Enderby politicians want marijuana decriminalized and taxed.

A majority of council voted Monday to ask senior government to regulate cannabis as a way of reducing crime, rationalizing police resources and creating a new source of revenue for communities.

“We’re not saying we agree with marijuana but the current process is not working and it fuels the gangs,” said Mayor Howie Cyr, a former RCMP officer.

“Instead of throwing countless people into jail ( for marijuana possession ) and spending money on enforcement, treat it like cigarettes or prescription drugs.”

Cyr believes marijuana-related investigations, which can take years, can be a drain on policing resources, and they prevent authorities from dealing with other matters.

“Smaller communities paying for policing are being hit really hard.”

Cyr suggests a new approach to marijuana could also benefit those who use the substance.

“We need to regulate it and tax it and put money into education and rehabilitation,” he said.

Lone opposition came from Coun.  Beryl Ludwig.

“Any drug addicts or former addicts you talk to say they started with marijuana,” she said.

“Marijuana is the gateway to harder drugs.”

Ludwig admits, though, that she understands the concerns about drug-related crime and police officers spending time on marijuana grow-ops that keep surfacing in the community.

“It would be nice to have the taxes from marijuana but would the taxes be enough to pay for the people that need rehabilitation?” she said.

“It’s hard to legalize something that wrecks so many lives.”

The officer in charge of the North Okanagan RCMP was reluctant to comment on Enderby council’s decision.

“The RCMP’s position is the politicians make the laws and we enforce them,” said Supt.  Reg Burgess.

“At this point, we are going with the laws given to us to enforce and there is no change there.”

Council decided to lobby for cannabis control after a request from Stop the Violence B.C., which advocates for a new approach to marijuana.

“The coalition, along with other organizations such as the Health Officers Council of B.C.  and the Canadian Public Health Association, believes that a strictly regulated legal market for marijuana could better control availability of the drug while at the same time starve organized crime of this enormous cash cow,” said Evan Wood, Stop the Violence B.C.  spokesperson and a University of B.C.  professor of medicine.

Source: Morning Star, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 The Morning Star
Contact: morningstarnews@bcnewsgroup.com
Website: http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/
Author: Richard Rolke

The District has selected six companies to grow marijuana and supply medical cannabis to users — clearing the way for growers to start producing hundreds of plants in as little as a month.

The Health Department is expected to announce Friday that it has selected the winning bidders for cultivating plants that will feed the dispensaries city officials hope to approve by the summer. All the growers will be in Northeast, including a company partly owned by celebrity talk show host Montel Williams.

Combined, they will be tasked with producing thousands of plants annually, in possible violation of federal law.

Two years ago, the D.C. Council voted to establish as many as 10 cultivation centers, where up to 95 marijuana plants could be grown at a time at each location. Once harvested, the marijuana will be sent to five distribution centers for patients to buy.

Mohammad N. Akhter, director of the Health Department, said he and a task force evaluated dozens of bidders before selecting the six applicants. Akhter said they were chosen based on their ability to grow “quality” marijuana “in a safe environment” that includes heavy security.

Akhter said he also tried to ensure that the cultivation centers were not too tightly clustered in the same blocks.

“I have taken every single step that I could to make sure this is done in a safe environment in which we can have a quality product that can meet the needs of the patient in a way that the community is also satisfied,” he said in an interview. “These are the best people who can do the best job.”

Williams’s cultivation center, Abatin Wellness Center, has been approved for the 2100 block of Queens Chapel Road in Langdon, according to a city list obtained by The Washington Post.

The department also selected Montana Apothecary dba Alternative Solutions in the 2100 block of 24th Place NE in Langdon; District Growers in the 2400 block of Evarts Street NE in Langdon; Holistic Remedies in 1800 block of Fenwick Street NE in Ivy City; Phyto Management in the 3700 block of Benning Road NE in Benning; and Venture Forth dba Center City in the 2200 block of Channing Street NE in Langdon.

Before the applicants can open, however, Akhter said they must apply for their business license and building permits from the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. He added that the permitting process may take less than two weeks, meaning the marijuana growers may be able to start production in less than a month.

But Helder Gil, a spokesman for DCRA, said it could take some providers longer to open if they plan to make major renovations, including additional electric or water supplies.

“If they are just doing minor stuff . . . they can get a building permit quickly and then come in and get the sign-off,” Gil said.

The Health Department does not expect to complete the approval process for dispensaries until June.

“It takes about 90 days to grow the plants and have them ready,” Akhter said. “By the time growers are ready with the plants, the dispensaries should be in operation.”

But the District could still face big challenges in the implementation of its medical marijuana program.

In recent weeks, some residents and community activists fought attempts to open the cultivation centers in their neighborhood.

In January, D.C. Council member Vincent B. Orange (D-At large) successfully pushed to limit the number of cultivation centers that could operate in Northeast. Last week, council member Yvette M. Alexander (D-Ward 7) won approval of a bill barring cultivation centers from high-profile retail corridors — including the location Phyto Management wants to open on Benning Road.

It was not clear Thursday night how the bill would affect the company’s plans, but Alexander pledged to work with the group to find a new location.

The fight over the cultivation centers could pale in comparison with the community opposition that could surface as the Department of Health reviews the applicants to run the distribution centers. But under the law, they are not allowed 300 feet from a school, recreation center or a city park.

Another challenge could come from law enforcement officials because, under federal law, the sale or possession of medical marijuana is illegal. Federal authorities have declined to publicly sanction the program, which restricts patients to no more than 2 ounces of marijuana per month.

But Akhter said he remains optimistic that the city’s program will withstand legal scrutiny, citing his view on the medical benefits of marijuana.

Under the city regulations, patients suffering from cancer, HIV-AIDS, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma qualify for the program.

“I know one thing for sure, there are a lot more dangerous drugs that we prescribe,” said Akhter, a former senior associate dean for public and international health at Howard University College of Medicine. “We made this program exactly like for other drugs we prescribe for other purposes.”

Although medical marijuana patients will not be able to grow their own marijuana, the District’s first purveyor of medical pot supplies plans to open on Rhode Island Avenue NE on Friday.

WeGrow, a company billing itself as the “Wal-Mart of Weed,” will sell materials needed to cultivate and care for the plants, but not the plants or seeds themselves.

Staff writers Mike DeBonis and Katie Rodgers contributed to this report.

Source: Washington Post (DC)
Author: Tim Craig
Published: March 30, 2012
Copyright: 2012 Washington Post Company
Contact: letters@washpost.com
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/