An open letter to Ken Christian and the Kamloops public on cannabis regulations

Reefer madness creeps up through the presses; however, that is not the backlash currently being felt from the City’s decisions. A council room was filled once before objecting to a store. That conflict was from the support of a different neighbouring store who refused to play by legal restrictions. The reason for “fear” then was partly due to the fact that proximity laws would have disallowed both to operate, regardless of their decisions. Thus, patients were going to lose access to a viable supply of guidance and proper products to an inadequate nonmedical one. Now we have new opposition. A Valleyview cannabis store plans to open in place of the former TD Bank in Valleyview Square. This has been troubling as a class with potentially hundreds of students is right next door. It may seem reefer madness has caused a community uproar, when in fact, this is simply about respecting our children. McDonald’s may be horrible for your health. So then, Ken, maybe every time your children enjoy french fries, they should have been enjoying a few joints instead.

Unbiased Education

Regardless, the argument may not be about health and cannabis’ impact, so much as a parents choice to educate their children as they choose. We can respect that, so long as an understanding is met in the notion that reefer madness must be abolished and parents must learn real knowledge. I will leave a peer-reviewed paper by Ethan Russo, a Medical Doctor who was involved in Sativex and Epidiolex RCT3s. While this is an extensive review in controversies over cannabis, he has a broad array of work displaying cannabis’s clinical potential including, but not limited to, natural deficiencies in the cannabis system we all have that our bodies rely on. Another is an in-depth thorough trial study showing how medical cannabis can revert symptoms that are caused by cannabis withdrawal. A detailed three month MRI-based longitudinal trial showing a positive impact on medical marijuana patients after three months.

Desensitization

This still does not disregard a mother and father’s ability to educate their children without forcibly associating them so closely to alcohol, cannabis, McDonald’s or any obscenity. The presence of a cannabis store so close to a child’s place of security may lead to desensitizing those children. False fears over an increase in cannabis use was just one nail in legalization’s coffin. In the real world, cannabis legalization allows for extra control and a loss of its mystery. It does not popularize cannabis, at least not without media and a potential increase in childhood association.

Laws Respecting All Sides

It is up to a parent to associate a child with the presence of anything as much as it is their right to educate and generally raise that child. The proximity bylaw has been applied for a reason, not just to respect paperwork. Moving the goalposts now will affect a business only just applying for that application so very minimally. A YMCA, a park, a community centre, even a community hall are all respected, why is a dance hall undermined? Their investment goalposts will be adjusted by a conflicting neighbour moving in. This is beyond whether cannabis is socially acceptable or not. A stern fact remains, a large percentage of people are not going to accept. You cannot force them to. We can revert the fear and stigma lawmakers, including mayors, formally riled within us. We cannot forcibly demand everyone to accept — especially not parents. Sex may be taboo, but it still is socially acceptable. We keep it under whispers despite blatant storefronts. The industry is forcing a change on the minds of young kids through this avenue. While cannabis impact is drastically different with far lower intrigue, we still must think about how we are changing the future as the public and consumer. The laws are built to ensure no community deliberation occurs. If the paperwork fails to ensure this, then it most certainly is your job to realign those posts. Not doing so will create an intensely unjust playing field.

Reconstructing Beliefs

While the bolas canna fear needs to be rid of, respect needs to be emphasized on both sides. As deserving as cannabis is of being stripped from prejudices, the general public is owed the courtesy of fair opinion. A parent has a right and reason to not let their child walk past a cannabis storefront on a regular basis. Arguing this would ensure you do not value your own rights as a parent, or your child’s security based around those values. So long as a community decision goes against them. Not respecting this may cause detriment to one local business just to ensure one more pot shop is opened. Other options exist for the preliminary store. If consultation fees were spent, then they should have analyzed the use of all neighbouring businesses closely. Not doing so is a flaw on the owner’s behalf. Thinking a loophole in the legal system is accessible enough to go ahead with these plans, is proof our municipal bylaws for cannabis licensing are drastically too young to stand on their legs yet. Ignoring these flaws exposes a premature structure that is carving our industry’s future. Also showing utter disrespect to the moral of federal decisions.

Too Close to Kids

Municipal law has the right to alter some regulations, shift proximity, tinted windows or untinted window, etc. Though, when it comes to the children, some proximity must exist! I am disgusted seeing vape shops so close to high schools. Alternatively, Murphy’s was shut down right before my first year at SKSS.

Our Concerns Evaluated

I would say we fear your ability to completely disrespect the moral of federal law in the name of cannabis investments. I would not speculate a centralized belief in reefer madness as having any depth in the current voice you are hearing. On the contrary, bringing up valid negatives to the pro-cannabis community is almost as radical of a response as bringing up the positives on the other side. To be fair, cannabis is as good as it is bad — no less, no more. It is a plant of wondrous homeostasis that we have evolved alongside throughout our existence. Man’s other best friend. It is not a miracle nor is it any more dangerous than caffeine — probably less than. It is capable of assisting in healing and relieving. It is not capable of death; it has not been proven to cause irreversible psychosis.

Modern Medicine

In a time of excessive stimulation, we must be granted the keys to the (endocannabinoid) system that literally dances with an err of mediation hand in hand with the system (endovallinoid) that receives exterior irritations. In contrast, media attention and continued exposure to cannabis’ presence may influence children. This is no less enticing than cannabis’s former black mystery during prohibition.

A model of a cannabis business that will deter kids and be positive for the consumer is one riddled with data. Black and white bar graphs and plain words. I may have been an oddity; the word quark led me into a personal discovery, a self-propelled journey into quantum physics when I was twelve. Is interest in black and white bar graphs and words written in grey text like caryophyllene and cannabidiol, at all a negative interest for a child? A way to gain knowledge of cannabis in a positive incentive. It has started to become a degree in education.

A People’s Decision, Not One Industry’s

This should be a parent’s choice. Walking past a busy store filled with mystery may be enough to create curiosity. We have shifted into an era where parents should be teaching children about cannabis, but at what age? A cannabis store next to a child’s establishment was meant to be restricted for all these reasons. Gateway drug theory is not empiriologically valid outside a regulated environment. Proximity laws are part of that regulation. This regulation ensures the image of cannabis is purified statistically in the historical record, by negating any and all possibilities of such disregards occurring. It also places us in the image of responsible action on the world stage, where every movement in cannabis regulation currently is. Please respect our children, local businesses, public moral, Canadian dignity, and cannabis itself; please respect proximity regulations.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.

by Travis Cesarone