Third in a series of Black Press B.C. election coverage leading up to May 9
None of B.C. main political parties have unveiled firm plans for how marijuana will be regulated despite Ottawa proposing legalization by Canada Day 2018.
The BC Liberals have long said that their main focus is keeping marijuana out of the hands of minors.
鈥淭he federal government has set 18 as the bottom line,鈥� Liberal leader Christy Clark said during the News1130 radio debate. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 get liquor till you鈥檙e 19, for heaven鈥檚 sake let鈥檚 at least put it at 19.鈥�
Clark has spoken out against selling pot in liquor stores.
鈥淪hould it be co-located to liquor stores? I don鈥檛 think so,鈥� said Clark. 鈥淣o one does that in the United States and you don鈥檛 want these two intoxicants sitting beside each other on the shelf.鈥�
The BC Liberal leader drew criticism from BC Green Party leader Andrew Weaver for not being better prepared.
鈥淲e鈥檝e thought about this for years while the premier has stood by and done nothing,鈥� he said.
Clark said that the BC Liberals will consult experts before deciding how it will be distributed.
The proposed federal law leaves impaired driving enforcement and distribution up to the provinces. A legalization task force released a report in December that recommended storefront distribution as an option, but warned against selling in liquor stores.
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In SFU professor Robert Gordon鈥檚 view, marijuana will likely be sold in separate stores.
鈥淚 think marijuana stores are the likely route,鈥� said Gordon. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e aware of the need to regulate the access to the stuff on the part of adolescents and having a good taxation payment system in place.鈥�
Gordon doesn鈥檛 see an issue in continuing current dispensaries, which currently operate illegally despite cities like Vancouver, Victoria and Port Alberni choosing to licence them.
鈥淚t鈥檚 perfectly doable and safely so,鈥� said Gordon. 鈥淲e鈥檙e got our neighbours to the south as a model.鈥�
In the U.S., recreational marijuana is legal in Alaska, Washington State, California, Oregon, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada.
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In 2016, Horgan sent NDP MLAs Mike Farnworth and Carole James south of the border to speak with Washington State and Oregon officials on how different distribution channels were performing.
鈥淚鈥檝e talked to pharmacies, I鈥檝e talked to distributors of other drugs in the community, I鈥檝e talked to dispensaries and I鈥檝e also talked to the liquor distribution folks to see what is the best way to proceed,鈥� Horgan said. 鈥淚 would suggest it鈥檚 probably going to be a mix.鈥�
Although the proposed federal legislation allows for up to four metre-high plants at home, Gordon sees most marijuana production switching to larger-scale production.
鈥淲e鈥檒l see that continue to a certain point or move openly into greenhouses,鈥� he said, pointing to post-secondary institutions such as Kwantlen Polytechnic University, which already has a course on medicinal growing. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not going to be fields of waving cannabis.鈥�
Weaver is concerned that Ottawa鈥檚 proposed bill will concentrate the profit from legalization with large corporations.
鈥淲e view the craft cannabis industry in a manner that鈥檚 identical to the craft beer industry,鈥� said Weaver.
SFU professor Neil Boyd believes that Clark鈥檚 approach, rather than selling in liquor stores, will be the one taken regardless of who ends up in power on May 9.
鈥淚 think the NDP has suggested that the liquor store approach is what they would follow,鈥� said Boyd. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit surprising because in every other jurisdiction we have seen a store distinct from a liquor store.鈥�
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