Pubdate: Sun, 04 Oct 2015
Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
Copyright: 2015 The Calgary Sun
Contact: http://www.calgarysun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.calgarysun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/67
Author: Stephanie Levitz
Page: 26

PM: POT MUCH WORSE THAN TOBACCO

MONTREAL - Marijuana is "infinitely worse" than tobacco and its use
should be widely discouraged in Canada, Conservative Leader Stephen
Harper says.

The remarks come the morning after the federal leaders'
French-language debate, in which Harper's clash with Liberal Leader
Justin Trudeau over the issue of legalization was among the evening's
more memorable exchanges.

The Liberals support legalization; Trudeau argued during the debate
that if pot were legal and regulated, young people would be less able
to easily procure the drug than they are currently.

The Conservatives are vehemently opposed to the idea, with Harper
saying that regulating its sale in the same way as cigarettes or
alcohol would do nothing to keep it out of the hands of kids.

When asked Saturday how the Conservatives square that position with
the fact medicinal marijuana is currently used by thousands of
Canadians to treat a variety of causes, Harper said there's
overwhelming evidence about the drug's long-term effects.

Harper likened what the government is trying to do with marijuana to
its tobacco control strategy.

"We've spent a couple of generations trying to reduce the use of
tobacco in Canada with a lot of success," he said.

"Tobacco is a product that does a lot of damage - marijuana is
infinitely worse and is something we do not want to encourage."
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MAP posted-by: Matt