Fund Health Care With Pot: Mayor

Says Legalizing Weed Would Create Billions

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.

'ADD to Resources'

"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 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.