CAMPBELL WANTS TO TAX MARIJUANA SALES

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

The mayor 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 fewer residents of the Netherlands than, for example,
Americans, have actually tried marijuana, and cannabis use among Dutch
schoolchildren has fallen.

"The conclusion is pretty clear: legal, regulated sale of marijuana may
actually produce less consumption," he said.

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

"What would legal marijuana look like? Not a perfect world, by any means,
but I believe a better one," he said.