Pubdate: Wed, 22 Nov 2017
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2017 Times Colonist
Contact:  http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Page: A10

LEGALIZATION WILL BRING CHALLENGES

The ramifications of legalized marijuana keep popping up, as
governments try to prepare for the new reality that is rapidly
approaching. Municipalities are at the sharp end of the issue. As so
often happens, they will have the bulk of the responsibility, while
having the least power and the fewest resources.

Victoria city council has offered a list of suggestions to the
provincial government, as the province tries to answer its own slice
of the many questions about the production, sale and use of marijuana.
The city's list gives a taste of the many possibilities that
policymakers have to foresee.

The province asked for input on the minimum age for possession of pot,
and the city suggests making it 19, the same as for liquor. That makes
sense both to prevent headaches for everyone from police to store
clerks, and to acknowledge the medical evidence that marijuana has a
harmful effect on the developing brains of teenagers.

Drug-impaired driving is an obvious concern, as police and government
officials look for reliable instruments to test for pot impairment.
The city wants laws that take a strong line and have zero tolerance
for drug impairment among young drivers with L or N licences. Anything
less is inviting a problem of the kind we already have with alcohol
impairment.

Among other new tasks, police will have to watch for impaired drivers
and track down those who violate new laws on how much each person can
possess and grow. Victoria police Chief Del Manak warned council he
expects legalization to add to the workload of his officers, a
prediction that prompted scornful responses from advocates of
legalization.

Perhaps with Manak's warning in mind, city councillors are asking the
province to build the legalization framework so it reduces municipal
policing costs. It's one the province should take seriously, as
municipalities carry too much of the work created by higher levels of
government. At least on its face, it should be possible to save
law-enforcement money if we legalize something that has been illegal,
but Manak suggests appearances can be deceiving.

Not that making something illegal stops it from happening, of course.
Just look at the cannabis-consumption lounges that have sprung up
despite the city's prohibition against them. The city's list of
suggestions includes a licensing system for consumption lounges.

"We're seeing a need for it in our community right now, as there are
lounges that are operating illegally based on our regulations and
current laws," said Coun. Jeremy Loveday.

There's a curious logic there - that we should identify a community's
legitimate needs by the laws that people break. Should we then
instruct drivers to leave their cars unlocked because car thieves
demonstrate society's need for free transportation?

Facetiousness aside, if we allow lounges for the consumption of
alcohol, why would we not allow similar establishments for the
consumption of legal marijuana? The difference, of course, is that
most pot is smoked. Studies have suggested that like cigarette smoke,
marijuana smoke contains carcinogens.

We have finally managed to put strong rules around cigarette smoking
to protect employees and bystanders from the hazards of second-hand
smoke. It would be foolish to go backward by upending that work for
pot smokers.

As councillors recommended in their list, clean-air bylaws have to
apply to marijuana.

City council has not plumbed the depths of the potential regulatory
headaches, but it has made some sensible recommendations to the
province. More difficult decisions lie ahead.

No doubt, the law of unintended consequences will go into effect along
with the new marijuana laws.
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MAP posted-by: Matt