Selling non-medical marijuana in liquor stores makes a lot of sense 鈥� the stores are already in the business of selling a controlled substance that alters the mental state and impairs abilities. They have the necessary expertise and infrastructure.
The B.C. Government and Service Employees鈥� Union has partnered with the B.C. Private Liquor Store Association to push for the sale of recreational marijuana in public and private liquor stores 鈥� if and when the federal government legalizes the drug.
It should be sold in a socially responsible way, 鈥渋n an age-controlled environment with a proven track record of ID checks, and that鈥檚 what we currently have within our liquor stores,鈥� says BCGEU president Stephanie Smith.
The two groups are jumping the gun, but just a little. Marijuana is still illegal under Canada鈥檚 Criminal Code, but that will likely soon change.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised during the throne speech on Friday to 鈥渓egalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana鈥� in order to keep the drug away from children and the profits away from criminals. He promised during the election campaign that the government would decriminalize marijuana consumption and incidental possession, while creating stronger laws to punish those who sell to minors or drive under the influence.
The legal selling of marijuana would require a strict regulatory framework, and such a framework already exists with the sale of alcohol.
Such an arrangement would fall in line with the thinking of many who have long advocated that marijuana be treated the same as alcohol.
The marijuana issue in Canada is a mess right now. Supreme Court rulings have made it difficult, in some cases impossible, to prosecute those who use marijuana, even though possession and use of it for other than medical purposes is still a criminal offence.
The resulting legal limbo has created a Wild West situation that only promises to become more confusing. Federal regulations are necessary, and they will be welcome.
Federally mandated research will be even more welcome. We know marijuana is not as portrayed in the 1936 propaganda film Reefer Madness: a drug that instantly turns users into raging psychopaths. But neither is it a benign herb with no ill effects. Finding the truth that lies somewhere between those two extremes has been difficult, because marijuana has not been adequately studied scientifically.
Many tout marijuana as a medicine, and evidence indicates that the plant has considerable pharmaceutical potential, but it should undergo the rigorous testing of any drug.
That testing could point to dangers of abuse or overuse; more important is the fact that without proper research, we do not know the true potential of the drug. It might have uses not yet thought of, applications that could relieve suffering and make lives better.
We do not endorse the smoking of marijuana, but neither do we advocate throwing people in jail for smoking pot, any more than we should make criminals out of people who choose to drink alcohol.
The decriminalization of marijuana is long overdue, and putting it under the same sort of regulations that govern liquor seems appropriate.
But taking it out of the Criminal Code is only one step. The federal government should open the doors to research that can bring to light more information, good and bad, about this drug.
