Marijuana reform advocates hope Washington and Colorado states' vote Tuesday to legalize and tax marijuana sales will add momentum to their push for change in B.C. While it's not yet clear if the U.S. federal government will allow state-by-state legalization of recreational marijuana use - other states already allow medical marijuana sales - the vote has huge implications here. Washington state estimates it would collect $560 million in the first year from a planned 25-per-cent tax on the sale of licensed, regulated marijuana through authorized stores. [continues 278 words]
Canadian drug law reform advocates were rejoicing after two U. S. states voted to legalize marijuana this week, even as the Harper government brought into effect tough new penalties for pot. The states of Washington and Colorado voted in favour of ballot-box propositions to remove criminal penalties for the possession and sale of recreational marijuana on Tuesday, the same day drug measures in Canada's Safe Streets and Communities Act came into effect. The new measures legislate a minimum six-month jail sentence for growing as few as six marijuana plants. [continues 772 words]
Washington's Move to Legalize Pot part of Trend that will Influence B.C., Advocate says Between triumph and tears in the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday night, a handful of state ballot measures surprised observers on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border. With Initiative 502, Washington state voters ended 70 years of marijuana prohibition. Colorado voters also made it legal for people to consume cannabis recreationally, a stunning turn of events against the backdrop of the continuing U.S. war on drugs. [continues 468 words]
A marijuana legalization activist was in Prince George on Friday to promote his campaign to hold a provincial referendum on the issue. Dana Larsen heads Sensible B.C., which has drafted a proposed amendment to B.C's Police Act that would direct all police in the province - both RCMP and municipal forces - to not take any action in cases of simple marijuana possession by adults. Although marijuana is prohibited under federal legislation, Larsen asserts the provinces can direct the use of police resources and noted eight provinces across Canada refused to enforce the long-gun registry. [continues 684 words]
A recent poll may be indicating a vast majority of B.C. Northern Interior residents are in favour of legalizing marijuana, but it's not enough to sway local Conservative MPs. Both Prince George-Peace River MP Bob Zimmer and Cariboo-Prince George MP Dick Harris say they remain opposed to lifting the prohibition on pot in the face of a poll in which 92 per cent of respondents in this region expressed support for legalizing, regulating and taxing marijuana. Polling company Angus Reid conducted the poll on behalf of Stop the Violence B.C., which asserts that, similar to lifting the prohibition on alcohol in the early 1900s, legalizing marijuana will reduce the prevalence of gang violence and lessen the burden on police, courts and prisons. [continues 543 words]
Poll Suggests Three-Quarters of Population Would Rather Tax and Regulate Marijuana A recent report on British Columbia crime trends shows the number of marijuana possession charges continues to climb, despite the fact many British Columbians want to see marijuana decriminalized. The crime trends report, released in late October by the police services division of the B. C. Ministry of Justice, showed an 88- per- cent increase in possession charges over the last decade: to 3,774 charges last year from 2,004 charges in 2002. [continues 348 words]
The Sensible BC Campaign, working towards a referendum on the decriminalization of possession of marijuana in BC, kicked off its provincial tour in Silverton on October 3. "I'm inspired by this turnout - 20 people came out on short notice in Silverton," said Dana Larsen, who is heading up the campaign. Larsen had scheduled Nelson for his first tour date, but squeezed in a session beforehand at the Cup and Saucer in Silverton when invited by Silverton resident Leah Main. The referendum, following the same process as the HST referendum, Decriminalization of marijuana campaign launched in Silverton will take place in BC in September 2014 if enough people sign up to support it. [continues 610 words]
I don't know what they've been smoking in Victoria... but I wish they'd roll some more and pass it around a bit more freely. Our very own outgoing MLA, Joan McIntyre, has, belatedly, come out in favour of legalizing British Columbia's unofficial herb, marijuana. Tempting as it may be to make a joke about deathbed conversions, I'll gladly take any support this common sense movement can garner. Funny though, why is it that when Joan was actively holding office her lips were sealed and the only thing she was inhaling was the stale air of Liberal doublespeak? [continues 1056 words]
By now, most people have heard that the Union of B.C. Municipalities have voted to decriminalize simple marijuana possession for adults and to ask the federal government to be allowed to study ways to tax and regulate the industry. The goal of Sensible B.C. is to decriminalize marijuana possession in B.C. by bringing the Sensible Policing Act into law. While we will be lobbying the B.C. government to pass the Sensible Policing Act, we will also be working for a provincial referendum on the issue. The Sensible Policing Act has three parts to it. [continues 319 words]
Last week, delegates at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention voted in support of the decriminalization and taxation of marijuana. This vote was in accordance with the principles of the Sensible Policing Act put forward by the Sensible B.C. Campaign, which aims to decriminalize the possession of marijuana, regulate its use (i.e., prohibit minors from using it, just as we do with tobacco and alcohol) and call on the federal government to allow B.C. to investigate how to best tax it for revenue. [continues 649 words]
Dear editor, Re: UBCM marijuana motion divides Comox Valley mayors (Record, Sept. 28). The status quo is NOT breaking bad. With all due respect to Mayor Jangula, I strongly suggest that his position to support the status quo on the topic of marijuana decriminalization is a "bad" one. While the motion that passed at the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) convention in Victoria is indeed largely symbolic, as was acknowledged by the proponents, the call for the government to decriminalize marijuana and research its regulation and taxation is entirely logical, timely and sane. [continues 399 words]
Lot of talk lately about the herb. You know-pot, weed, dope, ganja, grass. Maybe you heard that a resolution went before the Union of B.C. Municipalities in Victoria Wednesday calling for the decriminalization of marijuana. It passed, by the way. The Vancouver Island municipality of Metchosin introduced the resolution, but I wouldn't have been surprised if Vancouver had led the charge to tax and regulate Mary Jane. For the record, Mayor Gregor Robertson and city council-and a whole bunch of municipalities, doctors and former B.C. attorney generals, including Liberal Geoff Plant and NDPer Ujjal Dosanjh-have publicly stated their support to decriminalize the weed. [continues 555 words]
Re: Fix B. C.' s ' drug problem' by legalizing marijuana, Opinion, Sept. 21 There is a big difference between condoning marijuana use and protecting children from drugs. Decriminalization acknowledges the social reality of marijuana and frees users from the stigma of life shattering criminal records. What's really needed is a regulated market with age controls as provided for by BC's Sensible Policing Act. Separating the hard and soft drug markets is critical. The marijuana plant is relatively harmless; marijuana prohibition is deadly. As long as drug cartels control marijuana distribution, consumers will come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like cocaine, meth and heroin. Marijuana prohibition is a gateway drug policy. Robert Sharpe Common Sense for Drug Policy [end]
VANCOUVER - One of British Columbia's leading marijuana advocates says he's going to raise an army of well trained, disciplined volunteers for his effort to decriminalize possession and use of cannabis by adults. Elections BC announced Thursday it has approved in principle an initiative petition filed by Dana Larsen, who ran unsuccessfully for the leadership of B.C.'s New Democrats. Larsen's draft bill, entitled the Sensible Policing Act, would amend the Police Act, and prohibit the use of provincial police resources to enforce simple possession-and-use laws for adults. [continues 288 words]
VANCOUVER - One of B.C.'s leading marijuana advocates says he's going to raise an army of well trained, disciplined volunteers for his effort to decriminalize possession and use of cannabis by adults. Elections B.C. announced Thursday it has approved in principle an initiative petition filed by Dana Larsen, who ran unsuccessfully for the leadership of B.C.'s New Democrats. Larsen's draft bill, entitled the Sensible Policing Act, would amend the Police Act, and prohibit the use of provincial police resources to enforce simple possession-and-use laws for adults. [continues 474 words]
Eliminating Pot Possession Charges Would Ease Court Backlogs, Fall in Step With Other Western Jurisdictions With three western American states mulling legalized marijuana and the Union of B.C. Municipalities set to debate it, a new group wants the province to stop enforcing the federal criminal ban on pot. Several prominent cannabis crusaders have drafted a proposed law, called the Sensible Policing Act, and are asking for a provincial commission to study the regulation and taxation of the demonized plant. Vancouver lawyer Kirk Tousaw said the would-be act instructs police to stop arresting adults for possession, while minors still would not be allowed to possess pot. [continues 468 words]
