B.C. pot petition fails to get enough signatures

A pot activist group says they have failed to garner enough signatures to trigger a referendum to limit police enforcement of marijuana laws in B.C.

The Sensible B.C. campaign had 90 days to collect signatures from 10 per cent of the registered voters in every single one of B.C.'s 85 ridings. That's 400,000 signatures, but the group says they will most likely fall short with only about 220,000 signatures.

Since Sept. 9, campaign director Dana Larsen travelled the province in his vintage bus to collect signatures from registered voters in each of the province's ridings.

Larsen says despite his polling that suggested seven out of 10 British Columbians support legalizing pot, his team was not able to collect enough signatures to meet Monday's deadline.

Larsen had hoped to trigger a provincial referendum on a draft bill, entitled the Sensible Policing Act, which would amend the Police Act to prohibit the use of provincial police resources to enforce simple possession-and-use laws for adults.

"We're definitely going to do this again," Larsen told CBC News.

"This is not the end of the Sensible B.C. campaign. It's just the beginning."