Harper’s bunch way out of touch with Vancouver

As Vancouver prepares to regulate the city’s marijuana dispensaries, Ottawa continues to finger wag, express outrage and generally appear out of touch.

The feds lately have been unresponsive on more than just drug policy. Many believe Ottawa has not adequately dealt with Vancouverites’ concerns about oil-spill cleanup capability or housing affordability.

Geoff Plant, B.C.’s attorney-general from 200105, was the latest to add a respected voice to those arguing the city has little choice but to regulate the nearly 100 marijuana dispensaries that have sprouted like weeds.

It is a sensible course given pot prohibition clearly has not worked, laws on marijuana no longer command public respect and local police have been turning a blind eye.

Marijuana outlets should face some commonsense restrictions, such as not being near schools and community centres, and not selling to underage customers. They also should be collecting taxation on the products they sell, although that is not something a municipality can arrange.

“It is the business of city governments,” wrote Plante, “to enact bylaws to protect our safety, create livable neighbourhoods, limit hours and locations of business, and restrict unhealthy activities such as public smoking.”

Better a regulated system than a free-for-all in back alleys.

However, federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose and Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney assert federal laws make possession and sale of cannabis a criminal offence and all pot dispensaries are thus illegal.

Federal obtuseness has similarly been in evidence with respect to Vancouver’s efforts to reduce harm by operating a safe-injection site in the downtown eastside.

Chances are good a made-in-Vancouver regulatory system for marijuana shops will become a template for other cities. How long before pot shops start opening in Montreal or Toronto?

If Ottawa continues its intransigence, federal drug laws increasingly will appear irrelevant; a dangerous situation when democratic societies rely heavily on public respect for laws passed by a citizenry’s political representatives.

The Stephen Harper government, in stubbornly upholding outdated cannabis laws, is doubtless playing to its right-leaning constituency.

While regulation of pot dispensaries is not the most pressing political issue in advance of an October federal election, the Conservatives have appeared offside on a handful of other high-profile matters important to Vancouverites.

Prime Minister Harper has said he has no plan to intervene in Vancouver’s runaway housing market.

He insists Ottawa has already put in place the environmental safeguards necessary for construction of bitumen pipelines to the Pacific coast.

Conservatives have never had an easy time winning seats in the city of Vancouver.

Chances are, things may not be much different in the vote set for October.