I must respond to the letter to the editor from Donald John (Sept. 29/13) on the topic of Sensible B.C.
First of all, it is patently obvious that Mr. John has not read up on what Sensible B.C. proposes – nowhere do they say that they want to legalize marijuana.
What they do say is that they would like, “an amendment to the B.C. Police Act, which redirects all police in the province from using any police resources, including member time, on investigations, searches, seizures, citations, arrests or detentions related solely to simple possession of cannabis.”
Had Mr. John taken the time to do some minimal research, he would have further discovered that, within the above-mentioned proposal, there would be a provision to deal with exactly the fears he has about the impact of this initiative on teens and young adults.
The Sensible Policing Act would add cannabis to the section of the B.C. Liquor Control Act which covers minors in possession of alcohol, thus enabling police offers to confiscate cannabis from a minor, in exactly the same fashion and with the same penalties as for alcohol.
Mr. John goes on to cite a litany of possible woes resulting from this proposed initiative, among them the following: poverty, lowered academic achievement, increased crime, social and behavioural problems and family breakdown.
I would like to ask Mr. John these questions: Have you ever smoked marijuana? Do you drink alcohol? Do you have children that are teens or young adults?
I ask these questions because, upon reading and re-reading your letter, my initial and lasting impressions were of someone ranting for the sake of ranting.
A little cohesive thought would have brought the following into discussion: the astronomical costs of policing and prosecution for a substance that was originally banned due to the behind-the-scenes political wrangling of a newspaper baron and a major chemical company.
Would you prefer that young people in B.C. come of age tarred with the stigma of a criminal record for the simple act of relaxing with a joint?
Would you prefer that these same young people instead learn how to drink themselves into oblivion?
I have no statistics to back this up, but I am confident in stating that the incidences of fatal car crashes, suicides, murders, thefts, etc. are not the result of teens or young adults experimenting with marijuana.
I have signed the referendum locally and urge others to do the same. Apart from the fact that I like marijuana, use it regularly, prefer it to alcohol and have no intention to stop its consumption, I am very concerned about the number of young people whose lives are irrevocably altered (and not for the better) by the draconian laws governing simple possession of a substance that has been used for thousands of years, by people all over this world.
I hope this letter generates both discussion and a response from Mr. John.
Mark Levey
Enderby
