To the Editor:
Thank you to Tara Bowie for your capable coverage of local events, specifically the closure of the Amber Light Compassion Society in Cawston. I would ask the RCMP to re-examine the public benefit to pressing charges for federal prosecution, being that BC is only weeks away from licensing retail outlets for cannabis.
Ironically, it is the government itself taking the lead via the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch (LCLB). Truth be known, I am relieved that BC is taking Cannabis as seriously as it takes alcohol because both should be treated with respect. Our Provincial Solicitor General Mike Farnworth announced this week that parties wishing to open a retail cannabis outlet in B.C. will be able to apply later this Spring. Approved (and ultimately licensed) rural outlets will be free to offer other as-yet undetermined retail products, whereas urban outlets will be restricted to selling only cannabis products.
As a taxpayer who knows that my tax dollars pay for vital services such as policing, fire departments and hospitals, it would seem a meaningless exercise to assign man hours and court time (both of which are paid by taxpayers) to something that – by the time the matter hits the courts - isn’t going to be a big deal anyway (and isn’t likely to be illegal).
I personally suffer from chronic pain, and have at times endured a living hell. I would go to the ends of the earth to secure a product or service that would numb the pain. I am one of the many who is a member of the Amber Light Compassion Society, and I will reinstate my membership once the Amber Light gets a green light to operate legally.
Let’s just sit back, take a deep breath and put our efforts instead to finding and prosecuting bad guys who don’t have a fixed address; who carry guns; and who don’t care whether the customer lives or dies.
Arlene Arlow
Keremeos