Pubdate: Tue, 27 Aug 2013
Source: Journal-Pioneer, The (CN PI)
Copyright: 2013 Journal-Pioneer
Contact:  http://www.journalpioneer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2789
Author: Thomas Walkom

THE METHOD TO TRUDEAU'S REEFER MADNESS

Justin Trudeau's pot gambit is a calculated and rather clever move. 
The Liberal leader's revelation that he smoked dope as a sitting MP 
earned him an expected scolding from the governing Conservatives. But 
that, surely, was Trudeau's aim.

The unexpected decision to highlight marijuana laws is also eerily 
similar to a strategy that allowed Trudeau's father, Pierre, to be 
Canada's prime minister for 15 years.

In his attempt to outpace Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, 
Justin Trudeau has little manoeuvring room. On the economy, the 
Liberal leader's position differs little from that of Harper. Like 
the prime minister, Trudeau sees pipelines, resource development and 
free trade as the keys to Canada's future.

He supports the Alberta tar sands and preaches fiscal frugality - 
again, like Harper.

On the other side, he is equally hemmed in by Tom Mulcair's New 
Democrats. Voters who simply hate Harper now have two plausible choices.

Indeed, given that the NDP - as official opposition - already holds 
more seats than the Liberals, it makes some sense for anti-Harper 
voters to opt for Mulcair over Trudeau. What's a Liberal leader to 
do? Pierre Trudeau's answer 45 years ago was to focus on a vague but 
potent notion of social change. As justice minister, he had 
introduced a bill to legalize all forms of sexual activity between 
consenting adults, noting famously that "there's no place for the 
state in the bedrooms of the nation." In 1968, he became prime 
minister by promising what he called the "just society." At one 
level, this was an empty slogan. But at another, it appealed to 
voters who, in an inchoate way, wanted something different.

By taking on marijuana laws, the younger Trudeau is trying to signal 
that he, too, is on the cutting edge. "I think that adults should be 
free to choose their behaviours in this particular case," he told the 
Huffington Post this week.

It's not that most Canadians necessarily want to smoke up. But like 
the homosexuality statutes that Pierre Trudeau overturned, 
anti-marijuana laws strike many as simply out of date.

In that sense, Justin Trudeau's promise to legalize dope is a symbol 
that could resonate not just with the young (who tend not to vote) 
but across all age groups.

Incidentally, it's probably worth remembering that the Woodstock 
generation, which feels it invented marijuana, is now in its 60s. And 
these people do vote. As always with politicians, there is an element 
of opportunism in Trudeau's position. Until last month, he was on 
record as opposing the legalization of cannabis. In 2009, he and 
other Liberal MPs - fearful of being labelled soft on crime - 
supported a government bill to impose mandatory minimum sentences for 
those convicted of growing small amounts of marijuana (the Liberals 
changed their minds two years later).

But Trudeau says his thinking has evolved and perhaps it has. 
Certainly, the world has evolved. Two American states have voted to 
legalize pot. As Trudeau has noted, this makes it easier for Canada 
to relax its laws.

Beyond that, however, he clearly believes he has a winning issue. 
When the Huffington Post queried all party leaders about their 
personal experiences with dope, Trudeau - unlike Harper and Mulcair - 
didn't answer elliptically through a spokesperson.

Instead, he offered a one-on-one interview in which he could tell all 
- - including the anecdote of his smoking up at a party a mere three 
years ago when he was a sitting MP.

Predictably, the Conservatives are now attacking Trudeau as a 
lawmaker who breaks laws. We shall see if that works. Clearly, the 
Liberal leader thinks it won't. He's betting that a good chunk of 
Canadians will view Harper and his government as out-of-date fogeys 
who are propping up a ban that no longer makes sense. His reefer 
madness may not be all that mad.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom