Pubdate: Fri, 04 Mar 2016 Source: North Shore News, The (CN QU) Copyright: 2016 The North Shore News Contact: http://www.ns-news.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4497 HIGH TIME There's little debate anymore that Canadians prefer legalization, taxation and regulation of marijuana and the Trudeau government has the mandate to bring that in. But we're starting to feel a bit light headed at the hazy grey area the controlled substance now occupies. People continue to be charged with simple possession yet "medicinal" pot dispensaries are sprouting like weeds, including in North Vancouver. This legal grey area is not only confusing Canadians, it's leaving cities struggling to deal with dispensaries through their zoning bylaws. Many people consider them to be a blight on their neighbourhood. It doesn't help that you can get a "medical professional" to write a prescription based on some very vaguely defined symptoms - some perhaps no more serious than boredom. Those with legitimate health issues also make use of the dispensaries but in practice many pot shops are selling to recreational users already. It leaves the drug being distributed without the critical regulation and taxation we all agree needs to be in place. We urge the federal Liberals to move expeditiously on this. We have the luxury of being able to learn from the mistakes and successes of the U.S. states who had the courage to pursue legalization before us. In the meantime, we'd hate to see Canadians saddled with criminal records for a law that's on its way out the door. The sooner we can have an adult conversation about how cannabis can be grown and distributed with public safety in mind, the better. It's high time this issue started looking a little bit greener and a lot less grey. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom