Pubdate: Fri, 05 Dec 2014
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2014 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Jeffrey Simpson
Page: A17

A MARIJUANA MEASURE WORTH WATCHING

This morning, Uruguayan officials will open 18 envelopes. Each will 
contain a proposal to grow two tonnes of marijuana on up to five 
hectares of land for sale to the Uruguayan government.

Within a few days, up to five of the 18 bidders (one of whom is a 
Canadian) will be selected, and another part of Uruguay's experiment 
with legalizing and regulating marijuana will fall into place.

By regulating purchase and sale, Uruguay hopes to control the quality 
of marijuana, its use and distribution, and ultimately drive down 
consumption. The bidders knew in advance what profit level would be 
allowed, what kind of seed would be required, how the crop would be 
grown and how much the government felt it required.

The rest of Latin America, where the drug trade in all its 
manifestations is a scourge, is watching - as are people in far-off 
places such as Canada, where political parties have dived into the 
issue with loose talk and little reflection.

The Liberal Party has recommended legalizing marijuana. It did so in 
a particularly, and perhaps tellingly, slap-dash manner: a speech by 
Leader Justin Trudeau and a resolution at a convention. Neither 
showed that the leader or the party had thought seriously about the 
issue. No major policy paper was unveiled to illustrate that the 
leader and the party had thought deeply about the issue.

Predictably, the Conservatives climbed all over the issue, running 
party television ads mocking Mr. Trudeau's support for legalization. 
As they often do, the Conservatives even used government money to buy 
television ad time during the Grey Cup warning against marijuana use, 
a not-so-thinly-disguised partisan message. So the issue of 
legalizing marijuana is joined, if not fairly or intelligently.

In Uruguay, legalization and regulation are being politically sold as 
a public health measure in a country where state intervention to 
discourage "social harm" has deep roots.

Advocates call the policy part of the "right to health," an argument 
that has scarcely been framed this way in Canada, although it would 
not be hard to imagine in such a "rights" conscious society as Canada 
that this kind of framing might happen.

The roots of regulation against "social harm" in Uruguay extends even 
to restaurants, where salt is not on the table, its use being deemed 
harmful to health. Patrons can get salt only by asking for it.

The new Uruguayan law emphasizes promotion of information and 
education about the use of tobacco and marijuana. Educational 
policies in primary, secondary and vocational schools will inform 
students about the "potential damage" of drug consumption, including cannabis.

And, of course, all advertising and other forms of public promotion 
of marijuana will be prohibited. No one under 18 can buy marijuana 
from the state supplies, nor grow it in their places of residence.

Urugruay's marijuana politics may be instructive for Canada. Polls 
showed a majority of the Uruguayan population against the idea, but 
public opinion is now shifting to a somewhat more favourable position 
and the party that made the change just won the presidency and 
majorities in congress. In Canada, polls show a majority in favour.

Sebastian Sabini, a member of Uruguay's governing party, says that in 
his district, which contains urban and rural voters, resistance was 
highest in the countryside and among older people. That sounds 
exactly like the Conservative Party core in Canada: older and rural. 
Mr. Sabini said younger, urban voters were favourable - exactly the 
target audience of Mr. Trudeau's Liberals.

Mr. Sabini says the legalization issue was not the most important in 
the recent election. Jobs, the economy, social programs and crime 
drove voting intentions. Marijuana legalization and regulation came 
as part of a wave of social liberalization in Uruguay, which also 
included legalizing abortion and gay marriage.

Mandatory voting, by the way, is an electoral fixture in Uruguay. 
Anyone who fails to vote without a valid reason can be fined or 
denied government services.

In a country that is a major exporter (and consumer) of beef, perhaps 
the metaphor is only a bit corny that Uruguay has taken the bull by 
the horns in the battle against cannabis. It has accepted the 
inevitable - that cannabis will be and is being widely used - and is 
trying to regulate its production and use to reduce consumption and crime.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom