Pubdate: Tue, 01 May 2012
Source: Kelowna Capital News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012, West Partners Publishing Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.kelownacapnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1294
Author: Alistair Waters

MAYOR STEERS CLEAR OF LEGAL POT DEBATE

Kelowna's mayor says he was at the meeting in which several Okanagan 
mayors were asked to sign a letter supporting the decriminalization 
of marijuana.

But unlike his Lake Country, Enderby, Armstrong and Vernon 
counterparts, Walter Gray declined, offering instead to petition the 
Union of B.C. Municipalities to include Stop The Violence B.C. in a 
forum at its annual convention in September to "start a national 
dialogue" on the issue.

"We were all asked to sign on but I felt it was a big leap for a 
(newly elected) mayor to make at that time," Gray said Monday.

Gray was re-elected mayor of Kelowna in November after nine-years out 
of public office. Five of his eight councillors are rookies.

The meeting with Stop The Violence, a group dedicated to either 
legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana in B.C. to reduce the 
involvement of organized crime and curtail increasing police budgets 
needed to fight the problems associated with the current pot 
prohibition, took place in Kelowna about six weeks ago, said Gray.

Last week, the four Okanagan mayors, along with their counterparts in 
Vancouver, Burnaby the City of North Vancouver and the small 
Vancouver Island village of Metchosin, released a letter they sent to 
Premier Christy Clark, NDP leader Adrian Dix and B.C. Conservative 
leader John Cummins calling on the province to regulate and tax 
marijuana in a bid to take the drug out of the hands of criminals.

Gray, while he has not formulated a personal position on legalizing 
or decriminalizing pot, or had direction from his council, he has 
sent his letter to the UBCM. As of Monday, he had not received a reply.

He said Stop The Violence has, however, been invited to publicly 
address Kelowna council directly on the issue at an upcoming public 
council meeting.

The mayor, who said he believes the issue is a federal one and 
ultimately needs to be addressed at that level, said it is important 
that the public let the government in Ottawa know exactly how it 
feels about the issue.

"I believe that something as sensitive as this needs the Canadian 
public to send a strong signal to government," said Gray.

So far, publicly, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he has no 
intention of legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana.

Despite that position, Gray said he is happy to try and start 
national conversation on the issue and he hopes the UBCM will be that forum.

The mayors who signed the letter to the provincial politicians said 
they are concerned about growing levels of violence in their 
communities as a result of Canada's current marijuana laws, the 
presence of organized crime and the costs to deal with those issues.

"Given the ongoing gang activity, widespread availability of 
marijuana and high costs associated with enforcement, leaders at all 
levels of government must take responsibility for marijuana policy," 
the letter said. "We are asking you as provincial leaders to take a 
new approach to marijuana regulation."

The mayors' letter comes after four former B.C. attorneys general - 
including former B.C. premier and federal health minister Ujjal 
Dosanjh - called for marijuana decriminalization in February. Former 
Vancouver mayors Larry Campbell, Mike Harcourt, Sam Sullivan and 
Philip Owen made a similar call for pot decriminalization late last year.

Gray said he would like to see a forum at the UBCM meeting in 
September because that could include other points of view necessary 
for a proper discussion of the issue.

He agreed a concern for municipalities is the level of funding for 
policing due to drug crimes and said he was told 70 per cent of all 
drug crimes in this country are related to marijuana. The mayors who 
sent the letter to Clark, Dix and Cummins estimated the production 
and sale of marijuana in B.C. is now a $7 billion a year industry.

Gray said if marijuana is to be decriminalized, it should also be 
regulated and taxed.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom