B.C. undecided on rules for legal marijuana, even as justice ministers discuss ideas

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VICTORIA — B.C.’s top cop says the province remains undecided on how it will tax, distribute and regulate the use of marijuana once the federal government legalizes it next summer.

Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said he hopes to hear more ideas from his provincial and federal counterparts on Friday as they continue a meeting in Vancouver. Ottawa intends to legalize pot within 10 months, forcing the provinces to develop their own rules.

“It’s certainly a challenging deadline, not just for British Columbia but all provinces, and I think both ministers and premiers have been saying that to the federal government,” Farnworth said Thursday. “We know it is a challenge in B.C., but one we’re working toward.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised in the 2015 federal election to legalize personal use of marijuana. However, much of specifics will be up to provinces, such as where marijuana can be purchased, how it is policed, the rate at which it is taxed, the age at which it can be consumed, how municipalities will regulate existing medical cannabis stores, and how it will affect the definition of impaired driving.

“Those will be critical,” said Farnworth. Part of his consultation on the subject is “getting a good sense of other provinces in terms of the stage they are at.”

He also said the province will have to pick carefully its taxation rate, or risk driving sales of marijuana back underground. 

“You cannot set the tax rate too high that it encourages the black market,” he said. “This is about legalization, this isn’t about revenue generation. This isn’t about looking at this as a money grab that somehow you are going to have all this money coming in.”

The previous B.C. Liberal government had opposed the idea of selling marijuana through public and private liquor stores, alongside alcohol. But the B.C. Government Services Employees’ Union — a major donor to the NDP — is strongly in favour of using the government liquor stores and is likely to push the New Democrat government hard to reconsider. 

During the election, Premier John Horgan said he supported using public liquor stores to dispense cannabis and saw a role for pharmacies as a “comfortable” option for older people using medicinal cannabis. 

The NDP must also consider its power-sharing agreement with the B.C. Greens, which gives the Greens significant ability to stall or defeat government proposals it opposes.

The Greens have said they don’t want the cannabis industry taken over by big multinational companies.

The provincial justice ministers began two days of meetings in Vancouver with federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould on Thursday. 

Manitoba Justice Minister Heather Stefanson said in a statement that her government wants more clarity on how the Canadian government intends to support provinces in implementing The Cannabis Act.

She stressed the importance of developing proper policy to address road safety and enforcement.

Ontario Justice Minister Yasir Naqvi described the deadline as tight but added that his province is working to be ready by July 1, 2018.

Ontario became the first province to make public its plans for legalized cannabis last week, saying it would restrict sales to stores operated by the province’s liquor board.

He said Ontario developed its plan following extensive consultations and that other provinces and territories will have to find their own way.

The federal government has come under fire for what appears to be a hands-off approach to regulating the sale and policing of marijuana once it becomes legal.

Trudeau has said repeatedly it is important to act quickly to get marijuana out of the hands of youth, who he says have easier access to weed than beer.

Youth health experts urged a House of Commons health committee earlier this week to develop extensive prevention and public-education campaigns focusing on the harmful effect of marijuana, warning that stronger regulations alone will be ineffective in deterring kids from smoking pot.

Representatives from several police forces have warned the federal government that there was no chance police would be ready in time to enforce new laws for legalized pot.

Postmedia News and Canadian Press