64 percent of British Columbians back legalization of marijuana: poll
Amid a raging gang war in Metro Vancouver that is widely believed to be over control of the illegal drug market, a new Angus Reid Strategies poll shows that half of Canadians endorse the legalization of marijuana.
The survey results, released on March 5, also show that 64 percent of respondents in British Columbia want cannabis to be legalized.
However, the same poll found that less than eight percent of Canadians favour the legalization of hard drugs such as cocaine or crystal meth.
B.C. solicitor general John van Dongen was among the guests at the March 1 private screening of A Warrior’s Religion, a documentary dealing with gangs in the South Asian community.
“That is a federal issue and certainly the Conservative government has made their position clear that they’re not going there,” van Dongen told the Straight in an interview in the lobby of the Rio Theatre in East Vancouver, when asked if legalization is being contemplated.
“They’re looking at strengthening the legislation the Criminal Code,” van Dongen added.
The Angus Reid Strategies survey shows that there is high support among Canadians for toughened criminal legislation against gang activity.
“They’ve made some announcements in the last few days and the British Columbia government looks forward to working with the federal government and all the opposition parties to strengthen the compliance with the law with respect to gun and gang violence,” van Dongen said.
Other results of the Angus Reid Strategies survey:
”¢ Almost half of Canadians (48%) oppose the Stephen Harper government’s decision to scrap the previous government’s marijuana decriminalization legislation.
Ӣ A majority (51%) also rejects the elimination of harm-reduction programs, such as supervised injection sites and needle-exchange programs.
Ӣ Nine in 10 respondents support the introduction of a National Anti-Drug Strategy.
The on-line survey was conducted among 1,007 Canadian adults from February 26 to 27. It is considered to have a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Comments
3 Comments
montyvan
Mar 6, 2009 at 2:35pm
Canada is dealing with drugs the same way every conservative government deals with drugs: get tough on pot smokers while gun-toting gang criminals roam the streets free.
While lifting the senseless prohibition on marijuana won't stop all gang activity completely, it will greatly reduce any potential profit, which will make them less powerful and dangerous, and easier to catch. The billions spent on this drug war only benefit law enforcement, gangs, and companies that build and operate jails. The rest of us suffer and continue to be the victims of laws that provide no benefit at all to society.
thecossack
Mar 7, 2009 at 12:48pm
Have a good read at the Criminal Code and The CDSA. The laws are there, the punishments are there, the tools are available, however, they are not utilized by the legal system.
If you go by the survey, and legalize marihuana but not heroin and cocaine, you have zero effect on the DTES. The number one export from BC is now MDMA or Ecstasy.
90% want a "national drug strategy". What is that exactly? You have the law, so it must be the deliberate escalation or descalation of enforcement, and such silly ancillary efforts as "harm reduction", drug maintenance, etc.
It is not a conservative government road map either. They have only been around a few years.
Why has there been no convictions under the much advertised gang legislation??? The so called Criminal Organization law? Read it, it is pretty simple, but why no convictions by the Crown?? Why are all their forays into it failures??
Foresight
Mar 15, 2009 at 9:03am
Legalization will happen much quicker if we educate ourselves about the botalically correct name 'Cannabis' and abandone "all u.s.a. prohibitionist propriganda, marijuana and pot". The name 'Cannabis' was given to this plant by a Swedish botanist over 250 years ago. The girls name 'Marijuana' (Mary-Jane) was adopted by the "u.s.a prohibitionists" just over 100 years ago and is used widely in their propaganda. Not only that, some uneducated Canadians have fostered that 'misnomer' and placed it all over their 'medical access program information' and web-sites. Inadvertently promoting u.s.a. prohibition and propaganda!
www.VancouverForesight.ca
As for the "crimesters", they're teamed up with the police. The 'gang shootings' are good for police budgets. "Crime is their business and business is booming". It's not in the polices' best interests to "find the cure for gang violence", but they'll do what ever they can to, 'find the cure for cancer'! These fools don't undrestand that "cancer can not be beaten". There is "NO cure for cancer". But there is a "cure for gang violence"! Police Integrity Guarantees Sovereignty, www.thepigs.ca