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Public Opinion Reaches Tipping Point

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Increasing Majority of British Columbians Support Ending Cannabis Prohibition – Public Opinion Reaches Tipping Point

New poll shows 75% support taxation and regulation of cannabis; Public Health Association of BC latest to join Stop the Violence BC coalition

Vancouver, B.C. [November 1, 2012] — A new Angus Reid poll released today overwhelmingly shows that British Columbians favour moving away from cannabis prohibition toward a system of regulation and taxation, and that lawmakers continue to lag far behind public opinion on revamping cannabis laws in B.C.

DOWNLOADS: Report, Polling Data

The survey, conducted between October 22 and 24, found that 75% of B.C. respondents support the taxation and regulation of cannabis over chasing and arresting cannabis producers and sellers, a jump of six percentage points from just one year ago.

“These results reveal a quite remarkable and growing dissatisfaction among British Columbians with the status quo and an eagerness for policymakers to pursue an entirely new approach to cannabis policy,” said Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion. “These beliefs cut across political, social and regional lines. I can’t think of any other issue where the laws on the books are inconsistent with the wishes of three-quarters of British Columbians.”

The poll results come a year after a similar Angus Reid survey, and demonstrate increasing public opinion that cannabis prohibition in B.C. has been ineffective and caused significant social harms and public safety issues, such as increased organized crime, gang violence and illegal marijuana grow ops.

Key Angus Reid poll data:

  • Only 14% of British Columbians believe possession of a marijuana cigarette should lead to a criminal record, down from 20% one year ago
  • 75% support the taxation and regulation of cannabis over chasing and arresting cannabis producers and sellers, an increase of six percentage points from 2011
  • 74% would be comfortable living in a society where adult cannabis consumption was taxed and legally regulated under a public health framework, an increase of four percentage points from last year
  • At 62%, fewer BC residents support decriminalizing marijuana use than the proportion that support outright taxation and regulation

The poll surveyed 799 respondents in B.C. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

The Angus Reid survey was released by Stop the Violence BC (STVBC), a growing coalition of academic, legal, law enforcement and health experts calling for the reform of cannabis laws to reduce the unintended harms attributable to the illegal cannabis trade, including the growth of organized crime and gang violence. A STVBC report marking the achievements during the year since the coalition’s launch, entitled BC Cannabis Policy: The time for leadership is now, was released in tandem with the polling results.

“From a scientific and public safety perspective, making cannabis illegal has clearly been an expensive and harmful failure,” said Dr. Evan Wood, founder of Stop the Violence BC and Canada Research Chair in Inner City Medicine at UBC. “With 75% of British Columbians supporting change, and the status quo contributing to increasing harms in B.C. communities, it is absolutely time for politicians to catch up with the public.”

PHABC latest to join call for ending cannabis prohibition

Along with the release of the report and polling data, the Public Health Association of BC (PHABC) became the latest prominent expert body to endorse the Stop the Violence BC campaign. PHABC is a voluntary, non-profit, non-government organization comprised of B.C.’s public health leaders whose mission is to preserve and promote the public’s health.

“From a public health perspective, we urgently need to research alternatives to our current approach to cannabis which has clearly failed to protect public health and has actually resulted in substantial individual and community harms,” said Dr. Marjorie MacDonald, President of PHABC. “Whether it be the organized crime concerns, the free and easy availability of marijuana that exists under prohibition, the life altering negative consequences of a criminal record for an otherwise law abiding young person or simply the enormous waste of public resources – all are reasons to reform this failed policy. Strict regulation, guided by proven public health principles, is clearly the logical way forward.”

Since launching a year ago, STVBC has received many high-profile endorsements from across the law enforcement, public health and political sectors, including the Health Officers Council of BC, four former mayors of Vancouver and four former B.C. attorneys general. The PHABC endorsement follows noteworthy support from eight current B.C. mayors and the passing in September of a Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) resolution calling for research into the taxation and regulation of cannabis.

A call for political leadership

In its report, STVBC highlights the discordance between government policy in B.C. and the recommendations of leading British Columbian experts and the wishes of the public. The report urges provincial politicians to demonstrate their leadership by telling British Columbians that they support researching a new approach involving a pilot study of the strict regulation and taxation of adult cannabis use under a public health framework.

“Our politicians are clearly out of step with public opinion when it comes to cannabis policy,” said Kash Heed, MLA for Vancouver-Fraserview

  • and one of the most recent politicians to publicly endorse STVBC. “We can’t continue to ignore the remarkable consensus among the public. It’s time for the political leaders at all levels of government to act on the overwhelming evidence linking cannabis prohibition to organized crime and gang violence and to support researching alternatives.”

    B.C. now risks falling behind its U.S. neighbours when it comes to cannabis prohibition. Next week, three states will vote on ballot measures to approve the taxation and regulation of adult marijuana use, including Washington State, where voters will vote on Initiative 502. STVBC coalition members argued this week in a Seattle Times op-ed that if Initiative 502 is passed, it could help cripple B.C.’s gangs.

    STVBC is encouraging policymakers at all levels of government to contact them with any questions about how B.C. could support a new approach to cannabis policy.

  • For polling summary, including full results from 2011 and 2012, please click here.
  • For a copy of the STVBC year in review report, entitled BC Cannabis Policy: The time for leadership is now, please click here.

    • – 30 –

    About Stop the Violence BC

    Stop the Violence BC is a coalition of law enforcement officials, legal experts, public health officials and academic experts from the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, University of Victoria and the University of Northern BC. Coalition members have come together to engage all British Columbians in a discussion aimed at developing and implementing cannabis-related policies that improve public health while reducing social harms, including violent crime. For a listing of coalition members and to learn more about the coalition, please visit www.stoptheviolencebc.org/about-us.

    About Angus Reid Public Opinion

    Angus Reid Public Opinion is the Public Affairs practice of Vision Critical headed by Dr. Angus Reid: an industry visionary who has spent more than four decades asking questions to figure out what people feel, how they think and who they will vote for.

    Media: to speak to a member of the Stop the Violence BC coalition, please contact:

    Kevin Hollett
    604 682 2344 ext 66536
    khollett@cfenet.ubc.ca

    Sunny McKechnie
    250 816 7610
    Sunny.McKechnie@edelman.com

    The Year in Review: The time for leadership is now

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    DOWNLOADS: Report, Polling Data, News Release

    Building momentum

    A remarkable and growing number of British Columbians are joining the call for the taxation and strict regulation of cannabis for adult use to better protect community health and safety while also reducing related organized crime activity and other community harms, such as the proliferation of illegal grow operations.

    In October 2011, the Stop the Violence BC coalition – comprising researchers from B.C.’s four leading universities and some of the province’s foremost experts in law enforcement, medicine, public health, and the law – released its first report, “Breaking the Silence.” The report launched a public discussion regarding the failure of cannabis prohibition to suppress B.C.’s massive cannabis market and the role that existing cannabis policies play in threatening community health and safety in B.C. Since then, Stop the Violence BC has been advocating for a strictly regulated cannabis market for adult use under a public health model as a strategy to wage economic war on organized crime and to better control the province’s high rates of cannabis use.

    It has been one year since Stop the Violence BC’s launch, but despite the groundswell of support for the taxation and regulation of cannabis, B.C.’s provincial leaders have largely refused to take action.

    Today, we call on our provincial leaders to follow the example of the Union of B.C. Municipalities and tell British Columbians that they support researching a new approach to cannabis control – one that includes an impact assessment of the strict regulation and taxation of adult cannabis use under a public health framework.

    MLA Joan McIntyre joins Kash Heed, calls for regulation and taxation

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    – This is not an official Stop the Violence BC Press Release; reprinted with the permission of MLA Joan McIntyre –

    BC LIBERAL GOVERNMENT CAUCUS
    STATEMENT

    For immediate release
    October 18, 2012

    VICTORIA – Today, West Vancouver-Sea to Sky MLA Joan McIntyre released the following statement in support of Vancouver-Fraserview MLA Kash Heed’s call for the legalization and regulation of marijuana.

    “I join my colleague MLA Kash Heed in support of the legalization of marijuana. Like MLA Heed, I believe that ending the prohibition of marijuana will make our communities safer by taking the industry out of the hands of organized crime. Kash Heed and other experts, such as Dr. Julio Montaner and Dr. Evan Wood of the organization, Stop the Violence BC, believe that marijuana prohibition increases gang violence in our province – violence which does not take place in a silo, but rather on the streets of our communities, putting B.C. families at risk.

    “Prohibition has required a substantial investment in our police services, and places a heavy financial burden on the taxpayer. I believe, as my colleague Kash Heed does, that it draws police resources and capacity away from other, more pragmatic areas which would make our communities safer.

    “In spite of the dedicated efforts of our police in B.C., a war on drugs only serves to drive organized crime further underground; it fails to end the cycle of violence and drug use, but succeeds in draining our coffers.

    “I believe we need a paradigm shift from prohibition to one of regulation and taxation, making B.C. safer for us all.”

    -30-

    Media contact: Mark Knudsen, BC Government Caucus Communications, (250) 356-1539

    Kash Heed calls for the regulation and taxation of marijuana

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    BC MLA speaks out against marijuana prohibition in short film, joins Stop the Violence BC

    CLICK HERE FOR THE FILM

    Vancouver, BC [October 18, 2012] — Kash Heed, a long-time law enforcement official and MLA, is calling for the legalization and taxation of cannabis to better protect communities and reduce related organized crime activity resulting from the illegal marijuana trade.

    In a video and written statement released today, Kash Heed shared his experiences about the devastating consequences of cannabis prohibition, based on his 31 years in law enforcement as a beat cop, a police chief, and head of both the Vancouver Police Department Drug Unit and Indo-Canadian Gang Violence Task Force.

    “In the early 1990s, I began to fully recognize the futility and the social, economic and public health costs of continuing marijuana prohibition,” wrote Heed in the statement. “And I came to one inescapable conclusion—cannabis prohibition fuels gang violence in B.C. In fact, costly law enforcement efforts have only served to drive the marijuana industry deeper into the hands of violent organized crime groups.”

    In his statement, Heed announced that he is joining Stop the Violence BC (STVBC), a coalition of academic, legal, law enforcement and health experts, and its campaign to reform cannabis laws to reduce the harms associated with the illegal cannabis trade, including gang violence. He joins a growing list of endorsements that includes a coalition of B.C. mayors, the Health Officers Council of B.C., four former mayors of Vancouver and former B.C. attorneys general. His statement follows the passing last month of a Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) resolution calling for the decriminalization of cannabis.

    “It shows real political courage that Kash Heed, as a sitting member of a provincial legislature, has decided to speak out against these failed laws,” said Geoff Plant, who served as B.C. attorney general from 2001 to 2005. “It’s time for the rest of our political leaders to follow his lead and act on the overwhelming evidence linking marijuana prohibition to organized crime and gang violence.”

    Kash Heed is the MLA for Vancouver-Fraserview. He is urging his current and former colleagues to improve community health and safety by overturning marijuana prohibition.

    “I plan to use my remaining time in office to reach out to our provincial leaders and ensure that replacing cannabis prohibition with a more effective public health and safety strategy becomes a part of the public debate in the next provincial election,” said Heed. “Despite the effort to pass the buck to the federal government, this is a provincial issue—organized crime has been fuelled by B.C.’s failed marijuana policies, leading to gang violence, destructive grow-ops and easy access to marijuana for youth in each and every one of our communities.”

    The video was produced and directed by Pete McCormack, an award winning filmmaker based in Vancouver.

    “Evidence against marijuana prohibition is staggering: police fight impossible odds and the current approach is hypocritical, a tax-paying sinkhole that causes unintentional yet very real collateral damage and violence. And for what?” said McCormack. “To get the chance to interview Kash Heed, who has been right there in it, was inspiring to me as a filmmaker. If this video can influence other politicians’ and inspire contemporary drug policies, that would be amazing.”

    • Media can download the Kash Heed video here.
    • Watch the video here.
    • Read the full Kash Heed statement here.

    – 30 –

    About Stop the Violence BC

    Stop the Violence BC is a coalition of law enforcement officials, legal experts, public health officials and academic experts from the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, University of Victoria and the University of Northern BC. Coalition members have come together to engage all British Columbians in a discussion aimed at developing and implementing marijuana-related policies that improve public health while reducing social harms, including violent crime. For a full listing of coalition members and to learn more about the coalition, please click here.

    For more information about Stop the Violence BC or to interview a coalition member, please contact:

    Kevin Hollett
    604 682 2344 ext 66536
    khollett@cfenet.ubc.ca

    Written statement

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    I have dedicated over 31 years of my life as a cop, finishing my police career as a chief. Most of that time was spent on Vancouver’s streets on beats related to drugs and gangs.

    Fighting the war on cannabis and the violent gangs that feed off the conflict took up a vast amount of my time. The gangs and gangsters I pursued are too numerous to mention, but include household names such as the UN gang, the Hells Angels, Independent Soldiers, and Bindy Johal. These and other notorious B.C. gangsters profited by selling and exporting marijuana, while using the massive profits to import cocaine and guns into our province.

    Our efforts to curtail gang wars over the cannabis industry were time-consuming, dangerous and expensive, up to and above $1 million per murder investigation. I led teams that had record-breaking arrests while removing enormous amounts of drugs from our streets. However, the successes that we enjoyed over the past three decades proved short-lived and ultimately fruitless.

    In the early 1990s, I began to fully recognize the futility and the social, economic and public health costs of continuing marijuana prohibition.

    And I came to one inescapable conclusion – cannabis prohibition fuels gang violence in B.C. All of the vaunted and much publicized policing efforts to control gang violence and the marijuana industry – the Uniformed Gang Task Force, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, the Marijuana Enforcement Teams, the hiring of hundreds more police offices across BC, civil forfeiture laws and tougher sentencing – have had little if any impact on the huge, highly profitable sector. In fact, costly law enforcement efforts have only served to drive the marijuana industry deeper into the hands of violent organized crime groups.

    While working as the commanding officer of the Drug Unit and working towards a Masters degree in Criminology, I researched why massive investments in law enforcement did not reduce marijuana use or related crime. The reason? Money. The marijuana industry in B.C. is estimated to be worth up to $7 billion annually. The profits generated are enormous and, for some, worth killing for. When gang members are convicted and jailed, new and violent gang members are only too eager to use intimidation, guns and murder to take their place.

    Many of my colleagues in policing and the criminal justice system understood that we were fighting a losing battle, and privately expressed their support to overturn marijuana prohibition and implement a strictly regulated system of marijuana sales to adults. At the same time, I took the concerns I was hearing privately and aired them publicly. In November 2001, I appeared before a Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs. My message to the Upper House was three-pronged: Pot prohibition doesn’t work. It leads to violence, massive costs to the taxpayer, and no reductions in supply or use. And alternatives, including regulation, should be considered.

    When I suggested that marijuana prohibition has failed and contributes to organized crime, I took significant heat from others in the law enforcement community. Police chiefs coalesced around the unworkable status quo. Privately, within my department, I received more support. Many cops had had enough of the illicit marijuana industry’s ongoing succession of violence and death, with no end in sight. However, when your job, your pension, and your family’s livelihood are at stake, I understand the average cop’s hesitancy to step out of line and publicly question their superiors.

    Today, I must speak for the police officers who cannot.

    The endless cycle of gang violence must stop. I have joined Stop the Violence BC, a coalition of law enforcement officials, legal experts, medical and public health officials, and academic experts concerned about the links between cannabis prohibition in B.C. and the growth of organized crime and related violence in the province.

    STVBC has enlisted current and former B.C. mayors, police officers, attorneys general, health officers and others to help overturn cannabis prohibition and implement a strictly regulated market for the adult consumption of cannabis. As with the end of alcohol prohibition in the 1930s, marijuana regulation today will remove the profits that drive gang violence and create safer, healthier communities.

    Today, under cannabis prohibition, youth have easier access to marijuana than alcohol or tobacco. As a law enforcement leader and former Minister of Public Safety who has spent more than 33 years creating and enforcing laws, I know that a strictly regulated marijuana market for adult cannabis use would better protect youth through the use of regulatory tools that have proven so effective in reducing tobacco use.

    The taxes resulting from a regulated cannabis market could support our most important public programs, including health and education. Rather than enforcing unworkable laws that breed violence, police would be free to focus on laws that actually protect citizens and improve public safety.
    Unfortunately, despite our best efforts and majority support from British Columbians to reform existing cannabis laws, prohibition remains. It appears nothing has changed since my days on the street. In fact, recent headlines suggest events are worse. Randy Naicker, gang member, shot dead. A Red Scorpion leader gunned down. A full-patch member of the Hells Angels wounded in a public attack. Jonathan Bacon, killed outside a waterfront hotel in Kelowna. Innocent bystanders in the wrong place at the wrong time. Retaliation.

    For now, until we enact sensible cannabis laws, the beat goes on…

    Kash Heed is a long-time law enforcement official, an Adjunct Professor at SFU, and more recently, the MLA for Vancouver-Fraserview. He is encouraging his current and former colleagues, friends, and associates to improve community health and safety by overturning marijuana prohibition. His views are his alone, and do not reflect those of the BC Liberal Party.


    News coverage of the UBCM Convention’s vote on cannabis policy reform

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    Here is a summary of media coverage pre-UBCM:

    • CBC On the Island interview with coalition member Geoff Plant
    • AM770’s The Rutherford Show interview with coalition member Chris Fibiger
    • Victoria Times Colonist article: “Changes to marijuana law moves closer”
    • The Province article: “Cannabis laws back on agenda”; also appears in Victoria Times Colonist
    • Nelson Star article: Pipelines and pot on table as Nelson goes to UBCM”
    • Victoria Times Colonist article: “Disclosure wanted on medical marijuana”
    • Canadian Press article re: Monday’s debate Dr. Evan Wood, former Attorney General Geoff Plant, and BC Constable David Bratzer: “BC marijuana laws: Pro, Anti-pot forces square off at UBCM”; also appears in Canada.com, Huffington Post, Global News, iPolitics, Kamloops News, Guelph Mercury, Waterloo Region Record

    News following Monday’s debate included:

    • Broadcast stories on CFAX, CTV Victoria, CHEK News, OMNI TV, CFTK
    • Vancouver Sun article: “Municipal leaders take pot decriminalization to a vote”
    • Kamloops Daily News article: “Marijuana rules aimed at municipalities”
    • Prince George Citizen: “Politicians begin pot debate”
    • Castanet.com article: “Decriminalizing marijuana?”
    • The Province brief: “Morning brief”
    • Keremeos Review article: “UBCM kicks off with debate on marijuana”
    • Victoria Times Colonist op-ed by coalition members Evan Wood and Geoff Plant: “Decriminalization of pot will disarm gangs”

    And finally, a rundown of coverage following Wednesday’s vote:

    • Vancouver Sun front page story: “BC mayors vote to decriminalize pot: that was the easy part”; story also appears in Windsor Star, Calgary Herald, Times Colonist
    • Metro article front page article: “Mayors vote pro-pot”
    • CTV Morning Live Thursday (broadcast across BC) interview with Dr. Evan Wood
    • CBC’s The Current (broadcast nationally across CBC radio one) live interview with Dr. Evan Wood
    • The Globe & Mail article: “BC municipal leaders vote to work toward decriminalizing marijuana”; story also appears in The Province, Canada.com, Calgary Herald, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
    • Victoria Times Colonist column: “Pot resolution sets BC on a new path”
    • CBC News article: “Adrian Dix delivers key address to municipal leaders”
    • Metro News article: “Emery high on UBCM marijuana motion”
    • Nelson Daily article: “Vote for decriminalization of pot splits delegates at UBCM convention”
    • Kelowna Daily Courier article: “Pot vote passes, but Valley politicians say ‘no'”
    For more information about the UBCM Convention vote, debate, and responses since please click here.

    Miss the UBCM debate? Here are three ways to catch up

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    1. Notes from Twitter

    We were live tweeting the debate (i.e., posting quotes from the debate on Twitter in real time) for people following along elsewhere. For an overview of the speakers’ remarks and public response, click here.

    2. Reflections from Geoff Plant

    Former Attorney General and
    STVBC Coaltion Member Geoff Plant spoke on behalf of the Stop the Violence Coalition and took some time after the fact to summarize his thoughts about marijuana decriminalization vs. regulation, hisopponents remarks, and what Resolution A5 means for BC. Click here to be taken to his blog.

    3. Context from the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition

    dThe Canadian Drug Policy Coalition was in attendance on Monday and watched closely as the weeks events progressed. For their perspective on the debate and policy discussion more broadly click here.

    UBCM passes resolution to decriminalize cannabis, study regulation and taxation

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    B.C.’s mayors and councilors recognize that marijuana prohibition fuels organized crime

    Vancouver, BC [September 26, 2012]—The Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) voted today in favour of a resolution calling for the decriminalization of cannabis at its annual convention.

    Resolution A5, brought forward to the annual convention by the municipality of Metchosin, calls for UBCM to lobby the appropriate level of government to decriminalize cannabis and research its regulation and taxation.

    “For too long our communities have borne the brunt of the harmful consequences of cannabis prohibition, from increased gang violence on our streets to enormous costs of enforcing a thoroughly discredited policy,” said Metchosin mayor John Ranns. “This vote result signals that it is time for our senior levels of government to listen to what the public and now our municipal leaders are saying: cannabis prohibition has been a failure.”

    With the passing of the resolution, UBCM joins a growing chorus of high profile British Columbians calling for the end to cannabis prohibition, including eight current B.C. mayors, the Health Officers Council of B.C., four former mayors of Vancouver, and four former B.C. attorneys general.

    “Today’s vote to support the decriminalization of cannabis and research its regulation and taxation reflects our commitment as municipal leaders to fiscal discipline and community health and safety,” said City of North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto, whose council passed a motion supporting the regulation of cannabis this past April. “Easy access to cannabis for our youth, grow-ops that fuel organized crime in our communities and the growing costs of enforcing failed marijuana policies are ample reason to re-examine cannabis prohibition.”

    The vote followed a marijuana decriminalization debate that opened the UBCM convention on Monday. Among those speaking was Dr. Evan Wood, co-director of the Urban Health Research Initiative at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and founder of Stop the Violence BC, a coalition of academic, legal, law enforcement and health experts campaigning to reform cannabis laws to reduce the harms associated with the illegal cannabis trade, including gang violence.

    “Prohibition has not achieved its stated objectives to reduce the demand for and supply of cannabis. Instead, current laws have resulted in negative social and economic consequences at the municipal and provincial level,” said Dr. Wood. “I commend our municipal representatives for showing leadership in taking steps towards changing a policy that has clearly failed to protect the health and safety of our communities.”

    Dr. Wood added that the call to research the regulation and taxation of cannabis is a key part of the UBCM resolution.

    “We believe that deregulation is only the first step in working towards a strictly regulated, taxed market for adult marijuana use,” he said. “Research to date indicates that a system of strict regulation will best impede the illegal market for marijuana and combat the organized crime gangs that profit from it.”

    – 30 –

    About Stop the Violence BC
    Stop the Violence BC is a coalition of law enforcement officials, legal experts, public health officials and academic experts from the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, University of Victoria and the University of Northern BC. Coalition members have come together to engage all British Columbians in a discussion aimed at developing and implementing marijuana-related policies that improve public health while reducing social harms, including violent crime.

    For a full listing of coalition members and to learn more about the coalition, please click here.

    For more information about Stop the Violence BC or to interview a coalition member, please contact:

    Kevin Hollett
    604-682-2344 ext 66536
    778-848-3420
    khollett@cfenet.ubc.ca

    UBCM resolution on cannabis decriminalization and study of regulation

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    On Wednesday, September 27 2012 the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) voted in favour of a resolution calling for the decriminalization of cannabis at its annual convention.

    Resolution A5, brought forward to the annual convention by the municipality of Metchosin, calls for UBCM to lobby the appropriate level of government to decriminalize cannabis and research its regulation and taxation. (For more about this motion click here.)

    Here is the full text of the resolution:

    A5 DECRIMINALIZATION OF MARIJUANA

    WHEREAS marijuana prohibition is a failed policy which has cost millions of dollars in police, court, jail and social costs;

    AND WHEREAS the decriminalization and regulation of marijuana would provide tax revenues:

    THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM call on the appropriate government to decriminalize marijuana and research the regulation and taxation of marijuana.

    ENDORSED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF VANCOUVER ISLAND & COASTAL COMMUNITIES

    UBCM RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: No Recommendation

    UBCM RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE COMMENTS: The Resolutions Committee advises that the UBCM membership has not previously considered a resolution requesting the decriminalization of marijuana. The Committee would observe that based on current police information, BC is responsible for 40% of the marijuana produced in Canada, and 80-95% of marijuana produced in BC is exported illegally into the UnitedStates. Based on police information, the marijuana industry in BC is currently operated by criminal gangs who sell or exchange the marijuana produced in BC with criminal gangs in the United States for cocaine and guns.

    The membership has considered other resolutions on marijuana, however, these have been focused on ensuring that those licensed to cultivate and process marijuana for medical purposes comply with local government bylaws as well as electrical, fire, health, safety and building regulations.

    The Committee notes that a pre-conference session will be held on Monday morning, September 24, 2012 to discuss the decriminalization of marijuana.