The Lower Mainland is Happy Keeping Marijuana Illegal

[flamingfingers]

I believe it is much harder to get people to sign a petition when they live in densely populated areas - apartments, condos - and Sensible BC was late off the block getting canvassers.

But they WILL do it again and have learned how to hone their message to target people who are just fed up with prohibition.

It matters not to the majority of people whether they have read all the information from Health Canada, the red herrings about high THC MJ and gang associations. The vast majority of people simply want and end to prohibition that makes criminals out of otherwise law-abiding citizens, simply because they smoke or ingest a rather harmless substance.

And Health Canada with its strategy to force people who need MJ to purchase it from licensed facilities at prohibitive costs to people on disability, etc will ensure that there is a whole nother class of 'criminal' like Gramma, Uncle Fred, Cousin Joe to prosecute when they continue to grow their own at a fraction of the cost of a 'licensed facility;.

[Glacier]

I believe it is much harder to get people to sign a petition when they live in densely populated areas - apartments, condos

That seems a bit counterintuitive to me. If you have a rural riding like Grammafreddy's riding where you have many rural houses far from any sort of central area, you'd think it would be harder to find people than it would in Kelowna where everyone lives within the same small area.

With the HST inititive, all 84 ridings were able to reach the 10% threshold. Three ridings (Kootenay West
Cariboo-Chilcotin, and Boundary-Similkameen) were were able to get more than 30% of voters to sign the HST petition. It is interesting that both Cariboo ridings were near the top of the HST referendum, but made of 2 of the only 3 interior ridings that utterly failed the marijuana initiative (see map on the previous page).

It seems that you are right about small ridings having a harder time getting signatures though because the HST initiative defintiely got more signatures in the interior than on the coast. Either that, or the people are simply lazier on the Coast.

[Donald G]

To Flamingfingers ...

You sound like you feel you do not need to be concerned about what the 37 or so Medical PhDs at Health Canada happen to think about any aspect of marijuana. Good luck with that theory. You realize that even if Sensible BC was to get 10% of the voting public to sign a petition the Federal and Provincial Governments can still refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of your signatures.

Especially when any number of them were NOT legitimate in WS-K during the last petition attempt. I say that from personally watching the sign-up tent activity.

Do you seriously think 10% of people can dictate what the other 90% should think or do?

The marijuana issue will be decided by intelligence and reason rather than some emotional demands by a small minority of people making up evidence to support their already formed conclusion ... like the completely misinformed idiot running down the road yelling "the cure for cancer is already here". Or the equally misleading statement that "legalizing (all strains and quantities) of marijuana will eliminate millions in police costs and gang violence".

IMO small quantities of marijuana will be legalized for stress reduction (like booze) but it will be the result of evidence and common sense rather than the mix of truth and fiction inherent in the Sensible BC initiative that was largely unsupported, especially at the coast.

[Donald G]

Reasons that the Lower Mainland (and others) might have wanted to keep marijuana illegal in the recent Sensible BC petition;

1. There is no known roadside tester available to determine impaired-marijuana.

2. The Canadian Criminal Court judges have determined that even if a body reading is determined for marijuana it does not in itself determine impaired-marijuana because, unlike alcohol, different quantities of marijuana can affect different people significantly differently regarding driving impairment.

3. The high THC marijuana grown by criminal drug gangs in BC is an important part of how such drug gangs finance the 'out of country' purchase or trade for more habit forming and lucrative drugs like heroin, cocaine and Oxy etc.

4. Sensible BC made no concerted effort to further identify what they actually envisioned when they used the terms "decriminalize" or "legalize" marijuana.

5. Too many of the people making comments in support of Sensible BC used patently untrue, greatly exaggerated, out of date, and distorted information as being reasons to "free the weed". People with any amount of knowledge regarding marijuana, criminal gangs and the justice system readily identified that many Sensible BC adherents were either being downright dishonest or extremely naive regarding legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana. That included people who had themselves smoked or orally ingested marijuana.

6. Rather than attempt to educate people regarding marijuana Sensible BC came across as having the audacity to TELL people what they should think regarding the further medicalization or legalization of small amounts of marijuana. And, in effect, called them uneducated fools if they did not immediately agree.

[Captain Awesome]

Either that, or the people are simply lazier on the Coast.

I think it might have something to do with informational noise people are facing in bigger cities. Say, here in Kelowna the sign up was somewhat known, it was on the news all the time, and people knew what to do next. You go to Vancouver, you just drown in causes, protests, marches, initiatives, and agendas. On any given day you hear about petitions to legalize gay divorces, legalize MJ, legalize butt hugging on subway, stopping baby seal meals from being made, and Twinkies from bankruptcy. As a result, any one of these causes don't get enough attention.

[Gone_Fishin]

I believe it is much harder to get people to sign a petition when they live in densely populated areas - apartments, condos - and Sensible BC was late off the block getting canvassers.

Yeah all those people so close together, must be tough to track them down to sign the petition. Oh, wait a minute, that makes about as much sense as baking your brains with a joint.

[Donald G]

Two of the most commonly used NON PRESCRIPTION substances used to reduce stress in Canada today are booze and cigarettes. Tobacco has easily proven to be one of the most widely harmful substances ever accepted as legal by Canadians at any time throughout our Canadian history.

Cocaine, and opium which also used to be legal at one time would run a close second except for the fact that the harm to the individual and society inherent in it was recognized by the medical profession far sooner than the harm inherent in tobacco.

Second place on the "damaging to society" list must therefore be given to booze because of its 'enabling' ability. Some people would call it a catalyst in the sense that many crimes and much of the violence enabled by alcohol would not have been carried through with in the absence of the "few drinks" needed to carry through with the crime or violence intended.

Its addictive ability can be seen laying about the streets in any city you wish to name. Also in family court where the cumulative effects of a growing alcohol addiction in the form of children and spouses are dealt with on a regular basis. The lives ruined by alcohol are legendary. Perhaps none more legendary than the violence enabled by alcohol.

I say enabled because IMO it has been clearly proven that alcohol does not make anyone violent but it does seriously impair that part of the brain that, under normal conditions, holds our initial totally emotional impulses in check. Domestic violence, child abuse and drunk driving are three of the most damaging forms of violence enabled by alcohol.

IMO alcohol has proven much more inherently violent and much more dangerous and destructive to society than balanced (TCH/CBDs) strains of marijuana. Our presently "accepted" stress reducing drugs are proving far more destructive to society then we ever dreamed they would be and certainly significantly more destructive than balanced marijuana would appear to be from all of the data collected to date; including the data published by the 37 or so medical PhDs at Health Canada.

Given the sensible Health Canada monitored changes that will take place on April 1, 2014 regarding the LICENSED growing, harvesting, transportation and SALE of "informed consent" marijuana, perhaps it is time that society looked at permitting marijuana, which presently plays a medical role in dealing with any number of medical conditions (including the treatment of several nervous stress disorders) should be further legalized to enable people who would rather use marijuana than tobacco or booze to do so.

Balanced marijuana is not perfect, but based on the collective information given by Health Canada it is a great deal less harmful than either of our present "stress reducers", especially when orally ingested rather than smoked.

Since medically monitored "informed consent" to use marijuana will soon replace all present "prescriptions" I assume that all marijuana grown and sold by the six licensed free enterprise marijuana farms in B.C. will be taxable. I never met a government yet that was not attracted by additional taxation possibilities.

Something to think about over the holidays when booze and the sometimes violent and destructive effects inherent in booze becomes more visible than normal. The guy or girl sitting quietly in the corner will be the ones who may have been smoking or otherwise ingesting marijuana. Or eating moms home made marijuana cookies. The guy being forcefully dragged out the door by the police for "tuning up his wife" will be the boozer.

[jimmy4321]

"Do you seriously think 10% of people can dictate what the other 90% should think or do?"

Here's the thing
In actual elections in Canada with many polling stations with signage guiding your way,with radio and television announcements helping with the effort.
Only approximately 50% of eligible BC voters voted provincially and maybe 60% federally.With those votes divided by mostly three parties,there's actually a small percentage of voters that dictate Canada's direction.

So i think 10% of each riding would be an amazing achievement considering the limited resources.It definately would take an outstanding effort considering it's "just" a petition that doesn't have any real consequence besides possibly some influence.

[Donald G]

To jimmy4321 ...

Is that not pretty well governed by what you are asking people to vote on as well as the degree of truth contained in the collective information being presented regarding both sides of the issue? Every educated survey I have ever seen carried out regarding the further medicalization of marijuana and the GOVERNMENT CONTROLLED legalization of small amounts of marijuana for recreational purposes has identified a percentage of Canadians FAR above 10% being in favor.

For Sensible BC to fall as far short of 10% as they did IMO identified serious problems with "the question" and the information being given by Sensible BC supporters as reasons that Canadians should support their initiative. Much of the information was recognized as outdated. exaggerated, and in some cases completely false.

Rather than pursue the form of marijuana legalization that Canadians are identified as willing to support Sensible BC proceeded to tell Canadians what they should believe. And in some cases identified people who did not buy into their highly questionable information and approach as idiots. Not at all a smart approach to bringing about the changes THAT THE PUBLIC ARE WILLING TO SUPPORT regarding marijuana.

The Canadian people rejected the Sensible BC approach and often false information they supplied.

[Donald G]

One of the problems created by the wide variety of sensible and extremist people professing to speak for the pro marijuana people was that it left thinking people with little idea of what they were actually supporting in signing (or not signing) the petition.

The fact that much of the "information" being given out was exaggerated, one sided and at times downright false simply compounded the problem.