Pubdate: Wed, 15 Feb 2012
Source: North Shore News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 North Shore News
Contact:  http://www.nsnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/311
Page: A6

POT-ENTIAL CHANGE

FOUR former attorneys general of British Columbia have coauthored a 
letter asking Premier Christy Clark and Opposition leader Adrian Dix 
to endorse an end to marijuana prohibition.

Colin Gabelmann, Ujjal Dosanjh, Graeme Bowbrick and Geoff Plant 
represent an unusual alignment of former senior cabinet ministers: 
three NDP politicians, one a premier, and one B.C. Liberal. 
Old-timers here will remember that North VancouverSeymour was an NDP 
riding in the early 1970s, represented by Gabelmann.

What makes their letter politically compelling is that they all used 
to be responsible for law enforcement in this province. The laws 
their police forces upheld continue to give thousands of - mostly 
young - British Columbians a criminal record every year. Now they are 
out of government, they are calling for political leadership to 
change marijuana drug policy.

Better late than never, perhaps, but they add their voices to the 
growing sentiment that something has to change - if only for 
financial reasons. "Punitive laws such as mandatory minimum sentences 
are clearly not the solution," they wrote, calling for taxation and 
regulation "under a public health framework" as a way forward.

The former attorneys general join four former Vancouver mayors and 
the Health Officers Council of B.C. in recent high-profile 
endorsements of Stop the Violence B.C., an organization dedicated to 
reducing social harms and violent crime.

According to Angus Reid, 78 per cent of the B.C. public agrees with 
their stance. Perhaps change is in the air.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart