Sensible BC
The Sensible BC campaign has recently received confirmation from Elections BC that their new proposed Sensible Policing Act meets the requirements of the Recall and Initiative Act (is jurisdictionally appropriate, clearly written and suitable for a provincial referendum).
The Sensible BC campaign and their draft legislation, the Sensible Policing Act, seeks to amend the BC provincial Police Act. The first part of the bill directs BC police officers not to use any provincial police resources on the enforcement of the simple possession of cannabis law. The draft law would require the police to report in detail to the Minister of Justice any actual use of resources for this purpose and why it was necessary, and require the Minister to publish that report. The considerable time and resources saved from this proposal would be reallocated to more pressing concerns determined by the provincial government. The bill does not impact upon trafficking, possession for the purposes of trafficking, or cultivation.
The bill also requires the BC government to call upon the federal government to remove cannabis from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act or to grant British Columbia a section 56 exemption. This would allow the province to tax and regulate cannabis as it does with alcohol and tobacco products. Moreover, the new proposed legislation mandates that the provincial government launch a Provincial Commission to study the requirements for the repeal of the federal prohibition of cannabis and enable the establishment of a legal and regulated model for the use of cannabis by adults.
In regards to minors, the Sensible Policing Act adds cannabis to the section of the BC Liquor Control Act which covers minors in the possession of alcohol. Therefore, police officials have the right to confiscate cannabis from minors in the same way they would alcohol.
This project is headed by an influential group of social justice advocates, with a Board of Directors which consists of Dana Larsen (former editor of cannabis culture magazine and founder of End Prohibition) and Kirk Tousaw (Executive Director of Beyond Prohibition and Director of the BC Civil Liberties Association).
If you live in BC please get in touch with Sensible BC, display SensibleBC materials in your store, register your customers, your friends, your co-workers and your neighbours.
Jennifer Collett’s Freedom Walk
At 9 am, Friday October 19th, Jennifer Collett of Peterborough Ontario, commenced her 141 kilometre walk to Queens Park in Toronto, and on Monday October 22nd she arrived at Queens Park. She was walking to raise awareness about a silent struggle many Canadians face every day, often before they have even gotten out of bed. This struggle is with the side effects of chronic illnesses like arthritis, fibromyalgia, COPD, cancer and diabetes and choosing to manage those side effects naturally using therapies like medical cannabis and hemp products.
Ms. Collett is a medical marijuana patient herself, consuming for the purpose of treating the chronic pain and other symptoms she experiences as a result of her fibromyalgia, a disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain as well as a heightened, painful response to pressure, and a serious lower back disorder which causes her vertebrae to push down and shift, pinching nerves.
“I am asking the provincial government to step in on behalf of the many Ontarians who are too sick to stand up for their own rights. The federal government is ignoring us and we need help. I am trying to raise awareness and a community vibration that will bring us together as people, no matter what medical choices we make in our own best interests, for each of our unique needs and to improve our own quality of life.”
“We are being incarcerated over a natural medicine, practicing crisis management instead of illness prevention and are tearing apart the very foundation of this country by destroying the families who create it.”
Ms. Collett has been walking 8.2 kilometres every other evening, and most recently, 16.4 kilometres every third night in preparation for the roughly 40 kilometres or so she will be walking each day of her journey.
“I’m not an activist,” says Ms. Collett. “I’m just someone who is aware there is proven relief for thousands of people who live daily with chronic pain; relief that is far less toxic than pharmaceuticals but isn’t being made readily available as an option for thousands who could benefit.”
If you are interested in supporting this action, through active participation or sponsorship of the walk, or if you have any further questions or comments, please feel free to contact Jennifer Collett at cannabianfreedomwalk@gmail.com or, alternatively, visit her Freedom Walk Facebook page.
Thank you.