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Taking aim at the wrong target
By Hempology | April 5, 2002
From Victoria’s WEEKEND EDITION
Friday, April 5th, 2002
Much of the heat in the debate about medical marijuana in Greater Victoria has been levelled at the police in Victoria and Oak Bay, both of which have raided the operations of compassion clubs in their districts.
On March 28, Victoria medical pot activist Ted Smith led supporters in speaking out to Victoria councillors, hoping to convince them to ask police to ease up on their surveillance of club operations. At the same time, said Smith, they hoped to educate councillors of the reality of forcing terminally ill people who gain relief from ingesting marijuana to buy their supply off the street.
It seems the people who are trying to help ease the physical pain of those in crisis are aiming their salvos at the wrong target. The police are simply doing their job, enforcing the law as it is written, and this, it is difficult to find fault in their actions.
Victoria police board member Dean Fortin hits the nail on the head when he said the federal government is a key player in the whole debate, since it ultimately holds responsibility for changing the laws.
“We’re trying to solve a problem at a municipal level that we don’t have the tools to deal with,” he said, adding the city needs to get some clarity from the federal government about the law and it’s enforcement.
It seems medical marijuana proponents should be turning up the heat on the federal government, via MP David Anderson, to gain that clarity.
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