Pubdate: Fri, 01 Dec 2017
Source: Yukon News (CN YK)
Copyright: 2017 Yukon News
Contact:   http://www.yukon-news.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1125
Author: Chris Windeyer

IMAGINE THAT: YUKON'S CANNABIS DEBATE HAS BEEN REASONABLE

Politicians here haven't said anything blatantly insane, uninformed or
stupid. That's a win

As Canada hurtles towards the legalization of marijuana next year, the
provinces and territories have begun outlining their regulations for
the drug.

So far, the regimes we know about have been a decidedly mixed bag.
Ontario and Quebec have gone full narc. Quebec is flat-out banning
home-grown plants - even though federal rules allow for four per
person. Ontario is planning absurdly harsh punishments for any
lingering grey-market dispensaries that might compete with its
government retail monopoly, which will only see 40 stores to start.

New Brunswick, meanwhile, is enacting what might be the dumbest
individual rule so far: It will require pot stashes to be kept under
lock-and-key, like guns, ostensibly to protect children. According to
Global News, Denis Landry, the province's public safety minister,
explicitly likened cannabis to guns.

"For people here in New Brunswick who have guns in their houses, it's
locked. It's their responsibility. This will be the same thing," he
said.

This is just another example in a long line of politicians saying dumb
things about pot. Peter Kent, a Conservative MP and former journalist
who should know how to, you know, research things, told the House of
Commons that legalizing weed is "virtually the same as putting
fentanyl on a shelf within reach of kids."

This is a very stupid thing to say, because a speck of fentanyl can
kill you. Marijuana is not harmless, particularly for the developing
brains of children, but a 2014 study found that it's almost phsyically
impossible to consume a fatal dose of the stuff.

Meanwhile, in Quebec, public health minister Lucie Charlebois wrongly
believes black market weed is laced with fentanyl and that homegrown
plants must be banned because kids will eat them. Not to be outdone,
an Alberta MLA suggested this week that legal pot may cause a
communist revolution.

Even in the Yukon, officialdom is not immune to reefer madness.
Consider the case of Lena Josie of Old Crow. Josie was denied a
conditional discharge on an assault charge, despite pleading guilty,
apologizing and having no prior criminal record.

The reason, according to sentencing judge Michael Cozens, is because
Josie admitted to smoking two joints a day. Cozens believes Josie is
supporting drug trafficking, which is technically true, though it
exhibits a lack of understanding by Cozens about how Canada's grey
market pot industry currently works. Furthermore, Cozens' decision
contains no evidence about where Josie's weed comes from. He argues
that it is not in the public interest to give Josie a discharge, even
though marijuana has absolutely nothing to do with the assault. Josie
is, understandably, appealing. The Crown, shamefully, agrees with Cozens.

It's perhaps too much to expect judges and politicians to be experts
on every subject they encounter as lawmakers, but it is reasonable to
demand that they base their views and policies on something resembling
reality.

Fortunately, at the level of territorial politics at least, common
sense and reasoned debate are breaking out all over the place. No,
seriously.

The government's pointwoman on pot, Justice Minister Tracy-Anne
McPhee, has treated this file matter-of-factly, acknowledging the fact
that the government has a tight timeline to put together a Cannabis
Act, more or less from scratch. Remember, because of the Yukon's fixed
legislative sitting dates, the government has to get this bill passed
by March, even though federal legalization doesn't kick in until July
1.

"This is the beginning. We're under a tight timeline, everybody in
Canada is, so we're doing this in stages," McPhee told reporters Nov.
22.

While there won't be private retail right away, the government has
promised there will be and has also signalled interest in encouraging
the creation of a local "craft" growing industry. For the time being,
customers will have to make do with a store in Whitehorse and online
sales for the rest of the territory.

This is not perfect, and the businesspeople who have expressed
interest in opening stores will have to wait.

But there are criticisms from the opposition parties that are also
fair. The Yukon Party's Brad Cathers has said the government's
published five-page framework is too vague and he's right.

Certainly the government isn't finished crafting its Cannabis Act, but
it could easily release more details.

Cathers is also concerned about the tax on cannabis. Ottawa has mused
about charging a 10 per cent excise tax. It's not clear how the feds
will split that money or how much tax the territory will add on its
own. Cathers argues the tax needs to be low enough to freeze out the
black market, and again, he has a point here.

And NDP Leader Liz Hanson has a point with her criticism of the
too-simplistic rules regarding where it will be legal to consume pot.
Too start, it will only be allowed on private property or with a
landlord's permission.

There are a couple of problems with this. One, as Hanson points out,
is that people with prescriptions for medical cannabis could be
prohibited from smoking in their homes. Two, it's unfair to renters,
who will have to rely on the goodwill of their landlords to consume -
even outside on their back deck - a product that it's otherwise legal
to buy.

The third thing is that there is so far no differentiation between
smoking, vaping and the consumption of edibles (which won't be legal
until 2019). The government is leaving open the possibility of
allowing, say, vaping lounges in the future, but these are loopholes
it should sort out sooner rather than later.

Still, what's refreshing here is that both the government and the
opposition parties are treating this as a serious public policy issue.
The government is aiming for balance and appears not to have included
any supremely boneheaded rules like, say, New Brunswick. The
opposition is making substantive criticisms based on fair reading of
the government's plans.

Best of all, neither the government nor opposition politicians have
said anything blatantly insane, uninformed or stupid. That in itself
is a win.
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MAP posted-by: Matt