Saturday, April 15, 2017

BC Libertarians critique Trudeau's cannabis bill

BC Libertarian Party Response to Cannabis Legalization 2018 | BC Libertarian Party - Keith Komar:

April 3, 2017 - "Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party of Canada 'leaked' some information on their pending roll out of legalization in July 2018. Here are the main points that were addressed:
  • The Federal Government will be in charge of making sure Cannabis is 'safe and secure'
  • 4 Plants per household
  • Provinces ... to decide how to distribute & sell Cannabis and set prices
  • Ottawa will set minimum age of 18 but provinces may opt for a higher age limit
"[T]he BC Libertarian Party would like to discuss its plan for legalization under these regulations....

"As a place to start in BC, we would promote the dispensary option as the way forward with general retail sales, but we would also like to include, bars, cafes, nightclubs, vapour lounges etc. in this model, as they would be high income generating business ventures, helping our tourism industry greatly.... [T]he Licensed Producer / mail order model does not provide sufficient access to people who require Cannabis as a medicine. People deserve access to safe, quality medicine and the dispensary model has worked the best so far to provide that.

"We would also ensure that Craft Cannabis was included in our 'rights' as a province to regulate. BC Cannabis is world renowned and we will not allow Ottawa to squeeze us out of the economic equation. This is, and always will be, OUR industry and the BC Libertarian Party will not stand aside and watch the economic benefits be taken away from us.

"We would accept 18 years old as 'legal age' for recreational Cannabis use.

The ... rule that says we will only be allowed to grow 4 plants .. is a completely absurd, authoritarian rule that serves only one purpose: to ensure that people will continue to be consumers in this market. It is not acceptable and we would challenge it in court.... How do you enforce this?” What does the 4 plant per house street patrol cost? And how much authority will they have to make sure that people aren't growing 6 plants in their garden?....

"There is still another issue left untouched.... The federal government has refused to put a halt to the arrests of Canadians who are guilty of nothing more than possession of a plant. We cannot allow this to continue. One of the first orders of business for the Libertarians in Victoria would be to stop police from arresting people for Cannabis distribution, possession and consumption. We would then work with municipalities to set up legal framework to allow the Craft industry to 'come out of the closet' and flourish in a free market. This would be a huge economic boost to this province and [it] would be a travesty if we let the federal government push us out of the production of this plant.

"This election has become the most important election ever to the Cannabis community in B.C. Whoever we elect to Victoria this cycle will be in charge of rolling out legalization. Not one major party has been willing to go on the public record for whatever reason, but the B.C. Libertarian Party believes that the people of this province have spoken on this issue, the experts have given us their best advice and now it is time to end prohibition on this plant and allow the citizens of BC to enjoy its many uses."

Read more: http://www.libertarian.bc.ca/single-post/2017/04/03/BC-Libertarian-Party-Response-to-Cannabis-Legalization-2018
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