Pubdate: Sun, 02 Oct 2016
Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.ottawasun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.ottawasun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/329
Page: 13

BUZZKILL: TIME TO SHUT ILLEGAL POT SHOPS

The legalization of marijuana, we are told, is coming.

The Trudeau government has promised to introduce legislation by next
spring.

But on the streets of Ottawa, legalization appears to be in effect
already.

Pot shops have been springing up all over the city, peddling mostly
"medicinal" marijuana products: Brownies, candy, gummies, you name
it.

At last count, there were roughly 15 known shops in the
city.

These shops are, at least for the moment, illegal. There are licensed
producers for medical marijuana, and Canada Post is their delivery
mechanism. Storefronts selling weed or weed-laced products - either to
medical or recreational users - is not on.

Nonetheless, they've become ubiquitous enough that this week Mayor Jim
Watson found himself in the surreal position of having to publicly
advocate that police enforce the law - that they shut down the pot
shops.

"While they're breaking the law, I think the law should be enforced,"
Watson said, surely hearing the words ring out with an odd echo, as if
he were the only grownup in the room.

Kudos to the mayor for stating the obvious, even if it's
unpopular.

We are not saying marijuana is the great moral threat of our time. We
don't honestly believe it is.

What we are saying is that we want pot treated at least as seriously
as other vices, alcohol included. We want it restricted, and kept away
from kids. The Canadian Medical Association recently recommended that
the legal age for consumption be 21, and that the potency be tightly
restricted for those under 25.

That's not paranoia; that's reasonable caution.

Police are understandably hesitant to enforce a law that seems to be
on the way out.

But to throw up our hands and give carte blanche to whoever wants to
hang a shingle seems a little too carefree.

Furthermore, if we wouldn't set up an LCBO next to a school or a
daycare, why is it OK to set up an unlicensed marijuana dispensary
there?

Bylaws don't govern where these shops can set up for a reason: Because
bylaws aren't written to deal with enterprises that are already illegal.

So between the Trudeau government's move to legalize, and the city's
lack of a regulatory framework, a vacuum has been created: One that
law enforcement needs to fill.

The Ontario government took a laudable step this week by introducing
stricter drug-impaired driving penalties, which come into effect Sunday.

After all, this is Ottawa. We didn't initially tolerate it when two
little girls set up a lemonade stand on NCC land. Our city is not
exactly known for being easygoing.

So why are pot shops getting a free pass? They should be made to
respect the law as it stands.
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MAP posted-by: Matt