There are many issues to be had with BC’s Cannabis Control and Licensing Act (Bill 30), which was introduced to the legislature in late April. In response, Dana Larsen from Sensible BC has launched a campaign to try to get the provincial government to change some of the most problematic aspects of the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act.
I’m launching a new campaign, to get @bcndp & @BCGreens to fix the BC Cannabis Control Act before it becomes law. Please let @jjhorgan & @AJWVictoriaBC know that this is a bad law which needs some serious changes! #bcpoli #vanpoli https://t.co/JU2Zm9LOM6
— Dana Larsen (@DanaLarsen) May 13, 2018
Sensible BC’s campaign urges supporters to use their voices and send a message to Premier John Horgan, Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth, and Green leader Andrew Weaver. The pre-written message outlines some of the biggest problems with the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act and asks the politicians to fix it. If you would like to edit the message, you’re completely free to, although, in typical Canadian fashion, they do ask that you be polite in your message.
The message is available here.
The four main points that the campaign is asking the politicians to change in the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act are:
- Do not criminalize having legal plants in public view
- Do not prohibit cannabis lounges
- Eliminate the special cannabis enforcement police
- Do not duplicate all the federal laws with provincial criminalization
Prohibiting cannabis plants from public view may have some unintended and dangerous side effects, as pointed out by Mica on Twitter:
A really stupid law. Basically forcing people to grow indoors with
high-intensity grow lights when they could just use sunlight. On a porch, in a garden or greenhouse also means no risk of fire or water damage to house/suites. Very poorly thought out legislation.— Mica (@Mica__Metal) May 14, 2018
The ban on cannabis lounges is also poorly thought out. If people are prohibited from smoking or vaping cannabis anywhere that tobacco is, that does not leave them with very many options, especially with many strata and real estate organizations supporting banning smoking in rental suites as well. Cannabis lounges would be the perfect solution to these problems by allowing a safe place for consumption, much like bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, and it does not make any sense to ban lounges outright from the beginning.
The cannabis enforcement police, or “community safety unit” as it’s called in the act, has the stated goal of eliminating the black market, which means that they will most likely be used to try and shut down unlicensed dispensaries and other sources of illicit cannabis (meaning anything that isn’t LP weed). Also, you can expect them to be arresting people for being high in public, as the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act has made that illegal, too.
Also, as Dana Larsen notes below, cities will be banned from permitting outdoor cannabis events, which means that we won’t be seeing any cannabis equivalent of the Vancouver Craft Beer Week anytime soon.
3. This law bans cannabis from parks & public spaces. If a city wants to give a permit to an outdoor cannabis event, they should be allowed to. They should add “unless permitted by civic bylaw” so cities can experiment with what works locally. #bcpoli @jjhorgan @AJWVictoriaBC
— Dana Larsen (@DanaLarsen) May 13, 2018
To sign the petition, click here
Featured image courtesy of the Globe and Mail.