Pubdate: Thu, 16 Nov 2017
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2017 Times Colonist
Contact:  http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: Barbara Wiggins
Page: A11

CITY COUNCIL OVERLOOKS DRAWBACKS OF POT

There are many absurdities in Victoria city council's pot-regulation
proposals:

Second-hand smoke, whether it is from tobacco or pot, affects everyone
in the vicinity. When you add pot's psychoactive components into the
mix, non-users get all the unhealthy tar and lung contaminant and they
also get stoned. Not everyone has a pleasant reaction to cannabis.

While I can decline a drink if it is offered, I can't decline the
effect of pot smoke in my air, whether it's from a pot lounge or
seeping through the ventilation system of a building.

City council unleashed rampant licensing of pot dispensaries, and is
now having difficulty managing their proliferation. City taxpayers
shoulder the burden for bylaw enforcement and regulation while shop
owners reap windfall profits.

Council should be asking the provincial government to oversee and tax
the distribution of recreational pot through the Liquor Control Board
and outlets. This is the only way out of the regulatory minefield
councillors foolishly waltzed into.

Medical marijuana should be grown with full quality control and known
quantities of THC and CBD, prescribed by a physician in oral or patch
form, and dispensed by a pharmacist. If it is medically necessary, it
should be part of the medical system.

Mayor Lisa Helps and council: You may register this as
pushback.

Barbara Wiggins

Victoria
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MAP posted-by: Matt