TAKING AIM AT THE WRONG TARGET

Much of the heat in the debate about medical marijuana in Greater Victoria
has been levelled at the police in Victoria and Oak Bay, both of which have
raided the operations of compassion clubs in their districts. On March 28,
Victoria medical pot activist Ted Smith led supporters in speaking out to
Victoria councillors, hoping to convince them to ask police to ease up on
their surveillance of club operations. At the same time, said Smith, they
hoped to educate councillors of the reality of forcing terminally ill
people who gain relief from ingesting marijuana to buy their supply off the
street.

It seems the people who are trying to help ease the physical pain of those
in crisis are aiming their salvos at the wrong target. The police are
simply doing their job, enforcing the law as it is written, and thus, it is
difficult to find fault in their actions.

Victoria police board member Dean Fortin hits the nail on the head when he
said he federal government is a key player in the whole debate, since it
ultimately holds responsibility for changing the laws.

"We're trying to solve a problem at a municipal level that we don't have
the tools to deal with," he said, adding the city needs to get some clarity
from the federal government about the law and its enforcement.

It seems medical marijuana proponents should be turning up the heat on the
federal government, via MP David Anderson, to gain that clarity.