Vancouver’s Main Export Could Be Wiped Out.
This bud’s for you! Interesting article on how much BC stands to lose from our “illegal” agriculture.
Wonder where all the money goes? On the bright side, they could follow California, legalize it, and charge HST. Deficit solved.
British Columbia’s cannabis activists and law enforcement officials are bracing themselves for a political earthquake that’s set to hit California this fall when voters head to the polls to legalize marijuana. Vancouver-based activists fear BC‘s bud industry could be wiped out if California opens the door on pot decriminalization.
“We’ve got to protect our pre-eminent position by legalizing now,” said Marc Emery, publisher of Cannabis Culture and “BC‘s prince of pot.”
Speaking from his magazine office on Hastings Street, Emery said BC‘s marijuana industry could only compete with a possible pot haven in California if the province legalizes cannabis within the first two years of any such move south of the border.
If California legalizes, the demands for BC marijuana at $2,400 a pound will greatly diminish, said Emery, who faces a five-year jail term in the U.S. for drug trafficking and distributing cannabis seeds over the Internet.
According to Emery, the homegrown market will evaporate if Canadian pot users flock to California for cheap, high-quality cannabis that could be available for as little as $10 per ounce, compared to the current rate of $200 in Vancouver.
Should BC also decriminalize pot, Emery said the provincial economy could benefit from industry innovation focused on developing high-quality cannabis strains.
The BC marijuana industry is estimated at $5 to $8 billion and, if decriminalized, presents significant taxable revenue. William Austin, a BC Marijuana Party activist who phones MPs as part of the anti-prohibition drive, said the province and law enforcers are failing to see the bigger picture.
“The black market won’t go away but [legalization] will be a significant hit and it will allow the police to actually focus on more dangerous things like people-trafficking or weapons smuggling,” said Austin.
Yet, if California voters legalized marijuana, the impact on BC police would change little in the short term since pot “causes a considerable problem for law enforcement,” said RCMP Sergeant Dave Goddard. “It’s still going to be illegal here in Canada,” he said.
If other U.S. states such as Washington and Oregon legalize cannabis, Staff Sgt. Goddard said the impact would eventually be felt in Vancouver. “It would certainly reduce the market for BC bud and it would certainly have a domino effect here,” he said. “But we won’t be seeing that for some time.”
The California Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act would allow the recreational use of up to 28 grams of weed for adults over 21 and cultivation of up to 25 square feet of plant per household. It would be illegal to smoke in public, in the presence of minors, or on school grounds. Driving under the influence of pot would remain prohibited.
If cannabis becomes legal in California, the state will take ownership of an industry with an estimated value of $14 billion, which would help its bankrupt government plug a deficit of $42 billion in 2009.
Source. 
photo credit: themadpothead
May 3rd, 2010 at 7:22 am
I see the CPC is once again talking about manditory minimum sentences for growing as few as 5 plants.
It pains me to say this, but this is another area where the CPC is out of touch with Canadians. The majority of us want pot legalized or at the very least, decriminalized. At the same time, the majority of us have no problem with tough sentences for hard drug use. Blindly following ideology is never a good idea, no matter what party you are. Bill C-6 and the equally offensive motion to allow random breath testing on our streets and highways are other major reasons why my voting Conservative is NOT a sure thing.
Besides, the CPC could find themselves very popular with a lot of left of centre voters were they to reverse course and do what the Liberals never had the balls to do.
May 5th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
These liberano fools don’t understand that if it is legal its worth next to nothing. how do you tax something that grows like a weed? (pun intended)