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e-18 (Cannabis)

E-petition
Initiated by Sam Vekemans from Victoria, British Columbia

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the Government of Canada

Whereas:
  • Cannabis prohibition began with no scientific, medical or social justification, and was initiated as an effort to harass, punish and deport racial minorities;
  • The prohibition of cannabis has caused many social and economic harms, criminalized millions of Canadians for no benefit, and financed organized crime;
  • Cannabis has the potential to provide food, medicine, fibre, fuel and building materials; and
  • Cannabis medicines are safe and effective for treating a wide variety of ailments, yet are not readily available to all who require them.
We, the undersigned, Citizens or residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to immediately:
1. Repeal the prohibition on possession and personal cultivation of cannabis;
2. Repeal Section 462.2 of the Criminal Code, which bans literature and harm reduction devices like waterpipes and vaporizers;
3. Permit patients or their designated grower to provide medical cannabis as recommended by a physician; and
4. End police raids against community medical cannabis dispensaries, and enable their municipal regulation, as per the position of the Union of BC Municipalities;
and within one year:
5. Allow farmers to harvest and sell the cannabinoid-rich resin from their plants, as per the recent resolution of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance;
6. Completely end the prohibition of cannabis, by removing it entirely from the CDSA (Controlled Drugs and Substances Act);
7. For those convicted for a cannabis offence under the CDSA, on a case-by-case basis: Grant a full pardon and amnesty for past offences, expunge criminal records and release all prisoners currently serving time; and
8. Permit Provinces, Territories and First Nations to decide how they want to tax, regulate and distribute cannabis as needed.
Government response tabled on December 7, 2016 (Sessional Paper No. 8545-421-93-01)
Open for signature
February 10, 2016, at 3:03 p.m. (EDT)
Closed for signature
June 9, 2016, at 3:03 p.m. (EDT)
Presented to the House of Commons
Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
October 24, 2016 (Petition No. 421-00798)
Government response tabled
December 7, 2016
Photo - Elizabeth May
Saanich—Gulf Islands
Green Party Caucus
British Columbia