B.C. HEALTH OFFICIALS ENDORSE CANNABIS LEGALIZATION REPORT

Provincial health officials are throwing their support behind a group
of academics and justice experts advocating the legalization of
marijuana.

The Health Officers' Council of BC endorsed a report Thursday from the
Stop the Violence BC coalition - an organization that includes doctors
and four former Vancouver mayors.

The report recommends dumping pot prohibition following the failure of
anti-drug laws to curb the supply and use of marijuana while wasting
millions in taxpayers' dollars.

"Most people would agree the present regime hasn't been very
successful at controlling use," said Dr. John Carsley, HOCBC
spokesman. "What we're recommending is to look at cannabis and see
what sort of regulations will reduce the negative health effects to
the minimum."

Despite increased government funding for marijuana prohibition over
the last two decades, the report states B.C. gang-related homicides
went from 25 in 1997 to 43 in 2009. Meanwhile, marijuana usage among
Ontario high school students doubled between 1991 and 2009, going from
10% to 20%.

Carsley admits change will not come overnight.

"The biggest barrier now is the federal government's control over the
criminal code and their attitude towards drugs that are currently
illegal."

In an email to 24 Hours, the Ministry of Justice stated the government
has no intents of legalizing marijuana, but will focus on offering
"access to treatment for those with drug dependencies" and "getting
tough on drug dealers."

University of Fraser Valley criminologist Yvon Dandurand said he
supports the report's findings and hopes it leads to creating more
dialogue about legalization.

"The current policies have been a total failure by any yardstick," he
said. "There's more users, there's more cannabis, there's more
organized crime, there's more everything and it costs us more and it
is still is not making any impact."