Pubdate: Fri, 18 Dec 2015
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2015 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Ian Bailey
Page: S1

TOO EARLY TO COMMENT ON SALE OF POT: PM

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn't committing to the sale of
marijuana in liquor outlets, as Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and
others have suggested, but he isn't ruling it out.

During a visit to Vancouver City Hall on Thursday - the first by a
sitting prime minister since Mr. Trudeau's father, Pierre, visited in
1973 - Mr. Trudeau said he is open to all "best practices" on the
issue as he forges ahead with his commitment to legalize and regulate
marijuana.

Federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, a Vancouver MP who
accompanied Mr. Trudeau on the visit, said there is no specific
deadline for completing the legalization process.

"I am not going to commit to a timeline because we want to ensure that
we approach it in a comprehensive way, ensuring we speak broadly with
other levels of government," she told reporters.

Asked about selling pot through liquor stores, Ms. Wilson-Raybould
said she appreciated that Ontario's Premier and others are expressing
their ideas, and she looks forward to working with all provinces and
stakeholders.

As for whether criminal charges would be laid ahead of legalization,
she said thatmarijuana remains illegal at this time.

Mr. Trudeau received an effusive welcome at City Hall, with dozens of
municipal staff, elected officials, senior police and fire officials,
and members of the public lining up outside to await him and filling
the cramped main hall.

The Prime Minister met with Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, whose
government struggled this year to manage a boom in medical marijuana
dispensaries - an effort that was sharply criticized by the former
Conservative federal government.

"When it comes to distribution, when it comes to selling, obviously
the provinces and, indeed, the municipalities will have to be an
integral part of that discussion and we're expecting there to be
different perspectives and different solutions put forward," Mr.
Trudeau said.

"The challenge of getting this important initiative right is one of
ensuring we are broadly listening to partners, to folks in the medical
marijuana industry, to municipal partners, to provinces and drawing
from best practices from around the world," he said. "We're going to
get this right in a way that suits Canadians broadly."

In a subtle jab at the former Conservative government, Mr. Robertson
said the city had no choice but to step in to regulate dispensaries
because "there was no thoughtful controls coming from Ottawa."

But he said it was too soon to be specific about how to regulate
marijuana, beyond saying Vancouver would take and apply lessons from
managing dispensaries to the new regime that would be created by Ottawa.

"It remains to be seen," he told reporters after Mr. Trudeau had
departed. "We need to understand what the options are. We see
different approaches in different states south of the border. We want
to make sure we have all the facts in front of us before we make any
decisions around distribution."

Earlier this year, Vancouver introduced a business licensing system to
regulate medicalmarijuana dispensaries, which have proliferated in the
city despite remaining illegal under federal law.

This week, Ontario's Ms. Wynne called for marijuana to be sold through
government-owned liquor stores in her province, suggesting the
liquor-distribution mechanism could responsibly sell the drug.

Her comments followed those of the union representing workers in
government-owned stores in B.C. in a partnership with the B.C. Private
Liquor Store Association, who support a similar approach.

Independent Senator Larry Campbell, who, along with all Liberal
senators, was expelled from the caucus two years ago, said
legalization is well below other priorities of a government that is
"just trying to get their feet on the ground and get their staff together."

"I don't think it's really on their radar yet," he said from his home
on Galiano Island on Wednesday. "We're looking at two years down the
road before we get to some form of legalization."

Mr. Campbell, who pushed for harm reduction on the Downtown Eastside
when he was Vancouver's mayor, said the government should first fix
the failing medical marijuana system, where fewer than two dozen
licensed producers are restricted to mailing their product to a
patient base of roughly 18,000 people.

"You could actually set up a bank in this country with less
regulations from the point of view of security and all the rest of
it," said Mr. Campbell, who is an adviser to aspiring pot grower Vodis
Innovative Pharmaceuticals Inc.

"From the start, I don't think the [former Conservative] government
was supportive of [the federal medical marijuana system] and the
bureaucracy was caught in the middle, quite frankly."

He said the federal government should create retail avenues for
medical marijuana producers to sell their product to customers.

- with a report from Mike Hager