OD victims’ families: Use pot taxes for treatment
Families who have lost loved ones in B.C.’s overdose crisis are lobbying the provincial government to commit all tax revenues from future legal cannabis sales to drug treatment and prevention.
“The time was right to get this message out strong,” said Leslie McBain, whose son Jordan Miller died in Victoria in 2014 from an overdose.
The federal government recently announced a plan to legalize and tax cannabis by next summer. McBain, who lives on Pender Island, formed the group Moms Stop the Harm last year with two other mothers who lost sons to overdoses. It has now grown to about 150 members, she said.
The group, along with others, sent an open letter to the provincial Liberal, New Democratic and Green parties, calling for each party leader to commit 100 per cent of provincial taxes on cannabis sales to the treatment and prevention of substance abuse. “We think this is a brand new revenue for the province and it should go to this crisis, which is not slowing down,” said McBain, who wants to see more investment in treatment options and access.
“They say more beds, which is fine, but what about other types of treatment?”
She noted other jurisdictions, including Washington state and Portugal, have had success with this model.
Asked about the call to action, Liberal Leader Christy Clark said she supported the idea. “That suggestion is a good one. It’s one we’re going to take,” she told Martin McMahon on News 1130.
In Vancouver, NDP Leader John Horgan didn’t reject or endorse the idea. “The fentanyl crisis and addictions and mental-health issues have been neglected for over a decade now, and we want to make sure that doesn’t continue to happen,” he said. “I can throw into the mix what we’d do with revenues from marijuana, but that’s 18 months from now, and we need action today.”
He noted his party’s platform includes appointing a minister dedicated to the issues of mental health and addictions.
The Green Party said the party planned to create a ministry for addictions and mental health.