NDP seem in no hurry to draft provincial marijuana legislation

The fledgling B.C. NDP government has decided how it will deal with the looming legalization of marijuana: continue talking it to death.

Dispensary owners, illegal producers, consumers, patients, parents — Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth explained Monday that everyone’s opinion is being sought because “one size does not fit all” and “we need to get it right.”

Until 4 p.m. on the Day of the Dead, Nov. 1, Farnworth says anyone can participate in a provincewide conversation on pot — the minimum age, personal possession limits, public consumption, drug-impaired driving, personal cultivation, distribution, retail models ... It’s all on the table.

“We want to hear from as many people as possible about how we can best protect our kids, keep our roads safe and lock criminals out of the non-medical cannabis industry,” he told a packed room at the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference in Vancouver. “Public engagement is crucial.”

The government will also conduct a phone survey and create opportunities to hear from local government and Indigenous groups as well as stakeholders such as police, producers and health care experts.

Civic politicians were elated at the prospect of helping shape the provincial framework for recreational pot that will include zoning, licensing, enforcement and other regulation.

In particular, the municipalities are looking for a slice of the cannabis-revenue pie and for commitments of federal and provincial money to offset the new costs they will incur because of the expected increase in grow operations, public consumption, impaired driving and other pressures on civic resources.

Still, with legalization barely 10 months away, it seems a little late in the game to be setting aside five weeks for consultation.

Farnworth insisted, though, that the responses would be processed and enabling legislation informed by that feedback drafted in time for the February sitting of the legislature to ensure there is a system in place by Ottawa’s July deadline.

He acknowledged that was a serious challenge, but a bigger challenge will be how to deal with B.C.’s massive underground production industry.

At the moment, it appears the national legislation will permit only licensed federal producers, and Farnworth said he is waiting to see if that changes as the bill moves through Parliament.

Until then, the province is addressing distribution and retail sales — whatever dispensaries or shops that are allowed to exist will be expected to conform to federal law, he added.

Using only the federal producers has evoked concerns of an initial supply shortage as the cadre of approved companies may not ramp up quickly enough to meet both the medicinal and recreational demand.

In Vancouver, the issue of production also promises a major clash involving the scores of illegal dispensaries and shops supplied by the black market.

Unlike Toronto, which has charged hundreds of store owners, employees and landlords, Vancouver has refused federal entreaties to enforce the continuing prohibition while awaiting legalization.

That has created a well-funded but disorganized lobby opposing Ottawa’s proposal and demanding a much more libertarian regime with space for illicit producers and a broader selection of cannabis products.

The dispensaries and shops face ruin if they must buy from the licensed producers, who have no incentive to provide the retailers with a wholesale price break, as they also sell directly to consumers.

Nevertheless, Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang maintained the city would enforce a new federal and provincial regime.

“Certainly our anticipation is that when those laws are finally in place we are going to have to follow them,” he said.