In spite of trail-blazing by several U.S. states, Solicitor General Mike Farnworth seems intent on turning B.C.’s journey to cannabis legalization — a bright future of jobs, tax windfalls and the end of pernicious prosecutions — from a good trip into a bummer.
The sprawling omnibus legislation the top cop tabled Thursday in the legislature continued the mishandling by both senior levels of government of the transition from nearly a century of enforcing a criminal prohibition to a marijuana-friendly economy.
In the province that is a global Pot Cultural Capital, the tone-deafness is unbelievable unless you imagine Farnworth as Sgt. Stedenko in a Cheech and Chong skit.
The proposals confirmed what the public safety minister announced earlier this year — that the legal age will be 19, the provincial liquor gang will wholesale and retail cannabis (though public stores will not sell it alongside alcohol or cigarettes), private outlets will be allowed where municipalities permit, and a whole new series of pot offences are created as well as an immediate roadside prohibition scheme.
Ian Mulgrew – Vancouver Sun – April 26, 2018.
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