Pubdate: Wed, 12 Aug 2015
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html
Website: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Mark Kennedy
Page: A1

Analysis

FEWER READY TO SAY AMEN AS HARPER PREACHES EVILS OF POT

For two years, Stephen Harper's Conservatives have hoped to boost 
their re-election chances in part by convincing Canadians that Justin 
Trudeau will put marijuana joints into the hands of their children.

On Tuesday, Harper made his move, with an anti-drug announcement - 
partially designed to divert attention from Nigel Wright's upcoming 
testimony at the trial of suspended senator Mike Duffy - and tough 
talk about the need to continue the war on pot. (See The Campaign 
Trail, page A7.)

"Unlike the other parties, we will not introduce misguided and 
reckless policies that would downplay, condone or normalize the use 
of illegal drugs," Harper said.

But the Conservative leader may soon find he is on the wrong side of 
the issue. His approach runs counter to what Canadians appear to want.

The government's own internal polling reveals that more than 
two-thirds of the public favours a loosening of the marijuana laws - 
either full legalization or the issuing of fines, instead of a 
criminal record, for people who possess small amounts of pot. Just 
13.7 per cent support Harper's apparent advocacy of the status quo. 
That could put Trudeau's Liberals in the driver's seat, as they 
cautiously pitch a plan to work with the provinces to establish a 
regulated scheme in which government-run stores sell marijuana to 
adult Canadians.

In a recent interview with the Citizen, Trudeau stressed that his 
plan will stem from the "best practices" learned from other 
jurisdictions where pot is legal.

He envisioned a potential scheme in which the "equivalent of a liquor 
control board" sells marijuana and there are strict controls to 
ensure the drug isn't sold to under-age Canadians.

Meanwhile, the NDP's Libby Davies told the House of Commons in June 
that the current "unregulated market" means marijuana is now 
controlled by organized crime, creating "violence and stigma."

The NDP favours establishing a commission to study "all aspects of 
the non-medical use of marijuana" and propose "an appropriate 
regulatory regime."

Under the governing Conservatives, Canada is gradually becoming an 
international outlier - with some American states such as Colorado 
and Washington legalizing pot and the Organization of American States 
(OAS) urging leaders in the Western Hemisphere to take a more 
liberalized approach to marijuana regulation.

It wasn't supposed to be this politically difficult for the 
Conservatives, who pounced on Trudeau in 2013 after he began musing 
about marijuana legalization.

Now, with a weak economy looming as the ballot-box question, Harper 
is forced to justify why marijuana is even a campaign issue.

He said Tuesday that the number of Canadians on drugs - especially 
young people - is still too high and that Trudeau's plan is 
"dangerously misguided."

People just need to look at Colorado for evidence of how pot is now 
easier to obtain for kids, Harper said.

He claimed that "most Canadians" do not want the "full legalization" 
of marijuana.

That's technically true, but not the whole story.

Last year, an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted for the Justice Department 
produced some notable results:

- - 37.3 per cent of Canadians said marijuana should be legalized;

- - 33.4 per cent said possession of small amounts of marijuana should 
be decriminalized with a fine;

- - 13.7 per cent said marijuana laws should stay the same;

- - 12 per cent said marijuana penalties should be increased;

- - 52.6 per cent believed marijuana use would "stay about the same" if 
legalized, while 38.4 per cent said it would increase.

As recently as this spring, the Conservatives said they were still 
considering a 2013 proposal by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of 
Police to change the drug laws so police officers would have the 
option of issuing a ticket for simple possession of cannabis (30 
grams or less of marijuana or one gram or less of cannabis resin) in 
cases where a criminal charge "would not be in the public interest."

However, the government never introduced such a bill in the last Parliament.

On Tuesday, the Conservatives did not provide an answer by press time 
on whether they are still considering the proposal.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom