Report Did So While Off-Duty
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BC Cannabis Policy – the time for leadership is now The war on drugs, as it has been fought for decades, cannot be won. – Louise Arbour, Former Supreme Court Justice All of the vaunted and much publicized policing efforts to control gang violence and the marijuana industry have had little if any impact on the huge, highly profitable [cannabis] sector. – Kash Heed, MLA It’s time for our political leaders to accept and act on the overwhelming evidence linking marijuana prohibition to organized crime and gang violence. – Geoff Plant, Former BC Attorney General STOP the VIOLENCE BC’s Year in Review Members of the Stop the Violence BC Coalition (partial listing; see www.stoptheviolencebc.org for complete, updated membership list) John Anderson, PhD Benedikt Fischer, PhD Randie Long Dan Reist Former Correctional Officer, Professor & CIHR/PHAC Applied Former Federal Prosecutor, Nanaimo Assistant Director, Knowledge Exchange, Centre for Addictions Nanaimo; Chair, Criminology Dept., Public Health Chair, Faculty of Health Donald MacPherson Sciences, SFU; Director, Centre for Research BC Vancouver Island University; Vice- Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health President, Law Enforcement Against Applied Research in Mental Health Judith Renaud and Addiction Sciences, SFU; Director, Canadian Prohibition (Canada) Drug Policy Coalition Executive Director, Educators for Sensible Drug Policy; School Terri Betts, BScPharm, ACPR Colin Gabelmann Attorney General of BC (1991-1995) Jolayne Marsh Administrator (retired) Clinical Coordinator, Pharmacy, Lions Mental Health Worker, Living Room Gate Hospital Gwyllyn Goddard, MD Drop-In Chris Richardson, PhD Physician Assistant Professor & Michael Graeme Bowbrick, QC Richard Mathias, MHSc, MD, FRCPC Smith Foundation Scholar, School Attorney General of BC (2000-2001) Jennifer Godwin-Ellis, BAH, LLB Professor & Public Health Program of Population & Public Health, UBC; Lawyer Neil Boyd, LLM Head, School of Population & Public Research Scientist, Centre for Health Health, UBC Professor & Associate Director, Mark Haden, MSW Evaluation & Outcome Sciences School of Criminology, SFU Adjunct Professor, School of Nursing, Walter McKay Ted Riecken UBC Former Police Officer; Consultant, Professor, Department of Education, David Bratzer Michael Harcourt WM Consulting; Director of University of Victoria Police Officer; Board of Directors, Former Mayor of Vancouver; Former International Affairs & Co-Founder, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Jean Shoveller, PhD Premier of British Columbia Asociación Mexicana de Reducción de Professor & CIHR/PHAC Applied Riesgos y Daños Jane Buxton, MBBS, MRCGP, MHSc, Paul Hasselback, MD, MSc, FRCPC Public Health Chair, School of FRCPC Medical Health Officer; Member, Ian Mitchell, MD Population & Public Health, UBC; Associate Professor, School of Health Officers’ Council of BC; Clinical Emergency Physician, Royal Inland Senior Scholar, Michael Smith Population & Public Health, UBC Associate Professor, School of Hospital Foundation for Health Research Vince Cain Population & Public Health, UBC Julio Montaner, MD, FRCPC, FCCP, Sam Sullivan Retired RCMP Chief Super intendent; Kash Heed FACP, FRSC Former Mayor of Vancouver Former BC Chief Coroner Member of the Legislative Assembly Director, BC Centre for Excellence in Timothy Temple, MBBS, CCFP, FRSA of BC Physician, Dept. of Family Practice, Larry Campbell HIV/AIDS; Immediate Past President, International AIDS Society UBC Canadian Senator; Former Mayor of Jacob Hunter Vancouver Policy Director, Beyond Prohibition Bohdan Nosyk, PhD Kirk Tousaw, JD, LLM Foundation Health Economist, BC Centre for Barrister, Law Office of Kirk John Carsley, MD, MSc, FRCPC Excellence in HIV/AIDS Tousaw; Executive Director, Beyond Medical Health Officer; Member, David Kennedy, MD, FCFP Prohibition Retired Physician Eugenia Oviedo-Joekes, PhD Health Officers’ Council of BC Ian Tully-Barr Thomas Kerr, PhD Assistant Professor, School of Neil Chantler Population & Public Health, UBC; Crown Counsel, Attorney General Director, Urban Health Research of BC Barrister & Solicitor, A. Cameron Initiative, BC Centre for Excellence in Research Scientist, Centre for Health Ward & Co. HIV / AIDS; Associate Professor, Dept. Evaluation & Outcome Sciences Russell Uhler Professor Emeritus, Economics, UBC John Conroy, QC of Medicine, UBC Philip Owen Barrister & Solicitor, Conroy & Co., Douglas C. King, LLB Former Mayor of Vancouver Franklin White, MD, CM, MSc, FRCPC, President, NORML Canada Lawyer, Pivot Legal Society FFPH Katrina Pacey, LLB President, Pacific Health & Ujjal Dosanjh, PC, QC Ross Lander Partner, Ethos Law; Litigation Development Sciences Inc. 33rd Premier of BC; Attorney General Retired Justice, BC Supreme Court Director, Pivot Legal Society of BC (1995-2000) Ken Wilson Josée Lavoie, PhD Heather Peters, MSW Zoologist/Ecologist (retired) Elizabeth Eakin Associate Professor, School of Health Associate Professor, School of Social Evan Wood Health Care Worker, UBC Hospital Sciences, UNBC; Assistant Professor, Work, UNBC , MD, PhD, ABIM, FRCPC Dept. of Community Health Sciences, Director, Urban Health Research Caroline Ferris, MD, CCFP, FCFP Geoff Plant, QC Initiative, BC Centre for Excellence University of Manitoba; Research Attorney General of BC (2001-2005) Physician, Creekside Withdrawal Affiliate, Manitoba First Nations in HIV / AIDS; Professor, Dept. of Management Centre; Clinical Centre for Aboriginal Health Research George Plawski Medicine, UBC Instructor, Dept. of Family Practice, Retired Pilot Cornelia Zeisser, PhD UBC James Leslie Randy Puder Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Retired Border Service Officer, Addictions Research BC Christian Fibiger, PhD Canadian Border Services Agency; Systems Integration; Seascape Multi- Professor Emeritus, UBC Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Media Serving law enforcement officers who participated in this report did so while off-duty. The opinions and conclusions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect those of their employers or of the employers of any of the Coalition members. Stop the Violence BC includes experts affiliated with the following organizations: To learn more about the Coalition or to join, please visit www.stoptheviolencebc.org BC Cannabis Policy – the time for leadership is now Stop the Violence BC’s Year in Review November 2012 The Province Digital - The Province - 19 Oct 2012 - Page #10 http://digital.theprovince.com/epaper/services/OnlinePrintHandl... 4 The Year in Review StopTheViolenceBC.org BUILDING MOMENTUM A remarkable and growing number of British poll, conducted between October 22 and 24, Columbians are joining the call for the taxation 2012, found that only 14% of British Columbians and strict regulation of cannabis for adult use believe possession of a marijuana cigarette to better protect community health and safety should lead to a criminal record down from 20% while also reducing related organized crime one year ago. Overall, 75% support the taxation activity and other community harms, such as the and regulation of cannabis over chasing and proliferation of illegal grow operations. arresting cannabis producers and sellers, an In October 2011, the Stop the Violence BC increase of six percentage points from 2011 (see coalition – comprised of researchers from Figure 1). Interestingly, 74% of residents would B.C.’s four leading universities and some of the be comfortable living in a society where adult province’s foremost experts in law enforcement, cannabis consumption was taxed and legally medicine, public health, and the law – released regulated under a public health framework, an its first report, “Breaking the Silence.” The increase of four percentage points from 2011. report launched a public discussion regarding Although some politicians have been supportive the failure of cannabis prohibition to suppress of decriminalization rather than regulation B.C.’s massive cannabis market and the role that and taxation, at 62%, fewer B.C. residents existing cannabis policies play in threatening support decriminalizing marijuana use than the community health and safety in B.C. Since then, proportion that support outright taxation and Stop the Violence BC has been advocating for a regulation (see Figures 1 and 2). strictly regulated cannabis market for adult use under a public health model as a strategy to wage economic war on organized crime and to better LOCAL, NATIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL control the province’s high rates of cannabis use. SUPPORT It has been one year since Stop the Violence The work of the Stop the Violence BC coalition BC’s launch, despite the groundswell of support has been endorsed by key community leaders and for the taxation and regulation of cannabis, B.C.’s organizations, including two former premiers of provincial leaders have largely refused to take B.C., four former provincial attorneys general, the action. Health Officers Council of BC, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, and former Canadian Federal Today, Stop the Violence BC calls on provincial Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour. Support at leaders to follow the example of the Union of the municipal level has been remarkable: in the B.C. Municipalities and tell British Columbians wake of four former Vancouver mayors and eight that they support researching a new approach current B.C. mayors publicly endorsing Stop the to cannabis control – one that includes an impact Violence BC, a resolution in support of cannabis assessment of the strict regulation and taxation law reform was passed in September 2012