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Marijuana referendum campaign passes 3,000 signatures in Comox Valley

The Sensible BC Campaign for a cannabis marijuana referendum has broken the 3,000 signature target in the Comox Valley.

The Sensible BC Campaign for a cannabis marijuana referendum has broken the 3,000 signature target in the Comox Valley.

If successful, a referendum would be held next year to change the Police Act in B.C. so that police resources are no longer used on "investigations, searches, seizures, citations, arrests or detentions related solely to simple possession of cannabis."

"If we had to get the signatures of 10 per cent of the registered voters who actually voted (30,000), instead of 10 per cent of all registered voters (50,000), we would have enough for the referendum," said Ernie Yacub, the Comox Valley local organizer. "Unfortunately, the bar is set much higher than that. We have to get 5,000 signatures instead of the 3,000 we already have, and that applies to every riding in the province."

The good news for the campaign in the Valley is that they are just over halfway through the three-month process that ends Dec. 5 and they're on target to get the minimum 6,000 needed to cover any mistakes.

Petitions can be signed at a number of local businesses: Urban Smoke, Surecopy, Progressive Growth, Cipollines Bakery, The Bridge, Guerilla Foods, LUSH Valley, Yummies and Gyros, Velvet Underground, and Strathcon Industries. Canvassers can drop off completed petitions at the above businesses as well as Blue Heron Books in Comox.

Look for canvassers in downtown Comox this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and downtown Courtenay the following Saturday.

Terri Dunham, canvass co-ordinator, is encouraging people to register as a canvasser, which doesn't mean having to go door-to-door.

"Some people are quite comfortable talking to strangers while others are not," she says. Some canvassers are signing up their family members, friends, co-workers, and people in their networks, and it all adds up. Look at how well we're doing already."

People can register at sensiblebc.ca or at Surecopy between 12th and 13th on Cliffe Avenue in Courtenay.

"The response to the campaign has been terrific," said Yacub. "We rarely get a hater, people are seeking us out to sign the petition, and we have wonderful conversations about the healing powers of this common weed. Prohibition is an expensive, failed policy that infringes on our fundamental rights and this campaign in one small step towards ending this stupid war on a plant."

The local campaign has a Facebook page, Sensible BC Comox Valley, and you can call Terri at 250-331-1322 or Ernie at 250-338-3504 for more information.

— Sensible BC