Pubdate: Thu, 07 Aug 2014
Source: Windsor Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 The Windsor Star
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/501
Author: Mark Kennedy
Page: SR2
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n618/a06.html

POT BAN DEBATE HEATS UP

The political debate over marijuana legalization in Canada could soon 
intensify, following a New York Times editorial that calls for the 
U.S. federal government to repeal its 44-year ban on pot.

The influential newspaper, which says the question of legalization 
should be left up to individual U.S. states, is running a six-day 
series on the issue, and has reignited a hot debate among Americans.

It concluded that the ban has inflicted "great harm on society just 
to prohibit a substance far less dangerous than alcohol."

The editorial comes as some U.S. states reform pot laws. Marijuana 
for recreational use went on sale in Colorado Jan. 1 and Washington 
followed suit this month. Oregon and Alaska will vote on the matter 
in November.

Nonetheless, because a federal ban on the drug is still on the books, 
those states that legalize it do so in direct contravention of federal law.

Here in Canada, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau favours a system of 
legalization that regulates the sale of pot and keeps it out of the 
hands of minors.

The Liberals argue it's a "smarter" way to deal with the issue 
because it would take away the pot market from organized crime and 
gangs, while also ensuring a better system of addressing the effects 
of marijuana use on individual health and communities.

Deputy Liberal leader Ralph Goodale said in an interview last week 
that he welcomes the New York Times editorial.

"It's one more serious comment with a lot of intellectual heft behind 
it that makes the point that the current regime of absolute 
prohibition doesn't work." Most notably, he said, the central 
objective of keeping pot from youths is not working.

"All of the profit is ending up in the hands of gangs and society is 
no healthier and no safer. So surely there is room for intelligent 
discussion about how to do it better. "

But the governing Conservatives are firmly against legalization and 
have claimed in flyers distributed in some ridings that Trudeau wants 
to make marijuana available to kids - an example, they say, of why he 
lacks the judgment to be prime minister.

The issue is slowly bubbling away and could emerge as a hot issue in 
next year's federal election. "Unlike Justin Trudeau, who wants to 
make marijuana easily available to our children, we have passed laws 
to crack down on those who sell drugs near schools," Prime Minister 
Stephen Harper's press secretary, Carl Vallee, said in a written 
statement last Monday.

"We do not support making access to illegal drugs easier." Goodale 
struck back at the Tories for alleging that Trudeau wants to make pot 
more accessible for youths.

"That's their political spin and it's a lie. I suppose they think 
that if they spin that lie loud enough and long enough there will be 
people who believe it."

In 2012, legislation came into force that includes a mandatory 
six-month jail term for growing as few as six marijuana plants, and 
two years in prison for those caught trafficking near a school.

Justice Minister Peter MacKay is considering a proposal from the 
Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police to allow police officers to 
issue tickets to people caught with small amounts of marijuana.

But that's as far as the Tories seem prepared to go on softening the 
law. "Contrary to the opposition parties who can't get their heads 
wrapped around sound policy, our government has been very clear - we 
have no intention of legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana," said 
Mary Anne Dewey-Plante, the director of communications to MacKay.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom