Pubdate: Sat, 22 Sep 2012
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 Times Colonist
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/letters.html
Website: http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: Elaine O'Connor
Cited: Stop the Violence BC: http://stoptheviolencebc.org/

EFFORT TO DECRIMINALIZE POT GOES TO UBCM

VANCOUVER - A panel of medical and legal experts - including former
B.C. attorney-general Geoff Plant - will try to convince the Union of
B.C. Municipalities to support the decriminalization of marijuana and
its regulated sale.

The panel is holding a debate in Victoria on Monday in advance of the
UBCM's annual convention.

Delegates are later expected to vote on a resolution that calls on
governments to "decriminalize marijuana and research the regulation
and taxation of marijuana."

"We're hoping this issue gains more traction with provincial
politicians and contributes to discussions about health and safety
issues that are a direct consequence of cannabis prohibition," Dr.
Evan Wood, a professor of medicine at the University of B.C., said
Friday.

Wood is a member of Stop the Violence B.C., a coalition dedicated to
implementing marijuana policies that improve public health.

The group supports the distribution of marijuana through monitored
outlets, with age and hour of-sale restrictions, as well as limits on
potency and the number of outlets.

"No one is advocating for unrestrained marijuana legislation, but we
are talking about a framework of strict controls that has the
potential to wage economic war on organized crime, to increase
[government] revenues and reduce rates of marijuana use in the
province," Wood said.

He added that he hoped the resolution, if approved, would gain
traction at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and with the
federal government.

The debate will feature Wood, Plant, Const. David Bratzer of the
Victoria Police Department, Dr. Darryl Plecas, Dave Williams of the
RCMP's drug enforcement branch and Cmdr. Pat Slack of Washington
state's Snohomish County drug task force.

Bratzer - speaking while off duty and with views that do not reflect
that of his employer - said that continuing to police low level
marijuana crimes was a waste of policing dollars.

"Municipal politicians in B.C. are very concerned about the rising
police costs, and cannabis enforcement is expensive," he said Friday.

"Millions of dollars are spent every year on marijuana enforcement to
little effect. "

Bratzer pointed to a 2010 Ministry of Public Safety report showing
that 15,638 people had been charged with cannabis possession that
year, another 1,285 with cannabis trafficking and 2,105 with production.

Cannabis offences accounted for 70 per cent of all drug offences that
year.

The B.C. vote comes as several American states - Colorado, Washington
and Oregon - are also considering legalizing the drug, with a vote on
their ballots in the November elections. Medical marijuana exemptions
are already in effect in 17 states.

And it comes as B.C. marijuana advocate Dana Larsen plans to challenge
the Police Act with an Elections Canada-approved petition initiative
that would prohibit the use of provincial police resources to enforce
laws on possession and use of marijuana.

The marijuana vote is just one of the key resolutions to be debated by
1,500 delegates at the UBCM convention, which runs Monday to Friday in
Victoria.
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MAP posted-by: Matt