Barb Desjardins is the lone non-Green candidate on the South Island to get the endorsement of local cannabis businesses.

The choice of Desjardins, running for the B.C. Liberals in Esquimalt-Metchosin, is somewhat odd, concedes Trees Dispensary spokesman Alex Robb, especially given her history as mayor of Esquimalt. The municipality chased a “bong” mascot out of town and has refused to allow cannabis retailers to set up shop.

article continues below

> More election news, including profiles of Vancouver Island ridings and candidates > timescolonist.com/bcelection

Members of a group calling itself the B.C. Independent Cannabis Alliance on Vancouver Island jointly issued a statement endorsing Desjardins, who is running in Esquimalt-Metchosin, and six Green Party candidates: Andrew Weaver in Oak Bay-Gordon Head, Kalen Harris in Victoria-Beacon Hill, Chris Maxwell in Victoria-Swan Lake, Sonia Furstenau in Cowichan Valley, Adam Olsen in Saanich North and the Islands, and Mark Neufeld in Saanich South.

Robb said the election is an important one for the local cannabis industry, since the party that forms government will develop the model for regulating the marketplace in B.C. “The Green Party has been the most vocal about protecting existing craft cannabis jobs in B.C., and that is why we are supporting them this election,” he said.

As for Desjardins, “she showed herself to be extremely receptive to our main point, which was that there’s tens of thousands of jobs in cannabis in this province right now, and if the federal government legalizes in a way that promotes the Ontario industry rather than the B.C. industry, those jobs are at risk.”

Andy MacKinnon was the only Green candidate on the South Island not to be endorsed by the cannabis coalition. He is running against Desjardins in the Esquimalt-Metchosin riding.

MacKinnon said he was disappointed not to be endorsed by the cannabis coalition, as he is supportive of the industry and its potential.

“I think we have an exceptional opportunity here,” he said. “British Columbia has some of the best cannabis growers in the world, so I think we’re well positioned to build an exciting and vibrant new industry in British Columbia.”

Green Leader Andrew Weaver has said the party will support marketing opportunities for B.C. craft marijuana growers and is in favour of sales by producers and through the liquor distribution branch. He said the province should recognize pot taxes as a source of income that can be passed back to municipalities.

NDP Leader John Horgan has said that he favours selling recreational pot in public liquor stores. Horgan said that if prices are too high, the black market will remain, so his party won’t make decisions on what to do with tax revenue until the federal government’s legalization process and any amendments to its legislation have concluded.

Liberal Leader Christy Clark said she wants organized crime out of the business, assurances that legal marijuana is safe and of high quality, and that it’s kept away from children. She suggested that any tax revenue from the sale of marijuana be put into health care and law enforcement.

MacKinnon said he wasn’t approached by the cannabis group, and a spokesperson for NDP candidate Mitzi Dean said their campaign was never contacted by the group, either.

Desjardins said she reached out to local cannabis businesses, hosting a round table to bring herself up to speed on the issues.

Esquimalt certainly hasn’t been pro-cannabis with Desjardins in the mayor’s chair. In 2013, the municipality’s battle with a drug paraphernalia store over its mascot, known as Bongy, attracted the attention of American television satirist Stephen Colbert, who skewered the township over its regulatory travails.

And unlike neighbouring Victoria, Esquimalt has refused to permit storefront cannabis retailers and says it won’t be making any changes until new federal and provincial regulations come into play.

Desjardins said there’s no conflict between her position as a mayor and as a provincial candidate.

“The issue around Bongy was more of not doing what you said you were going to do as a business and the concern of the community with respect to his advertising as well as his products,” she said.

“And again, the law at that time and right now is that it is illegal, and that’s really the position Esquimalt is taking.”

bcleverley@timescolonist.com

— With files from the Vancouver Sun

What the party leaders have said

B.C. Liberal Leader Christy Clark

Clark said she would consult an expert panel of health officials and law enforcement on how to distribute marijuana safely. She noted that the federal panel that advised government recommended against selling pot through the liquor distribution branch and that no U.S. state that has legalized pot allows it to be sold where you can buy alcohol.

“My No. 1 concern is making sure we keep marijuana out of the hands of kids and its distribution isn’t in neighbourhoods that don’t want it and isn’t near schools.”

Clark said: “My early thinking on it is we want to make sure all of the revenue that comes from marijuana goes back into our health system to support the health impacts of it, that it goes back into our law enforcement system to keep crime and gangs out of it.”

B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan

Horgan said the B.C. NDP dispatched Carol James and Mike Farnworth to Washington and Oregon, which have regulated and decriminalized cannabis, to prepare a report.

“First thing, we want to make sure that we keep marijuana away from children, but we’ve got to make sure that the regulations are rigid,” Horgan said. He supports using public liquor stores to dispense cannabis and sees a role for pharmacies as a “comfortable” option for older people using medicinal cannabis.

Horgan said that if prices are too high, the black market will remain so his party won’t make decisions on what to do with tax revenue until the federal government’s legalization process and any amendments to its legislation have concluded.

B.C. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver

Weaver said the Green party doesn’t want the industry “to be taken over by big multinationals.” It favours a distribution model similar to craft brewing, which allows consumers to sample and purchase product at a producer’s location, but also directs sales through the liquor distribution branch, though he would leave it up to the LDB to decide whether it wants to be involved. And he sees a role for pharmacies in distributing medicinal marijuana.

“We would support that kind of model that’s not one [distribution channel] or another, it’s a combination of both,” Weaver said.

He said the province should recognize pot taxes as a source of income that can be passed back to municipalities to deal with “much of the provincial downloading [municipalities have absorbed] over the years.

— Vancouver Sun