Pubdate: Fri, 10 Oct 2014
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html
Website: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Joan Bryden
Referenced: CAMH releases new Cannabis Policy Framework:
http://mapinc.org/url/sCod1dXx
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Marijuana - Canada)

TORIES AIM TO GET TOUGH ON POT: MACKAY

Minister Unmoved by Legalization Call by Major Mental-Health
Centre

The Conservative government's resolve to enforce the law against
marijuana use is unshaken by a call to legalize pot from the country's
largest mental-health and addiction treatment centre.

Justice Minister Peter MacKay said Thursday the Conservative
government has no intention of heeding the call of the Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health.

Indeed, the government remains committed to going in the opposition 
direction, said MacKay: finding ways to increase enforcement of 
marijuana laws, including potentially making it a ticketing offence 
to possess small quantities of pot.

But Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who has been championing
legalization for more than a year, said CAMH's endorsement of the idea
shows he's on the right track while the Tories are ideologically bound
to a war on drugs that has proven a total failure.

NDP health critic Libby Davies, whose party supports decriminalization
of marijuana, said the Conservatives are becoming increasingly
isolated on the issue as more and more public health groups refuse to
back their tough-on-pot message.

In a policy statement released Thursday, CAMH said cannabis should be
legalized and strictly regulated, sold through a government controlled
monopoly with limited availability and an age limit. The centre
concluded that the current legal prohibition on pot has failed to
prevent use or reduce the harm it can cause.

That echoes the arguments that have been made by Trudeau, who has been
pilloried by Conservatives for allegedly wanting to make pot more
available to children.

"Yes, it's nice to see a world-class organization like CAMH come out
and agree with (us) and demonstrate that we're on the right track,"
Trudeau said in an interview.

By contrast, he said CAMH's position shows the government is "trapped
in policies based on ideology rather than policies based on evidence,
and that is harmful to Canadians and to Canada." MacKay, however, was
unmoved. "It surprises me, quite frankly, because there are just as
many respected organizations and credible reports that say the
opposite," MacKay said on his way into a committee meeting.

He argued that other public health groups have warned about the
negative impact of marijuana on the developing brains of children and
the fact that it can "trigger episodes of psychosis and schizophrenia
and other serious mental conditions."

"And so I think there is a need to really be very circumspect about
any move towards making marijuana more readily available. So that
certainly is our government's position. We do not intend to legalize
or decriminalize."

MacKay added that the government continues to consider "methods in
which we can increase enforcement," including the ticketing option
favoured by chiefs of police.

"This would not decrease but increase enforcement and optionality for
police to ensure that people are respecting the law," he stressed. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard