Since the federal government won’t stop the RCMP dispensary raids, effectively the end of B.C. Bud – British Columbians should ask themselves whether separating from Canada is an appropriate response.
Is such a thing even possible?
Yes, it is. Quebec has been threatening to do it for decades and they’ve received plenty of federal attention because of it.
British Columbia threatened to separate soon after Confederation. Promises of a railway were shortcoming, and, logistically, it made more sense to trade with the west coast than the Canadians.
The province’s 25th premier, W.A.C. Bennett, attempted to establish his own central bank with 25 per cent of its reserves backed by the good faith of the British Columbian taxpayer.
Bennett also championed a newer confederation, and at one point, over a sour deal with Ottawa, he threatened to pull B.C. out of Canada and take the Yukon with him.
Yet, Bennett was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. He ultimately wanted amendments to the Canadian Constitution that recognized veto powers for Western Canada.
But after 1982, no province would have this power except in unanimity.
Separation is merely a bluff. A trump card on how far B.C. is willing to go to keep B.C. Bud in the hands of local entrepreneurs.
Some talk about a wine model and, if that’s the case, keep in mind what generates economic prosperity.
Unions and government retailers seem to think it’s them. But that’s like saying breaking bongs creates wealth.
If I break a bong, the glass-blower may be richer because of it, but he’ll keep creating works of art regardless.
I, however, am poorer as I now need to spend money on a new bong rather than a new pair of shoes or a book.
Nothing new has been added to the economy, I was never able to make that mutual trade with the cobbler or bookseller. They are poorer too and they don’t even know it.
There are unseen consequences of breaking my bong.
The same is true for bureaucracy. Not only does the state expropriate wealth from you, its bureaucracy prevents free competition for its services.
These controlled industries are preventing entrepreneurs from creating wealth. They are destroying the long-term capital of the civilization through confiscatory means.
They are breaking bongs and then offering themselves as the only market for new ones.
There may be something valuable about the “public” sector, but there is nothing productive about it. In the reality of scarcity, only private ownership has proven to be sustainable over the long-term.
Having governments engage in tort reform sanctioned pollution, overturning centuries of property rights and ensuring the advancement of industrialization without concern for the environment.
Cannabis and hemp have an opportunity to replace more than medicine, they can take the place of fossil fuels and plastics.
If Justin Trudeau wants to revive the middle class and save the environment, look no further than cannabis and hemp.
All the government needs to do is get out of the way.
And if getting cannabis legalization right means reopening the constitution or threatening to leave confederation, so be it.
B.C. Bud is too important to forfeit over to Ottawa.