Pubdate: Sat, 24 Aug 2013
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2013 Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  http://www.edmontonsun.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135

MIXED MESSAGE IN TOKE TALK

Justin Trudeau's attempts to be Everyman are going up in smoke.

If he's not dressing up in various religious garb to impress the 
interest group at hand, he's trying to show he's down with the pot crowd.

But by revealing earlier this week that he's smoked marijuana five or 
six times, the Liberal leader has provoked more questions than answers.

His recent comments on marijuana may seem off-the-cuff. But they're 
quite calculated.

"We had a few good friends over for a dinner party, our kids were at 
their grandmother's for the night, and one of our friends lit a joint 
and passed it around. I had a puff."

He's trying to appeal to everyone here. On the one hand, he's 
implying that it's bad for kids to see and that he just had one little puff.

That should calm the anti-legalization people.

But all his statements are a massive "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" to 
the 4/20 marijuana crowd.

To say that you smoked pot as a Member of Parliament is a bad move.

"By flouting the laws of Canada while holding elected office, he 
shows he is a poor example for all Canadians, particularly young 
ones," Defence Minister Peter MacKay said in a statement.

We agree. Kids shouldn't get the impression that it's okay to smoke 
up on the job. And if the speaking fees fiasco taught us anything, 
it's that MPs are always on the job. It's one thing to smoke a little 
weed in private, but Trudeau should've kept the lid on his latest toke tale.

Then there's the question of just what his real position is. It seems 
to change with the seasons. Although if we take him by his most 
recent word, he now favours legalization.

We get that he's not the only one. In a December 2012 poll connected 
to a Sun Media feature on marijuana, 57% of Canadians said they 
support the legalization of marijuana while 39% were opposed.

But before Canada goes down this road it has to answer some tough 
questions - like appropriate regulations and restrictions.

Questions that Trudeau's statements make him seem oblivious to. 
There's a stinky cloud hanging over his pot approach.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom