While federal and provincial officials continue their talks on marijuana legalization in Vancouver, a local pot activist is in Ottawa.
Dana Larsen speaks to the Standing Health Committee Friday morning, arguing that edible pot products should be part of legislation right off the bat.
“Not just edibles, but also any form of extracts. So tinctures, drops, creams, capsules, none of these things are going to be allowed.”
He adds, “We’re in a situation where they are missing out on the real medicinal value of cannabis and on most of the market.”
Larsen says it makes no sense to limit edibles.
“I feel it’s almost because they’re too lazy, they can’t figure out how to properly regulate these things, because they can’t figure it out they’re going to leave it for later.”
He says excluding edibles means criminalizing many Canadians who sell, use, or buy those types of products.
The federal government has said the sale of edibles will come later, once regulations for production and sale can be developed.
Meanwhile here in the Lower Mainland of B.C., pot is a budding conversation.
In Maple Ridge, city councillors voted 8-1 in favour of asking senior levels of government to regulate marijuana advertising in the same way it does tobacco.
“The federal government has stated that any implementation strategy has to keep it out of the hands of the younger generation,” says councillor Charlie Fox.
“This is one element of a strategy to keep it away from younger people.”
He says the city wants it to be built into any coming legislation.
Elsewhere, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould continues to meet with her provincial and territorial counterparts on Friday in Vancouver, to discuss marijuana legalization, expected to happen by July 1, 2018.
With a file from Haider Nayani