Pubdate: Wed, 14 Oct 2015
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2015 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Gloria Galloway
Page: 5

MULCAIR SAYS NDP WOULD EVENTUALLY LEGALIZE POT

Tom Mulcair, whose New Democrats are promising to decriminalize 
marijuana possession but not to make it legal, says he understands 
legalization will happen eventually under an NDP government.

The NDP Leader spent part of the late afternoon on Tuesday taking 
part in a town hall that was organized by Vice, an online news 
service that caters to a young demographic. The audience wanted to 
know why Mr. Mulcair was advocating that marijuana merely be 
decriminalized and not legalized.

He responded by saying decriminalization is something he could do 
immediately if his party is elected to form a government next Monday.

"There are lots of promises that can be made, but I only like talking 
about what I can do," he told the crowd, which appeared to mainly 
comprise people in their early 20s.

"It is a long-held policy of the NDP, which is to decriminalize. It 
is something that we can do from one day to the next, it's to make 
sure that when we get elected on Oct. 19, no one ever gets a criminal 
record for possession or use of marijuana."

But when Mr. Mulcair was asked if he is willing to send people to 
jail for the cultivation and distribution of the drug, he went a step 
further about legalization - pointing to jurisdictions in the United 
States where pot can be consumed without breaking any laws.

"We're going to take our time to do it. But it's going to get done," 
Mr. Mulcair said. "I mean, that's the direction that it's going in. 
Look at Oregon, look at Colorado, we're getting more and more 
information. That's the type of thing that will be the way for the future."

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has said he would legalize marijuana 
immediately after being elected. He says he would work with the 
provinces to find appropriate ways to regulate it, and argues that 
legalization and regulation would help to keep it out of the hands of children.

The Conservatives have been running election campaign ads attacking 
Mr. Trudeau for his policy in favour of legalization.

Full legalization is much more complicated than "snapping your 
fingers," Mr. Mulcair said. "We're not going to have weed being sold 
at the LCBO tomorrow morning. That's not going to happen."

His party, he said, would sit down with the police and discuss how to proceed.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police said more than two years 
ago that it wants officers to have the ability to ticket people found 
with 30 grams or less of marijuana.

"There's an openness there that didn't exist before, and I think we 
are moving in the right direction and our society as a whole gets it, 
so that's the way that we're going to do it," Mr. Mulcair said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom