Pubdate: Fri, 09 Dec 2016
Source: Penticton Western (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Penticton Western
Contact:  http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1310
Author: Florio Vassilakakis

IT'S BLACK AND WHITE

I disagree with licensing businesses that are illegal.

What happens when these businesses are not part of federal/provincial
legalization scheme? What happens when you legitimize a business and
they set up shop, sign a lease and in next year they are closed by
RCMP Who is liable for their loss? Why not wait until there is more
structure and clarity?

I'm in favour of legalization. I also believe that retail sales of a
controlled substance such as alcohol and tobacco brings no more social
issues than marijuana, yet you license a liquor store for mere
hundreds. It's terrible policy. Just because you know something may be
getting legalized isn't a reason to go against the law. Would you go
to an after hours bar? Not unless they were legally operating in the
first place.

These places don't only sell to people with medical need. They are
drug dealers. If a 20 year old kid is caught with a few ounces of weed
will the RCMP do anything to him? You can't throw a person in jail for
selling weed to his customers and then turn a blind eye to an
illegitimate storefront doing the same thing. Just because the city
issues a business license doesn't make it legal. People who need
medical marijuana have 34 federally licensed options that sell it.
medical marijuana is available for people who need it.

Further to that, I highly doubt that the provincial government when
tasked with creating a distribution model will even consider these
pseudo-legal dispensaries as an option. The government will control
this product just like it does alcohol and tobacco and tax it. As it
should.

When a community is willing to license an illegal business, what does
this say? It's not grey. It is black and white.

Florio Vassilakakis

Castlegar
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt