Pubdate: Fri, 26 Jul 2013
Source: Barrie Examiner (CN ON)
Copyright: 2013, Barrie Examiner
Contact: http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/letters
Website: http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2317

POT TALK SHOWS HOW 'GREEN' TRUDEAU CAN BE

Justin Trudeau is showing his colour, and it's a little green. As in
around the gills, as they say - inexperience.

The federal Liberal leader has called for the legalization of
marijuana, in order to keep it away from Canadian kids.

"I'm actually not in favour of decriminalizing cannabis," Trudeau told
an enthusiastic crowd of supporters in a clip of a Liberal rally, in
potfriendly British Columbia, posted on Youtube Tuesday.

"I'm in favour of legalizing it, tax it, regulate it. 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 is not working," he said.

"We have to use evidence and science to make sure we're moving forward
on that."

Trudeau is still the new Liberal leader, having just been anointed
earlier this year. The next federal election is likely in the spring
of 2015, when Canadians will have had a full four years of majority
Conservative rule.

Between now and then, Trudeau needs to make an impression on Canadian
voters to pull the Grits up from their third-place standing, well
behind the New Democrats. Is legalizing marijuana the way? Or even one
way? Yes, making pot legal might be a way to attract younger voters -
the ones who have shown such tepid interest in last few federal elections.

But it's likely to have the opposite effect on older voters, and those
who don't think smoking pot is a good thing.

And let's face it, this is not exactly a big-ticket issue in Canada.

Ottawa is expected to deal with matters such as managing the economy,
healthcare and education funding, transportation (rail safety),
energy (oil, gas, electricity), etc.

Nobody would be too upset if Prime Minister Stephen Harper fixed the
Senate either.

But legalizing marijuana? Harper can look good with most voters by
simply staying out of the debate - which isn't that difficult during
the dog days of summer, when Canadians don't want to see their
politicians doing anything but barbecuing, if that.

So Trudeau might be inadvertently helping the Conservatives, which is
surely not his intention.

It also looks like the new Liberal boss might have flip-flopped, at
least a little, on this issue.

Last November, when Trudeau was campaigning to be Liberal leader, he
told a high school crowd in Charlottetown, P. E. I., that he was "a
huge supporter of decriminalization."

P.E.I's Guardian newspaper reported that Trudeau also left the door
open to legalization.

Back in 2012, when asked about a policy resolution on legalization
being debating by grassroot Liberals, he was cool to the idea -
raising concerns about legal pot's potential impact on health and on
trade with the United States.

"To legalize something else that we know is perhaps not as harmful but
not necessarily healthy could be a step in the wrong direction, but I
do believe in free choice," he told the Hill Times newspaper.

Now the message is a little bit different, even if Liberals view that
as semantics.

Trudeau spokeswoman Kate Monfette said this week he hadn't changed his
position on marijuana and "has been consistent with his language."

No one is saying Canada's war on illegal drugs isn't important: not
the police, not the medical community and not parents.

And making it an issue could be nothing more than Trudeau's way of
staying in the news.

But it also shows the Liberal leader has much to learn before 2015.
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MAP posted-by: Matt