“We have an agenda that looks at how we’re going to continue to combat gangs and guns, and there isn’t a unanimous view or even a consensus necessarily about whether or not decriminalization deals with the gangs issue effectively and in fact we’re had police leaders say exactly the opposite.”

You can continue to deal with the symptoms and overlook the underlying problems but things will only continue to get worse. No offense to the deputy commissioner and other “police leaders,” but I’m not really interested in what the police have to say about drug policy as a citizen. Frankly, they’re too close to the issue to be objective.

I think we should closely examine models like the one implemented in Portugal, because it has been hugely successful and the model we’re employing clearly doesn’t work.

The old guard is on the precipice of being ushered out in this province and this country. It’s time to dispense with outmoded thinking and ideas and the people that hang on to them.

“Let the Federal Government make the decision.”

Well said!

This is a country! On important issues like this all provinces should be on board so we don’t have people arrested when crossing from one province into another province just because they forgot to get rid of their pot in the glove deparment or their luggage.

More searches, more police work, more court cases, more fines…B.C. can’t go it alone!

Let’s not create more nightmares when we have more than we can handle as is.

I have no issue with what people want to do to themselves in regards to drug use and whatnot. What I can’t stand is the smell. The scent that pot gives off is absolutely repugnant and should be banned on this basis alone. However if you want to enjoy it in other ways then have at it.

Sorry, PG, but you’re part of this outmoded way of thinking that Sine Nomine refers to. The prohibition on pot is no more effective than the rohibition on liquor was back in the ’20’s. All it’s doing is making the gangs wealthy the same way prohibition made the mob wealthy in the last century. In fact, when it comes to the question of decriminalization, why don’t we ask the gangs if they’re in favour? Guess what their response will likely be?

Bond:”…and there isn’t a unanimous view or even a consensus necessarily about whether or not decriminalization deals with the gangs issue effectively and in fact we’re had police leaders say exactly the opposite.”

Police leaders say the opposite! What about that?

Krusty:”Sorry, PG, but you’re part of this outmoded way of thinking…”

I am not bothered by what you think I am part of! We each have our own opinion.

Mercenary has a good point! The other day I approached the back entrance (close to the golf course) of the Pine Centre Mall. A person was smoking right next to the entrance and the smell of it was so strong that even though I held my breath as long as I could it almost knocked me out!

Mind you, I had an empty stomach so it was MY fault, of course.

BTW, I am not as “outmoded” as you think because I am fully in support of a very latest approach to the issue of PG city tap water fluoridation: Get rid of it! Province wide! Canada wide! Let everybody have a choice: You can choose (legally) whether you want to have pot or not, and I can choose whether I want clean water coming to my tap or the intentionally polluted kind!

Please help me with that! Like Bob Dylan said: “The times they are a-changing!”

Many things become stale and outmoded and so has the 65 year old malpractice of tap water fluoridation with industrial hydrofluorosilicic acid which contains traces of mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic!

Far from thinking outmoded I am thinking now and for the furure!

Enjoy you day!

First is you go not get the cops involved!!
All thought most would agree that it is a waste of time and money.
How many of you no of someone that died as a result DRUNK DRIVER??never mind,how many were killed or died just this weekend?
Cannabis does not kill….
Our GOV. are the biggest drug dealers,did you know that TOBACCO,BOOZE,just those 2 alone cost the health system billions each year.
Next election,Good bye BOND,we should have a REEFERRENDUM.
O,Cannabis,puff,puff,pass…

Let’s pretend for a moment that marijuana is decriminalized Canada and that the Excited States of America doesn’t blow a hissy fit if it happens.

Do you really think the gangs are just going to fold up their tents and take their grow-ups down? Not too damned likely.

There is too big of a market of underaged smokers to sell to. Weed would be sold similar to alcohol with an age restriction. But unlike alcohol which comes in heavy cumbersome bottles, it’s pretty easy to sell a youngin’ a fatty without much fuss on the transaction. They get cigarettes quite easily don’t they?

Gangs and weed are here to stay… legal or not.

Pylot Project is on the right path. Through the haze of smoke the fuzzy headed ones think that decriminalizing it will end the gangs. Not a chance. As long as it is illegal elsewhere like the USA then the big grow-ops will remain and the criminal element will still produce and distribute it. That or exchange it for other drugs and weapons. And no, they still wont declare it or pay taxes on it…

Canada’s Pot laws are the way they are because it makes lawyers, politicians and the rich richer. Why does anyone think they will change it?

Remember who it is that benefits from it and who it is that makes our laws… Lawyers and politicians!

Our govt handed Marc Emery over to the worlds biggest bully for selling seeds.

I imagine he would’ve been given life in prison had it been any other form of the plant.

I agree with Pylot Project and interceptor. Philosophically speaking, I support the legalization of pot. I don’t think it’s inherently any more harmful than alcohol and if it had the same restrictions that alcohol does in our society, then let’s tax it and make money off of it. That’s philosophically speaking . . .

Practically speaking, legalizing it in Canada won’t do a thing to address the organized crime issues that go along with it. For the most part, the major grow ops are not about supplying Canadian smokers, they are about supplying dope to markets where it would still be illegal and as a currency for other illicit products. Legalizing won’t do a thing to stamp that out.

So while I would not have a problem with legalizing it in Canada, we’d still be stuck with the same problems we currently have until the US legalized it. That said, at least maybe we’d have some additional tax dollars to fund that battle.

the federal government to decriminalize marijuana and to look into the regulation and taxation of marijuana.
========================================
So are theuy really conserned what effect this product has on society? I think not its another tax grab as I see it.

These people in municipal government dont care about our society.,They are just bumbuling along with some airy fairy ideas.
So why all the debate?
Cheers

“So why all the debate ?”
I guess so they could waste a bunch of time at the UBCM instead of talking about boring stuff like pipelines, or OCP’s,or infastructure defecits or……..

What ever happened to:” If a law is disregarded by a significant percentage of the population, it is a bad law”? Are laws not created by societies representatives to represent the will of the people? If so many are disregarding the law, should the laws not be changed to more acurately represent those who have voted to have laws made in their behalf? It baffles me that this stupidity is allowed to flourish in a time where politicians have allowed the economies to be corrupted by giving huge financial gifts to corporations, which has had the further resultof leaving the public funds (designated to help the public) cupboards empty. What is really going on here and why are we the public condoning this bull $hit to flourish under our own votes.
INORANCE RAMPENT

The latest survey of high schools showed 40% can alcohol with in 30 minutes and 65% can get pot in the same time.

The thing I find one major hurdle to making pot legal is a road side test to see when it was last used. Right now there is no quick test to show when pot was last used. I guess the cops could carry around a bag of Doritos and offer them to the driver :)

I am for the legalization of pot, and medical marijuana should have been okay end decades ago, how can our government allow drugs that are addictive to be used by Joe public, but not pot that helps many with minimal side affects.

I know people say tax the crap out of it, but they do it will just keep the pot under ground going. Tax it for sure..but don’t be stupid about it.

Honestly though…do we all want to be exposed to second hand pot smoke in the same way’s we are exposed to second hand cigarette smoke? Sure, it’ll be fine in the privacy of your own home but we all KNOW it won’t end there. You’ll have inconsiderate pot-heads just like you have inconsiderate smokers.

Really….that is my only issue with it….besides the fact that you are probably just as impaired as a drunk if you get behind the wheel where you’re likely to kill someone else….

The government wouldn’t make much off of taxation. People would just grow their own or buy it from people who do. There would be a whole new black market and the gangs would continue operating.

Johnny.. Ever heard of prohibition of alcohol ? Was the same situation, people where still making and selling it on the black market and once prohibition was lifted the black market on booze dried up. The gangs moved to other sources of income, will be the same with pot . Btw. Any idea how much the federal and provincial governments make off the tax on booze ?

If it was legalized, how many people would lose their jobs? Cops, lawyers, judges,those who work in the courthouses, probation officers…..

Investigating, charging, prosecuting, punishing people for marijuana has become a huge industry in itself. So it’s no surprise that those who work in the field are vehemently against legalization of it.

It’s just a plant, it was put on this earth the same as every other plant. Every civilization has had plants and herbs used for medicinal purposes forever. Why single out some of them a incarcerate people for using them?

I can tell you right now that if this happens, the people who will profit from it will have inside information and will have growing permits before the ink dries. The real sad part is that these people are all ready wealthy and I won’t know about it until the government has given out the permits. It costs next to nothing to grow good weed in this province if you don’t have to hide it. It grows pretty good in the bush around PG.

PVal: “Any idea how much the federal and provincial governments make off the tax on booze ?”

Lots. But booze isn’t marijuana. As traveller notes, marijuana is easy and cheap to grow. If it was legal, would you buy the heavily taxed government pot, or would you grow your own or buy it (tax free) from someone else?

I don’t smoke it and at the end of the day, I don’t care one way or another if they legalize it. Just that the arguments for legalization are weak.

Its a provincial issue if its a health care issue, which it is. Health care regulations are provincial and if the province wanted to provide regulations for marijuana grow op safety and distribution it would be legal.

Sure the feds could challenge this in a supreme Court challenge, and that would surely drag on and put the Supreme Court in the highlight on constitutional issues… but depending on who is on the Supreme Court we could have the federal government taking on more responsibility for funding health care in Canada.

If the province provided regulations for who, and how it could be grown in BC than they would have the market cornered selling clean legal smoke free of harmful pesticides… why would anyone else gamble on some street product grown in some guys basement? The province in turn would have far more control over its own health care costs through prevention at its source. The gangs distribution in BC would dry up over night.

Gangs may still wish to try and grow it in BC, but then it is clearly for export (federal criminal code), because why would anyone want to buy their contaminated product when they could by the regulated product with a seal of health approval. Since large grow ops would be clearly for export they would stick out more and could be hit harder when caught… all with public support. BC would be hostile to organized crime and organized crime would not find BC a safe place to do business anymore.

Johnny the flaw in you argument is you assume people will smoke any weed so long as its the cheapest from the guy down the streets basement who increases his yields with all sorts of chemicals.

I think however most people that smoke pot are naturalists and would gladly pay a small premium to access a source that is certified safe and clean of growing contaminants. If the province provided that healthy seal of approval they would have the market, because it wouldn’t be worth anyone’s troubles to compete with that.

Pot with a ‘heathy seal of approval’. Good one.

“they would have the market, because it wouldn’t be worth anyone’s troubles to compete with that.”

I would suggest you’re very naive if you believe this.