City of Surrey wants to know if you're sick

By Charlie Smith, Georgia Straight

Surrey mayor Dianne Watts often receives fawning media coverage, but sometimes the truth slips through.

This is one of those days.

The City of Surrey will escalate its money-losing war on drugs and create a stigma for residents who are eligible to use medicinal marijuana.

That's because council has endorsed a proposed bylaw requiring licensed medical-marijuana consumers and growers to register for permits from the city.

Yes, sick people in Surrey could soon be forced to disclose to city hall that they're ill.

According to the proposed bylaw, if they don't, the gendarmes will fine people no less than $100 and no more than $5,000, plus the cost of prosecution.

If it passes, the Beyond Prohibition Foundation says it will take the city to court.

The last time I checked, health care was a provincial jurisdiction. But not in Surrey under Mayor Watts—until a B.C. Supreme Court justice sets her straight.