Pubdate: Tue, 18 Dec 2012
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2012 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Thomas Walkom

CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT PROVIDES MUCH-NEEDED BOOST FOR MARIJUANA INDUSTRY

Thank goodness for common sense. Stephen Harper's Conservative
government is finally privatizing marijuana production.

Cannabis entrepreneurs have long been irked by unfair government
competition. How are private-sector dealers supposed to operate in the
marketplace if their customers have access to what federal health
Minister Leona Aglukkaq justly calls taxpayer subsidized weed?

Aglukkaq's surprise announcement on Sunday claims the privatization
move will affect only the 26,000 people in Canada who use marijuana
for so-called medical purposes.

But astute Harper watchers will recognize that, once again, this
far-sighted prime minister has identified a booming new Canadian
resource industry that - in time - could rival the oilsands.

Colorado and Washington states have just legalized recreational
marijuana use. They will have to obtain their supplies somewhere.

Nor is the Canadian reefer market itself stagnant. As Aglukkaq
acknowledged, the demand for "medical" marijuana in Canada has
experienced an astounding 55-fold increase over the last 10 years.

Ontario's struggling auto industry could only wish for growth figures
like that.

Until now, the minister said, Canada's fledgling legal marijuana
industry has been hampered by red tape and government
interference.

Misguided attempts to let users grow small amounts of medical
marijuana at home irked local fire departments. More than that,
however, the old rules discouraged the economies of scale required to
draw investment dollars into this bold new industry.

At the same time, the original decision to let government bureaucrats
control cannabis production put a damper on private entrepreneurs -
such as the ones operating around the corner from my home who already
provide valuable services to schoolchildren and others.

In the marketplace, marijuana sells for roughly $7 to $10 a gram
according to the authoritative British Columbia website Price of Weed.
Yet unionized civil servants with fat-cat pensions have been providing
the same product to consumers for only $5 a gram.

Is this fair? Perhaps in a world run by union bosses and New
Democratic Party carbon-taxers, the answer might be yes. But
Conservative Canada is not that world.

In Conservative Canada, marijuana is an industry like any other. This
government has just eliminated the Wheat Board's monopoly over grain
production. Did anyone think it would fail to do the same for Canada's
struggling weed entrepreneurs?

Clearly, the cannabis decision is closely tied to Harper's ambitious
trade agenda, and in particular his 2011 free trade pact with Colombia.

At the time, skeptics wondered what Colombia might sell to Canada
under free trade. Now we know. The market for pharmaceuticals is
limitless. Marijuana is only the beginning.

Moreover, Canada can take advantage of highly skilled professionals
from nations like Colombia and Albania, who are knowledgeable about
this growth industry.

Senior executives will be able to use Canada's welcoming immigrant
investor program, which fast-tracks those with the wealth required to
create jobs in our teeming cities.

Lower-level operatives, including security enforcement professionals
and payment encouragement officers, can enter the country as temporary
skilled workers, thereby providing necessary expertise until
provincial apprenticeship programs for servicing the drug trade are up
and running.

What's more, Ottawa's wholesale adoption of international
investor-protection agreements will ensure that this lucrative new
industry remains safe from government interference for years to come.

Even in the unlikely event that the Conservatives lose power
federally, future governments will be unable to make mischief by, for
instance, outlawing the legal marijuana industry.

If they tried, they'd find themselves being sued upside down and
sideways by pharmaceutical cartels headquartered in places like
Afghanistan.

Doctors are aghast at Aglukkaq's decision to privatize this important
industry and treat marijuana like any other prescription drug. Fie on
doctors. What do they know about meeting a payroll?
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D