Pubdate: Fri, 02 Aug 2013
Source: Record, The (Kitchener, CN ON)
Copyright: 2013 Metroland Media Group Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.therecord.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/225
Author: Terry Field
Page: A7
Note: Terry Field is an associate professor and program chair of the 
journalism major in the bachelor of communication program at Mount Royal 
University in Calgary.

TRUDEAU'S POT STANCE IS REFRESHING

Legalizing marijuana use in Canada could be the best way, and maybe
the only way, to protect children inclined or forced to use the stuff.

That's the view of Justin Trudeau, leader of the Liberal Party of
Canada, and the only Canadian political figure of note to have the
guts to speak to the issue.

Immediately and predictably attacked by his political opponents,
Trudeau is none the less right to suggest that we, as a society, need
to consider new approaches to an ages old problem.

Trudeau's view is likely new to most Canadians, though he has mused
about it publicly before. Readers might also be surprised to hear that
many Latin American politicians and policy analysts are saying the
same thing. Uruguay's unprecedented plan to create a legal marijuana
market, for example, won its critical first step Wednesday in the
country's lower house of Congress.

The issue is far too complex to address in a short column, but we can
agree there is a need to explore alternatives to our current way of
dealing with drugs.

Let's also allow that marijuana use will damage your health, and that
legalization would have consequences. There is a tendency among most
politicians and editorialists to use that argument to dismiss change
out-of-hand, when they should be willing to at least explore the
possibilities.

The argument for legalization would primarily be an acknowledgment of
failed social policy. It is a fact, even a sad one, that human beings
will explore the use of substances that alter their state of mind. It
is certainly sad that many millions of North Americans live desperate
lives as a result of overuse and resulting addiction.

The question of what is to be done about it is challenging.

It was U.S. president Richard Nixon who established the so-called "war
on drugs" in the 1970s, which beefed up policing and military
activities in the United States and in countries around the world that
supplied drugs to American users.

That "war," as Trudeau rightly suggested, has been a complete, abject,
costly, failure on all levels. Drug use is more rampant now than then.
Highly militarized and monumentally wealthy cartels are also
trafficking in armaments and humans, as well as drugs. Our response
politically has been to spend even more money, only to see 50,000-plus
people killed in Mexico alone over the past half-dozen years.

Ironically, even though the United States, and by geography Canada,
are the main markets for drugs in North America, the most active minds
and voices on the subject are in Latin America.

As recently as May of this year, an Organization of American States
(OAS) report concluded that governments of the hemisphere need look
seriously at the potential value of legalizing marijuana. The OAS has
never been known for its radical take on things, and is in fact highly
conservative. It has been forced into taking this stance by its
members, with Canada and the U.S. on the wrong side of the prevailing
view.

Predictably, President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper
have dismissed the idea out of hand. It is mindboggling that such
smart men are so afraid of considering the idea, particularly when so
many equally smart people are open to its consideration. It seems that
Obama and Harper are satisfied with the status quo, the deaths, social
disruption and gang violence in their communities.

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit substance on the planet,
driving an underground industry in the billions. Making its use legal
could severely impact gang activity everywhere. Selling it as we do
alcohol and cigarettes would allow for limits on strength and
additives, and control in sales to minors. Tobacco-styled warnings
could be put on packages, and driving under the influence treated
severely. The billions of dollars generated in taxes could be used to
treat addictions for all kinds of drug use and pay for public
education campaigns.

People will continue to use drugs and our choice is to either continue
advancing policing and military responses or to examine reasonably
considered alternatives.

Trudeau should be applauded for having the courage to address the
issue. It would be nice to see other Canadian policy-makers, political
analysts, and editorialists join in a serious examination of the
possibility and potential of change.
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MAP posted-by: Matt