Pubdate: Fri, 09 Feb 2018
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2018 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Page: A20

MIXED MARKS ON POT PLAN

There is much to praise in the B.C. government's new retail regulatory
regime for recreational cannabis. But there are also a few oddities
that suggest Victoria hasn't moved beyond reefer madness as far as we
thought.

Handing responsibility for licensing and oversight of private pot
shops to the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch seems a prudent move
to ensure an orderly transition of store fronts operating outside the
law to legal status. Allowing the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch to
operate a stand-alone network of its own outlets mirrors the
successful approach of selling wine in B.C. through private and public
retail outlets.

Setting the legal age to buy cannabis at 19 is wisely cautious given
evidence that cannabis may have negative impacts on developing teenage
brains. And restricting use to areas where smoking and vaping are
legally permitted while banning it at beaches, parks and playgrounds
protects those who don't smoke from any potential nuisance.

The province has empowered municipalities to choose whether they want
marijuana stores in their communities - an inconvenience to users
living in places that reject them perhaps, but a reasonable measure
that gives authority to the level of government closest to citizens.

The government is also paying attention to driving under the influence
of cannabis and training for police officers to recognize impairment.
All to the good.

But what is the reason for restricting purchases and possession to 30
grams of cannabis, or roughly an ounce? A poll by High Times several
years ago found the average joint contains a gram of pot. That's just
30 smokes. We don't restrict purchases of wine to a bottle, or sales
of cigarettes to one pack. The measure seems needlessly paternalistic.
Pity the poor retailer who must cut off a customer like a drunk at a
bar.

Similarly, prohibiting citizens from growing more than four plants in
their own homes is bizarre and unenforceable. And restricting
placement of those plants so they can't be seen by the public seems a
throwback to the 1930s stigma on marijuana. Providing residents are
not converting living quarters into grow-ops, giving landlords and
strata corporations the power to tell people what herbs they can grow
is draconian.

In short, the government's retail cannabis plan is heading in the
right direction but still needs some significant tweaking to shed the
obloquy of the past.
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MAP posted-by: Matt