Pubdate: Sat, 18 Apr 2015
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html
Website: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Jesse Winter
Page: A10

FORMER MP URGES LEGALIZED POT

Canadian conservatives who have launched a cheeky new billboard
campaign in Ottawa are urging Tories to embrace their libertarian
roots and legalize marijuana.

A group called Canadian Conservatives for Legal Marijuana put up the
billboards, which parody the familiar federal Conservative party
branding but feature a few more hints of green. One is at the corner
of Elgin Street and Laurier Avenue, and the second has gone up near
King Edward Avenue and York Street.

Former Conservative MP Inky Mark has lent his name to the campaign. He
says it makes perfect sense for someone with conservative leanings to
be in favour of legalizing marijuana because that would be in line
with a policy that provides less government intrusion into the lives
of people.

"If you legalize it, tax it, control it, it just makes sense. You'll
keep people out of jail and make a lot of money," he said in an
interview Friday.

While many people might associate the federal Conservative "C" and
blue branding with increased mandatory minimum sentences and a hard
line stance against pot, Mark said that doesn't need to be the case.
He said many prominent members of the Conservative party privately
support his cause but they don't want to run afoul of their leader,
Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"I don't even consider Harper a conservative. He's just Harper. The
man basically wanted to jail 40,000 people who were using medical
marijuana and growing it themselves. That should tell you a lot about
him right there," Mark said.

Local marijuana activists Russell Barth and his wife Christine Lowe
were surprised by the billboard but not by its message when they
stopped by to have a look.

"Conservatives seem to have a cognitive dissonance when it comes to
marijuana. They're like 'yeah, smaller government, less regulation,
get out of my bedroom and get out of my life,' unless it's marijuana.
Then you've gotta just crack down on that," Barth said.

Barth said that while ideally he'd like to see pot legalized "and sold
just like tomatoes," it's much more important to clarify the situation
around medical marijuana and the ability of users to grow their own
pot.

Barth and his wife both use medicinal marijuana, and said when the
laws changed last year they lost their licensed distributor.

"We're essentially breaking the law now," he said. "We no longer have
access to a legal and ongoing supply. We're existing on marijuana
charity from around the country right now but that needs to change."

The website for the group behind the billboards lists three sitting
Conservative MPs who are all quoted on the site making statements in
support of legalizing or at least decriminalizing pot, including
Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington MP Scott Reid.
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