Pubdate: Sat, 09 Jan 2016
Source: Guelph Mercury (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Metroland Media Group Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.guelphmercury.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1418
Page: A8
Note: This editorial ran first in the New Glasgow News

LAW CHANGE WILL RUN INTO HURDLES

For those Canadians who favour the federal Liberals' pledge to 
legalize recreational marijuana, the latest word is, don't hold your 
breath. Documents obtained by The Canadian Press refer to the 
complexities involved at the international level because of treaties 
that Canada is a part of. A briefing note prepared for Prime Minister 
Justin Trudeau makes reference to these hurdles.

It's highly unlikely the Liberals in announcing this policy believed 
that achieving it would be a slam dunk. Significant changes to laws 
seldom happen quickly and, in this case, we can expect some divided 
opinion. Some people are just not ready yet.

According to the advice provided to the prime minister in the 
briefing note, Canada's current stance on cannabis - making its 
possession and production illegal - is bound by three international 
conventions. These include: the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 
of 1961, as amended by the 1972 Protocol; the Convention on 
Psychotropic Substances of 1971; the United Nations Convention 
against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988.

The dates on those treaties, particularly the first two, will give 
some pause for thought. In the 1960s and '70s, a lot of people really 
weren't ready for legal marijuana. Mind you, that was a time when 
capital punishment was still legally on the books in Canada.

This country does, we must acknowledge, share a border with a nation 
where on the official level the war on drugs is still actively and 
vehemently waged. Revamping these laws would have implications for 
passage of people and goods from one to the other. But even the 
United States has a couple of states with legalized recreational 
marijuana, so the outlook is gradually changing.

This could indeed take a while. In the meantime, the country will 
have little choice but to leave this trade with the criminal element.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom