Pubdate: Tue, 11 Jul 2017
Source: Metro (Ottawa, CN ON)
Copyright: 2017 Metro
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/Ottawa
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4032
Author: Ryan Tumilty
Page: 2
Vid: http://www.cpac.ca/en/programs/headline-politics/episodes/51423806

ACTIVISTS: TRUDEAU'S POT PLAN IS 'PROHIBITION 2.0'

Users argue too many rules still surround legalization

Medical marijuana users say the Trudeau government's plans to legalize
marijuana involve too many roadblocks.

Activists and users said during a press conference Monday that the
Liberal's bill, which has yet to pass in the House, still marks
marijuana as something people need to be ashamed of.

"My Canada includes being marginalized, stigmatized and criminalized
for picking a plant over pills," said Loretta Clark, 58, who said she
has been using cannabis since she was 12.

Clark said the contrast between fines for selling alcohol to minors,
and lengthy prison terms for selling cannabis to them, shows the
government is still treating pot like a dangerous drug.

"If I sell cannabis to a 17-year-old I can go to prison for 14 years,"
she said. "Cannabis has never hurt one child."

Other medical marijuana users at Monday's press conference argued the
recreational market would put pressure on medical users' supply and
that the Liberals rules for home growth were insufficient.

Wayne Robillard, who previously operated an Ottawa marijuana lounge,
said the government's laws could now get bogged down with regulations
as both the provinces and municipalities add their own rules about
when, where and how cannabis can be consumed.

He said people who use marijuana may not want to do so in their own
homes and will need places to go.

"There is going to be a need for open access for people to actually
have a safe place to consume."

He argued that overall the government's approach is a "Prohibition
2.0" that just barely moves the needle.

"We're trying to regulate something that shouldn't even be illegal."
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MAP posted-by: Matt