Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson joins calls for marijuana legalization
Gregor Robertson has tweeted his support for an end to marijuana prohibition.
Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson has joined four former mayors in calling for an end to marijuana prohibition.
On Thursday night (November 24), Robertson tweeted: "Good to see 4 Vancouver ex-mayors calling for end of cannabis prohibition. I agree, we need to be smart and tax/regulate."
Robertson's Twitter post follows the release on Wednesday (November 23) of an open letter signed by Sam Sullivan, Michael Harcourt, Larry Campbell, and Philip Owen.
In the letter, the former mayors, which include a former B.C. premier and a current senator among them, urged all elected B.C. politicians to speak out on the "ineffectiveness and harms" of marijuana prohibition.
"Marijuana prohibition is – without question – a failed policy," they wrote. "It is creating violent, gang-related crime in our communities and fear among our citizens, and adding financial costs for all levels of government at a time when we can least afford them. Politicians cannot ignore the status quo any longer; they must develop and deliver alternative marijuana policies that avoid the social and criminal harms that stem directly from cannabis prohibition."
According to the ex-mayors, it's time to tax and regulate the use of marijuana by adults.
"We believe a legally regulated market for adult cannabis use has the potential to reduce rates of cannabis use while at the same time directly addressing organized crime concerns by starving them of this cash cow," they stated. "A regulated market would enable governments to improve community health and safety while at the same time raising millions in tax revenue."
With his now-tweeted stance on marijuana, Robertson might endear himself to the self-styled "Prince of Pot", imprisoned marijuana activist Marc Emery.
“In my hometown Vancouver you get a Mayor seeking re-election who was, as far as I understand, an active member of our culture in the north Gulf Islands once upon a time, but you never hear him stand up for us as a culture,” Emery had stated in an article posted on Cannabis Culture on November 11.
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I think I disagree with you, NoLeftNutter. Wineries do create the best stuff as far as alcohol, and from what I hear, medical-grade pot is the BEST pot EVER!
Fucking think before you speak.
Komodo, if you honestly think the BC government can afford all that regulation and oversight expense then you need to reread my comments about the business case.
Your argument is about as rational as saying they won't sell scotch under a regulated market, only beer/wine.
NLN, the potency of pot has not substantially changed in the last thirty years. What has changed is the nature and quality of the pot siezed. Never mentioned in discussions of potency are the confounding facts that until about 1982-6 most of the pot siezed was mexican brick weed. Thats because generally only the largest siezurers were subjected to testing because of it's expense. As testing became cheaper, and subsequently more widespread, the small siezures were tested as well. At the same time, the wide spread use of paraquat on mexican fields caused a shift away from the lower quality, cheap mexican weed to domestic weed of higher quality. It is always more profitable to grow a lot of O.K. weed than a little good weed. The best weed in the world, bar none is found in the land race strains of Asia and Afghanistan, they have been breeding this plant for it's medicinal quality for a thousand years at least. It is supreme arrogance to believe we've improved on their efforts in any substanial way. You're not really wrong, NLN, you have been processing bad information. You seem smart, but you've digested some bad info. Read a little on the topic, find the good information, it's everywhere, and reach your own conclusions- don't let them be spoon fed to you.
Prohibition as a public policy is an epic fail. Even it's supporters acknowledge this. There are lots of reasons why, but no amount of doubling down on a bad bet will recoup your wager.
"Prohibition as a public policy is an epic fail. Even it's supporters acknowledge this"
True, but public policy itself is the greater failure, something even the victims of public policy often refuse to acknowledge. The most flagrant immorality in the picture is the group of people who have claimed the right to initiate violence against peaceful people based on whether or not they own some dried plant material.
The problem isn't that in this specific case the plant is harmless. The problem is a group of people running around enforcing their opinions with violence, kidnapping harmless people because they disagree with them. The distinction is important.
Should we legalize it, should we tax it, none of that matters until this question is dealt with: "Is it moral to kidnap and cage people you disagree with despite the fact they've not harmed or defrauded anyone?"
If you're in favor of regulation, you are answering "yes" to this question, as regulations are enforced with the threat of kidnapping. I say let's liberate marijuana, not legalize and regulate, and let's criminalize kidnapping people for "crimes" with no victims.
The only people who are totally against legalization, taxation, etc.... are the people who have the most to lose. IE: The criminals that produce and sell by the ton, and the Agencies that justify their budgets by enforcing unwinable laws.
Which are you?
"I suspect that the queen doth protest too much".
Pot is easy to grow. Why would I buy it at ANY price if I could grow it in my back garden? In a climate of legal possession, EVERYONE would grow it, legal or not!
Anyone can grow first-rate, primo bud basically for free. Legalisation means the bottom drops out of the market.
Tomatoes cost $1.99 a pound and yet many people still grow their own. Bud costs $2,200 a pound and is as easy to grow as tomatoes.
Connect the dots.
Birdy - nice little libertarian argument there. Good points, all.
Once again, in simple words: the alcohol/cigarette comparison is NOT VALID. It's way cheaper, easier and less complex to buy cigarettes and alcohol than to make them at home. I could never produce the quality I can buy at the regulated store.
Manufacture of smokeable pot involves: basic gardening skills to nurture a HARDY FAST-GROWING WEED to flowering stage. Cutting it down. Trimming the leaves. Hanging it to dry for a few days. Cutting it up and transferring it to plastic baggies.
Address that argument, if you would, rather than assuring me that no, it just won't happen.
I'm guessing fear of the law is in most cases the factor that makes regular users opt not to grow. The prospect of jail time is a greater demotivator than laziness. The prospect of saving hundreds of dollars a month on your choice of recreational drug is a strong motivator. The ease of doing it is a strong motivator. Your arguments are spurious.
To compare a few plants in the backyard with a commercial growing operation (legal or otherwise) in terms of quality and quantity, is ridiculous on its face.
Try again.
Chronic discomfort is reported to cost the country a minimum of $558 billion each year in medical bills, sick days and lost productivity. The report urges government, doctors, and insurance companies to do something to alter the way in which discomfort has been evaluated and treated. The report states that's is much more likely that the discomfort patient has been undertreated instead of overprescribed medicines and remedies. Many discomfort patients condition their doctors dismiss their complaints of discomfort because discomfort is really subjective and frequently doesn't have clinical findings the physician can easily see.
Many chronic discomfort patients find relief by using medicinal marijuana and several discover that they could reduce and sometimes eliminate using discomfort medicines which have toxic unwanted effects and potential addiction issues. "Cannabis-naive" patients (they are individuals who not used at all marijuana within their lifetime) listen to buddies and family or read on the web that medicinal marijuana aids in discomfort. They find great results because they are using cannabis like a medication with the aim of feeling better, less a drug of abuse. The research reveal that marijuana alters your discomfort perception similarly as opiate medicines but with no negative unwanted effects and patients find exactly this experience when utilizing medical cannabis.