Pubdate: Fri, 27 Apr 2012
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html
Website: http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Mike Raptis
Cited: Stop the Violence BC: http://stoptheviolencebc.org/

EIGHT MAYORS CALL FOR END TO MARIJUANA PROHIBITION

The call to end marijuana prohibition is now being made by a coalition
of B.C. mayors.

In a letter Thursday addressed to provincial political leaders, eight
mayors representing municipalities across B.C. cited gang violence,
ongoing risks to the community and soaring policing costs resulting
from the illegal marijuana trade.

They urged provincial politicians to support the regulation and
taxation of cannabis.

"We see the detrimental effects of marijuana prohibition in our
communities on a daily basis," Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan said in a
news release.

"Huge profits for organized crime and widespread gang violence in our
cities are the result of this failed policy."

In the letter, the mayors point to an Angus Reid poll showing a vast
majority (66 per cent) of constituents support the taxation and
regulation of pot, while only 12 per cent support the current approach.

"We stand together as B.C. mayors because we think our communities
will be safer and our children better protected from criminal elements
if we overturn marijuana prohibition," City of North Vancouver Mayor
Darrell Mussatto said Thursday.

The group of mayors also includes: James Baker of Lake Country, Chris
Pieper of Armstrong, John Ranns of District of Metchosin, Howie Cyr of
Enderby, Robert Sawatzky of Vernon and Gregor Robertson of Vancouver.

The mayors also endorsed the Stop the Violence B.C. (STVBC) campaign
in their letter.

STVBC is a coalition of academic, legal, law-enforcement and health
experts campaigning to reform cannabis law.

The founder of STVBC, Dr. Evan Wood, notes a growing movement among
municipal politicians to overturn cannabis prohibition.

At the recent annual conference for the Association of Vancouver
Island and Coastal Communities, 75 per cent of the 240 delegates
supported a resolution that calls on Ottawa to change its marijuana
laws.

And in late 2011, four former Vancouver mayors - Larry Campbell, Mike
Harcourt, Sam Sullivan and Philip Owen - made a similar call for pot
decriminalization.

In February, four former attorneys-general added their voices to the
mix, saying "the case demonstrating the failure and harms of marijuana
prohibition is airtight." 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D