VANCOUVER – Four former B.C. attorneys general are calling for the legalization of marijuana, saying the current ban on pot is only fuelling gang violence and clogging the courts, but they’re not getting any support from the province’s current premier.
The four men, Colin Gabelmann, Ujjal Dosanjh, Graeme Bowbrick and Geoff Plant, who served in both NDP and Liberal governments in B.C., have written to Premier Christy Clark and NDP leader Adrian Dix encouraging them to work to overturn the prohibition of marijuana
They say the ban results in massive profits for organized crime, widespread gang violence, reduced community safety and escalating costs to taxpayers. They say instead of prohibition, governments should regulate the sale of marijuana as a public health issue and tax the sales, which would raise money for cash-strapped governments.
“It’s time for our political leaders to accept and act on the overwhelming evidence linking marijuana prohibition to organized crime and gang violence,” said Geoff Plant, who served as attorney general from 2001 to 2005.
“Punitive laws such as mandatory minimum sentences are clearly not the solution. Instead, taxation and regulation under a public health framework is the best way forward,” he said in the letter.
“Alcohol prohibition did not work in the 1920’s and 1930’s and marijuana prohibition does not work today,” said Gabelmann, who was attorney general from 1991 to 1995. “It’s past time we overturned prohibition and addressed the related problems of gang violence, clogged court systems and the constant drain on the public purse.”
However, Premier Christy Clark said she will not get involved in the marijuana debate.
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We all know the story of Weed, AKA cannabis, marijuana, pot, the assassin of youth. In truth, that assassin is adulthood and definitely not to be confused as maturity. Her story is woven with lies, deception and conspiracy. Weed, unbeknownst to most, is the victim.