B.C. needs its own pot plan
Start now: Legalization has broad support, and many issues need to be addressed
In the wake of the Liberal tsunami, Premier Christy Clark sounded far from enthusiastic about prime minister-to-be Justin Trudeau’s plan to legalize pot.
“It’s a federal issue and we will work with the government in whatever moves they make on this front,” she said with nary a grin.
“It’s a criminal code provision, the criminal code is a federal responsibility, so if and when they make changes, we will work with them to make sure that changes can be effective in B.C.”
No Big Lebowski jokes, no giggle about being a Bob Marley fan; instead, in the spirit of the outgoing prime minister, Clark sounded like a pinched school mistress.
Amending the criminal code, as she well knows, is only one facet of legalization — how cannabis should be regulated and sold, in what forms and by whom, along with related issues such as advertising rules, would still have to be determined.
And the provinces and territories, especially B.C., need to start looking for answers.
American states that have legalized marijuana and its derivatives each have their own schemes and each has experienced growing pains and a learning curve. Still, each also had a robust public debate to determine taxes, rules about marketing, limiting purchases, impaired driving law changes ….
South of the border, as well, there are continuing talks between the states and Washington about overarching national concerns such as interstate transport, banking laws and investment controls.
That’s similar to the way Prohibition ended in the last century, with each of the states slowly embracing change and determining how to handle a return to legal alcohol.
In Canada, if weed were legalized in a way similar to alcohol, the provinces and territories would take the lead — constitutionally they have sole responsibility for regulating the sale and distribution of booze.
That route makes sense given the nature of cannabis products.
If Ottawa wants a say in future non-criminal marijuana regulation, Parliament has authority under the auspices of its healthand-food responsibilities to get involved.
But the provinces and territories again would play a big role in how recreational cannabis is rolled out in their bailiwicks.
It’s hard to conceive of Ottawa taking that route — national regulation would be risky, in my view, when Trudeau can hand the bag to the provinces and territories, along with the headaches of implementation, and ask them to send him a cheque.
Still, no matter the challenges or its final form, cannabis legalization augurs new jobs and investment in the public and private sectors.
Instead of her I-don’t-have-todeal-with-the-issue-yet stance, Clark should lead and instigate a broad discussion on how the imminent change should occur in B.C.
Send some bureaucrats to Washington and Colorado to bring back a report on what they have learned from legalized dope: How much tax can you collect? What is the impact on impaired driving?
Clark should recognize the potential new source of revenue, the broad public support behind Trudeau’s promise and the need to address community issues such as the illegal dispensaries that have joined grow-ops as a serious concern for municipalities. Much education and a proper conversation are needed about how pot should be regulated, manufactured, taxed and sold after the lifting of the criminal sanction.
Trudeau recognized this in saying that while he plans to act “right away,” he couldn’t provide a timeline.
“We don’t yet know exactly what rate we’re going to be taxing it, how we’re going to control it, or whether it will happen in the first months, within the first year, or whether it’s going to take a year or two to kick in,” he said.
Former attorneys general, medical officers of health, civic leaders, academics — there is a long list of people who for a long time have been advocating for an end to the prohibition and the violence it engenders.
Clark should finally get on the bandwagon.
What we don’t need at this point is a Cheech-and-Chong skit featuring a premier who doesn’t realize change has come — or worse, who wants to drag her heels.