TAX POT SALES, B.C. MAYOR URGES

Revenue Could Be Used to Treat Drug Addictions

VANCOUVER -- Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell says marijuana sales should be
taxed and the revenue used to fund treatment for the effects of more
serious drugs.

Campbell made the suggestion Saturday in a speech to the annual meeting of
the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association.

"Taxes levied on marijuana sales could add to the resources for treatment.
Remember, the B.C. marijuana trade is estimated at $6 billion annually --
larger than construction or forestry," Campbell said.

The former Mountie and coroner also noted that enforcement money freed up
from legalizing pot could support treatment and better policing of other
crimes.

Campbell said he was calling for the regulated sale of marijuana along the
lines of the way that sales are managed for tobacco, alcohol and other
drugs. He cited the case of Amsterdam, noting that the status quo there is
legal-but-regulated cultivation and sales.

He said studies show that cannabis use among Dutch schoolchildren has fallen.

Campbell said he is opposed to decriminalization because it does not deal
with "real criminals" such as the dealers and the crimes they create.