VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - What do Sam Sullivan, Mike Harcourt, Phillip Owen and Larry Campbell have in common? They're four former Vancouver mayors calling for legalized pot.
The former city leaders signed
an open letter to politicians at all levels of government calling for the debate on legalization to be re-ignited. It's a pretty big boost for supporters of legalization.
Larry Campbell says it's a push to re-ignite the legalization debate. He claims it would stifle some gang activity and would eliminate costly jail and criminal sanctions against non-violent citizens.
"The fact that we've spent, in North America, $2.5 trillion on the war on drugs and we know that certainly hasn't succeeded, we really need to look at what we're doing and how we're going about it."
He adds laws now are only geared to satisfy the U-S. "The problem is the United States. The problem isn't Canada. And the fact that we decide we are going to make people criminal for growing what essentially is a harmless substance is simply ludicrous."
An
Angus Reid poll shows most in BC don't trust government to craft effective pot policy, something Campbell says only government can prove wrong.
Their letter is an endorsement of the
Stop The Violence campaign.