Pubdate: Thu, 08 Aug 2013 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2013 Postmedia Network Inc. Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html Website: http://www.theprovince.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Author: Michael Smyth Page: A6 TRUDEAU'S BOLD POT GAMBIT SHORT ON SUBSTANCE When the times they are a-changin', it's usually not a bad idea for an ambitious politician to be at the front of the parade of evolving public opinion. Such is the case with federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, who strategically chose pro-pot B.C. to voice his support for marijuana legalization. "Tax and regulate," Trudeau told B.C. supporters. "It's one of the only ways to keep it out of the hands of our kids because the current war on drugs, the current model isn't working." So is Trudeau leading the parade on this one? Or is he so far in front of it that he can't even hear the band playing anymore? Recent public-opinion surveys show support on the rise for legal marijuana, but Trudeau's comment still triggered instant attacks from Stephen Harper's governing Conservatives. "These drugs are illegal because of the harmful effect they have on users and on society," Dan Hilton, the Conservative Party's executive director, wrote in a fundraising pitch to party members. "Our government has no interest in seeing marijuana legalized or made more easily available to youth." Trudeau no doubt knew the Tories would use his pro-legalization stand to fire up their own anti-pot base of right-wing supporters. But I suspect he doesn't care, since anti-drug hardliners are unlikely to vote Liberal anyway. Instead, Trudeau's marijuana stand is aimed at young voters, and is also designed to steal away support from the New Democratic Party. When a marijuana-legalization initiative was on the ballot in Washington state last year, turnout among young voters more than doubled. The Liberals would love to duplicate that in Canada with their youth appealing leading man. And you can bet the NDP - which favours simple decriminalization, not full legalization, of pot - is nervous about Trudeau's move. "The Liberals are decoding what they think some people want to hear," federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair told me. "They'll talk about it (marijuana legalization). They might even promise it. But then they'll never do it." Former NDP premier and Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh thinks the New Democrats protest too much. "Justin Trudeau has taken a courageous position while the NDP has taken a timid one," Dosanjh said. "I'm sure the NDP are kicking themselves and saying, 'We should have done the same thing.' " But former Conservative MP Stockwell Day thinks Trudeau's simplistic position shows he's unqualified to be prime minister, and he should be "smoked out" on what legal pot would mean for Canada. "Since government could never legalize the brands that boast the most toxic levels of THC - which many users crave - what would be the sentence handed out to dealers pushing supremo pot?" Day asks. A reasonable question, one of several that will confront Trudeau on his bold marijuana gambit. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt