Pubdate: Wed, 31 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
Author: Bruce Cameron
Page: C2

HAPPILY AT WORK STIRRING THE POT ON LEGALIZATION

When it comes to smoking pot, you're in one of the following groups.
"Never have, never will." "Tried it in college and continued as a
casual user." "Breakfast of champions, dude! Been smoking it fer
years, like tons of it, and uh... What were we talking about?" "Tried
it back when I was 14 because most of my friends were trying it and I
didn't really like it, especially when compared with a six-pack of
Ex."

For what it's worth, I'm in that last category, except that "Ex" has
matured to "Grolsch, especially when on sale."

I'm not a fan of pot. I grinned without mercy when, researching for
this week's column, I came across a picture of hippies from days of
yore, one of ' em holding a sign that screamed "If we all had a bong,
we'd all get along!"

( I can't believe that line never showed up in a Buffalo Springfield
song. Then again, who knows.) Having said all that, I'm not overtly
against the smoking of pot. If someone wants to spark up a joint in
the privacy of their own home, hey, why not?

All of which, to make a short story long, is an indicator of where I
sit on the issue of recreational pot use, especially while the smoke
has not quite cleared from federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau's
bombshell last week. You know, the one that included the words
"marijuana" and "legalization" in the same sentence. This was a giant
leap for Trudeau, who in the past has gone on record as endorsing the
decriminalization of pot. But "legalization" points you directly
southwest towards Colorado, where as of Jan. 1, 2014, it will be known
as, said the Huffington Post, "the world's first legal, regulated and
taxed marijuana market for adults."

As far as issues go, especially where lifestyle potentially clashes
with politics, this one is surprisingly benign. Where are the millions
of weed smokers celebrating this fresh new freedom? Where are the
millions of other weed smokers clamoring for change in their own
jurisdictions? Is Colorado's bold move the start of a trend or a blip
on the North American screen?

One thing is for sure: you can expect every state and provincial
government out there to keep an eye on Colorado, especially when
something called The Colorado Department of Revenue will be in charge
of the sale and handling of marijuana in that state. ( If you missed
the point of that last sentence, hover over the word "revenue" for a
second or two.) Back home, back to Trudeau's push for legalization
and, of course, its predictable flip-side found in the reaction of
the federal Conservatives. It didn't take Stephen Harper's crew more
than a couple of days to launch an organized outrage against the idea
of legalization, especially when endorsed by Trudeau. But this has the
whiff of an entertaining cat- and-mouse game, possibly a wedge-issue
plant that Harper has unwittingly bit into, big time.

Think of who currently sells and distributes pot in Canada. It ain't
the Boy Scouts or Girl Guides. It's organized crime and Trudeau now is
in a delicious position. He just has to take an approach lifted from
the Conservative Party of Canada's very own attack handbook and say
that, by defending the status quo, the Conservatives are "radical
supporters of nefarious drug dealers."

Trudeau's Liberals won't likely go to those juvenile lengths but on
this issue, he's ripped down the Do Not Disturb sign hanging just
outside Harper's wheelhouse.
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MAP posted-by: Matt