The chances of seeing a large cloud of marijuana smoke rising from any public plaza or park in Richmond on April 20 are about as slim as a pinner.
And that’s fine by Rick Dubras, executive director of Richmond Addiction Services Society (RASS), who is hoping to open a dialogue on marijuana use, especially amongst youth, as the federal government embarks on legal and regulatory reforms for the popular drug.
“We want to see a full host of education and regulation,” surrounding marijuana, said Dubras, whose organization is hosting Successfully Navigating Adolescence on April 21 at McNair secondary at 7 p.m. The evening’s keynote speaker is Barry MacDonald, founder of MentoringBoys.com, and author of Boys Smart and Boys on Target. MacDonald’s one hour presentation will be followed by a one hour panel discussion as well as questions and answers.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, thousands of proponents of marijuana decriminalization and legalization were set to toke up at Sunset Beach in Vancouver in celebration and protest to mark 420 (April 20th), the international day of marijuana advocacy.
Unlike in Richmond, where the municipal government has not issued licences for medical marijuana shops, pot smokers in Vancouver have more than 100 marijuana dispensaries to choose from in order to obtain all sorts of THC-packed products.
The obscure licensing program is set to become more restrictive in Vancouver, but it’s nevertheless a cause for concern for Dubras.
“Medical marijuana needs to be strictly controlled and regulated. There should be a select few store fronts for the proper dispensing of it,” said Dubras.
“The black market is not the answer and prohibition is not the answer,” he added.
The illegal marijuana dispensaries sprouted up all over Vancouver after its municipal government issued some licences for medical marijuana shops.
Richmond has not faced such confusion, as its local government has not allowed even one dispensary to open.
In in annual address in February Mayor Malcolm Brodie said nothing will change until federal laws allow for such business activity.
“My view on that — and I’m not trying to lack compassion on this — as far as I’m concerned, it’s up to the city to license only legal operations. And these are not legal operations, not now. And if the rules change we will change with them. But right now an operation cannot go under the federal health act and dispense marijuana products,” said Brodie.
“I don’t know how Vancouver does it. They just said they don’t care about the law,” added Brodie
Liberal MP Joe Peschisolido told the Richmond News in late February he is unaware of any timeline for setting new regulations, including the decriminalization of marijuana. Since then, the government has made no announcements, as the issue is presently before a committee.*
Regardless of what the new regulations may look like, Dubras said it is imperative a holistic approach to preventing youth from using the drug is taken.
“We need to be very clear about the effect marijuana has on the young person’s brain,” said Dubras.
Profits need to be reinvested in healthcare and addiction prevention and treatment, education needs to be ramped up and marketing of the drug needs to be prohibited, added Dubras. The RASS panel will include local experts on gaming addiction and cyber safety, as well.
“We’re bringing these panelists together so that parents who are concerned about a variety of issues can have their questions answered,” said Dubras.
* Update: Health Minister Jane Philpott announced today at the United Nations in New York that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government will introduce legislation in the spring of 2017 “that ensures that we keep marijuana out of the hands of children and profits out of the hands of criminals.”
Philpott is at the United Nations to participate in a review of international drug treaties.
“While this plan challenges the status quo of many countries, we are convinced it is the best way to protect our youth while enhancing public safety,” she said. “Canada will continue to modernize our approach to drug policy. Our work will embrace upstream prevention, compassionate treatment and harm reduction. We will work with law enforcement partners to encourage appropriate and proportionate criminal justice measures. We know it is impossible to arrest our way out of this problem.”
With Vancouver Courier file
