Sooke and reportedly a third and fourth are on the way.

So far, Sooke council has not acted on regulating the business. The 
only regulation is the standard business licence bylaw.

One thing is clear: there won't be any winners in the ongoing 
marijuana dispute until the federal government comes up with some 
concrete answers on what the public is or is not allowed to access 
and who they're allowed to get it from.

We sympathize with the people who are using marijuana as medicine for 
chronic issues.

Some say it's the only relief they've found in years of trying 
different prescriptions or strategies to manage their pain or symptoms.

We understand that for those people, the crackdown on dispensaries 
will drive them to find underground sources. In some ways, the 
unwillingness of the authorities to turn a blind eye to businesses 
selling controlled doses of the chemical in the form of tinctures, 
oils and consumables, actually supports the independent dealers and 
black market - the "real criminals," some would call them.

On the other side of the coin, however, who gets to decide which laws 
the authorities should uphold?

If a law is bad, we need to have the law changed, not complain that 
the authorities are upholding it.

This fall, the feds are expected to come to the table with 
legislation surrounding access to marijuana for medicinal purposes, 
at which point we should have some answers and can actually move 
forward in a productive manner instead of having everyone yelling at 
each other about whether it's a waste of taxpayer dollars to enforce the law.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom