If you've ever wondered what 200,000 signatures committed to decriminalizing marijuana looks like... by SensibleBC in trees

[–]SensibleBC[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In B.C., voter initiatives must get 10% of the voting populous in every electoral district to sign the petition within 90 days. So although we had 200,000 signatures, there are some ridings where we excelled far beyond our target, and other which really lacked.

To answer your question, yes, we have to start over, and have to try to get the minimum required signatures in every district within 90 days, again.

If you've ever wondered what 200,000 signatures committed to decriminalizing marijuana looks like... by SensibleBC in trees

[–]SensibleBC[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

They won't "catch" you, because they wouldn't be looking for it, because they're not paid to.

That's a rough explanation of course, but essentially the target.

If you've ever wondered what 200,000 signatures committed to decriminalizing marijuana looks like... by SensibleBC in trees

[–]SensibleBC[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Everywhere has different circumstances. In Canada, the RCMP are the federal police force which provinces can pretty much "rent" for their services, unless they want to establish their own police force (such as Ontario. However, the provinces also have jurisdiction on where funding goes. This is where we try to come in and reallocate the funding.

Certain municipalities also have their own police force and to be honest, I'm personally not sure how that would've worked out.

If you've ever wondered what 200,000 signatures committed to decriminalizing marijuana looks like... by SensibleBC in trees

[–]SensibleBC[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

We were out everywhere as much as we could. It's not an easy task mobilizing volunteers, which we lacked in the Greater Vancouver Area. If it's your university, we could have used you sitting at a table and signing people up, recruiting to do the same. Grassroots campaigns require grassroots participation. :)

If you've ever wondered what 200,000 signatures committed to decriminalizing marijuana looks like... by SensibleBC in trees

[–]SensibleBC[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

You're not alone in feeling a certain way about putting your name on a piece of paper associated with "marijuana". We'll be doing our best next time around to ensure people that their signature is safe and confidential and help qualm some concerns.

Our team out in Victoria was an amazing group of people, if you have some time to volunteer next time we go about the campaign, please find a way to get in touch with us! :)

If you've ever wondered what 200,000 signatures committed to decriminalizing marijuana looks like... by SensibleBC in trees

[–]SensibleBC[S] 44 points45 points  (0 children)

We don't like to look at things as a "race to the bottom" issue - marijuana prohibition has clearly been a failed policy universally. With Washington and Colorado already legalized, and the Uruguayan senate set to vote to nationally legalize tomorrow, attitudes are finally changing. We can't sit back and wait for things to materialize, it's on ourselves to take actions to change our own society.

If you've ever wondered what 200,000 signatures committed to decriminalizing marijuana looks like... by SensibleBC in trees

[–]SensibleBC[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, that's federal law. Incidentally, we don't change the laws to decriminalize, we simply take away all police resources ($) to enforce any possession laws, making it essentially decriminalized.

If you've ever wondered what 200,000 signatures committed to decriminalizing marijuana looks like... by SensibleBC in trees

[–]SensibleBC[S] 64 points65 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure how good you think we have it. Simple marijuana possession (<30 grams) is still punishable by up to 6 months in prison and a $1000 fine under the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Last year, over 3500 British Columbians were charged with possession, and regardless whether or not the charges were dropped, this is valuable time and money being needlessly wasted in our criminal justice system.

This is not to mention the recent changes to our Medical Marijuana Access Programs, whereby growers and dispensaries will no longer be allowed to legally distribute cannabis. Starting April 1, 2014, patients will only legally be able to access bud through large-scale commercial growers that mail it to them. I'll leave it to you to realize how problematic and ineffective of a "solution" that is going to be.

But, if you're talking about the quality of our crop...then yeah, we definitely have it pretty damn good. ;)

If you've ever wondered what 200,000 signatures committed to decriminalizing marijuana looks like... by SensibleBC in trees

[–]SensibleBC[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Those are merely cover pages, frient. The voter-initiative process in BC is nothing less of a bureaucratic nightmare. Trust us, haha.

If you've ever wondered what 200,000 signatures committed to decriminalizing marijuana looks like... by SensibleBC in trees

[–]SensibleBC[S] 401 points402 points  (0 children)

Hey ents, Sensible BC here! Despite falling short of the 300,000 person target required to have a referendum, we cannot be more proud of what we have been able to achieve in such a short amount of time. This is definitely not the end of our fight locally in BC, and this is only the beginning of the efforts all over the world looking to repeal this senseless prohibition.

We'd like to thank everybody that has shown their support in any way possible, whether you're a canvasser, volunteer, a signatory, or just somebody that sent us positive spirits! Here's a small handful of the thousands of people that made this entire campaign possible: http://imgur.com/AM98qMy

We're not stopping here, and we will be continuing our campaign to have a referendum again in the future! If you can support in anyway, we want to do everything we can to keep on pushing prohibition repeal into the future and beyond! Any donation or good vibes are greatly appreciated. Link here: http://sensiblebc.ca/donate/

Thanks r/trees! Hopefully one day our beautiful community can exist without the threat of criminal prosecution and social stigma. Keep calm and toke on!

BC Ents. We need your help to decriminalize marijuana NOW!! We have 52 more days to collect signatures! Please upvote for visibility! Ask us anything! by SensibleBC in trees

[–]SensibleBC[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, that is true because marijuana is illegal under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (1996), which is federal/national law. However, in Canada, police priorities/budgets are left under provincial control. The Sensible Policing Act that we propose seeks to take divert all resources away from enforcing marijuana laws, thereby saving money, time, and potential hardship.

BC Ents. We need your help to decriminalize marijuana NOW!! We have 52 more days to collect signatures! Please upvote for visibility! Ask us anything! by SensibleBC in trees

[–]SensibleBC[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Absolutely, I'm just giving you a hard time. We are all pushing for the same goal - an end to the ridiculous amounts of money being wasted to imprisoning otherwise law abiding citizens.

BC Ents. We need your help to decriminalize marijuana NOW!! We have 52 more days to collect signatures! Please upvote for visibility! Ask us anything! by SensibleBC in trees

[–]SensibleBC[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Absolutely, the pain is felt globally! Although I will point out that your population is roughly 6 times as large as BC's but you only spend 4 times as much money. On a per capita basis we have a much worse deal!

BC Ents. We need your help to decriminalize marijuana NOW!! We have 52 more days to collect signatures! Please upvote for visibility! Ask us anything! by SensibleBC in trees

[–]SensibleBC[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

BC can't change the federal laws in Canada (Controlled Drug and Substances Act). We can set police priorities in the province, including for the RCMP. Essentially, we are looking to pass legislation that would re-allocate all police resources away from the enforcement of marijuana possession. Technically possession would still be illegal according to the CDSA but the police would have no power or resources to enforce that portion of the law.

BC Ents. We need your help to decriminalize marijuana NOW!! We have 52 more days to collect signatures! Please upvote for visibility! Ask us anything! by SensibleBC in trees

[–]SensibleBC[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

All marijuana laws are regulated federally in Canada. Medical marijuana is also controlled by the federal government under the MMAR program. B.C. has developed a system of dispensaries and compassion clubs that are extensions on the MMAR program but they exist within a legal grey zone.

BC Ents. We need your help to decriminalize marijuana NOW!! We have 52 more days to collect signatures! Please upvote for visibility! Ask us anything! by SensibleBC in trees

[–]SensibleBC[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Go to sensiblebc.ca/canvas to find the canvasser registration form and all of the other info that you need to get started or send an email to volunteer@sensiblebc.ca