Pubdate: Fri, 25 Sep 2015
Source: Observer, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015, Sarnia Observer
Contact: http://www.theobserver.ca/letters
Website: http://www.theobserver.ca
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1676
Author: Barbara Simpson
Page: A2

CANDIDATES WEIGH IN ON POT DEBATE

Lambton College students pack lunch-hour federal election debate

Sarnia-Lambton Conservative Marilyn Gladu veered slightly from her
party's tough-on-drugs platform Thursday by endorsing the
decriminalization of marijuana during a student-organized debate.

"I don't want to see people taking up time in our court system for
having a couple of joints, so I would support that," she said when
asked for her stance on decriminalization at Thursday's Calling All
Candidates debate.

Three of the four Sarnia-Lambton federal candidates - with the
exception of Liberal Dave McPhail - admitted to trying marijuana at
least once in their lives during a lightning round of questions at the
debate hosted at Lambton College.

Thursday's all-candidates' forum marked the first time local
candidates have weighed in on the national debate surrounding the
legalization of marijuana.

Federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau came out of the gates early with
a promise to legalize marijuana if elected. Both the New Democrats and
the Green Party are supportive of decriminalization, but only the
latter is supportive of legalization as well.

"There's very little proof to support legalization in Canada, so we're
going to decriminalize it, make sure people aren't going to jail over
it, make sure you don't end up losing jobs because you had a joint in
your pocket when you were 18 years old," NDP candidate Jason McMichael
told a standing-room only crowd in attendance Thursday.

Green Party candidate Peter Smith pointed out the American War on
Drugs has cost more than a trillion dollars and kept criminals often
tied to gangs in business.

"You're really fueling criminal activity by making it illegal and
allowing them to collect all the money over this, so tax it and then
it turns into a revenue stream," he said.

Despite her position on decriminalization, Gladu said she isn't
supportive of taking it a step further with legalization.

"As a youth leader, I can tell you in 30 years I've seen a huge number
of kids that started off smoking weed and then their buddies or their
drug dealers sold them into something that is really nasty and that's
the beginning of a trail that leads to violence and death and
destruction of their lives, so no, we're not a fan of legalizing marijuana."

Organizers chose marijuana decriminalization as one of four hot-button
student topics - including tuition and student debt, poverty and First
Nations education - for a spirited lunch-hour discussion.

Candidates shared a variety of personal stories - everything from
Gladu's tale of surviving for weeks on "green beans with tomato sauce"
when she ran out of money when she first moved to Sarnia, through to
their favourite musicians - during a light-hearted round of questions.

Students also came prepared with a laundry list of questions to find
out candidates' positions on everything from human trafficking through
to support for entrepreneurship.

All four candidates proved to be on the same page when it came to the
importance of investing in First Nations education and improving the
federal government's relationship with the community.

But the candidates had different versions of the federal government's
history with the First Nations population.

"The Indigenous peoples have been treated with disrespect for far too
long, and under 10 years of the Harper government, that's only gotten
worse," McPhail told the crowd.

While Gladu said the working relationship could be improved, she
pointed out Stephen Harper was the first prime minister to apologize
for residential schools and commissioned the Truth and Reconciliation
report.

"I personally and locally have contacted [Aamjiwnaang] Chief Plain,"
she said. "I've read through their plan and their concerns. I've
talked to members of their band, and I'm committed to working together.

"I don't think it's up to us to tell them what to do. I think it's for
us to work together to understand their needs."
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MAP posted-by: Matt