|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
Canada: B.C. supports dropping pot legalization
Vancouver Sun
Thursday 06 Apr 2006 VICTORIA -- British Columbia's top cop supports Prime Minister Stephen Harper in his decision to drop plans to decriminalize marijuana. Solicitor General John Les said possession of marijuana is illegal and should stay that way. But Les also said police should use their judgment when confronting people that are openly using marijuana. "It's the same thing if you catch minors with a couple of beers. You take the beers off them and they go on their way,'' he said. "I'm not saying they (police) should look the other way. They should just use discretion.'' The B.C. government is more concerned with people who supply marijuana in the province. On Thursday, the government introduced legislation to give municipal officials and police access to residents' electricity bills. Bill 25 was proposed by B.C.'s fire chiefs as a safety issue. "The number of grow-ops in our province is increasing and so are the problems associated with these operations,'' said Rich Coleman, the minister responsible for housing. "Grow-ops are more likely to catch fire, more likely to have guns inside and are more likely to be robbed. They pose a danger to our neighbourhoods and we're determined to shut them down.'' Under the proposed legislation, electric companies will be required to give municipalities information about residences with unusual power consumption. Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis said virtually every grow-op has been found to be a fire risk because of the way the electrical systems are rigged. While some may see opening Hydro bills to scrutiny as an invasion of privacy, he suggested it should be viewed as a way of making B.C. neighbourhoods safer. Under the legislation, municipal authorities will post a 48-hour notice on a suspect home before an inspection team arrives. Les said the tabling of the legislation days after a grow-op exploded in a posh West Vancouver neighbourhood is simply a coincidence.
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!