Pubdate: Thu, 28 Apr 2016
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Page: 18
Copyright: 2016 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.torontosun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://torontosun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: Andrew Lawton

OUT OF STEP WITH SPLIFF DECISION

I nearly cringed when Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch
told me she would undo the forthcoming legalization of recreational
marijuana, should she become the prime minister.

Leitch made this pledge to re-criminalize pot in an interview Tuesday
afternoon, on my AM980 radio show, after expressing her opposition to
the plans currently in the works by Justin Trudeau's Liberal
government, as announced by his health minister last week.

A pediatric surgeon by profession, Leitch said that marijuana should
only be accessible to those in medical need of it, a departure from
Trudeau's position that the substance should be legal to all, but
subjected to regulation and taxation.

"Let's treat it like any other drug that is a heavy narcotic: Put it
behind a pharmacy desk, make sure there's a script so we know the
potency of what people are receiving, and therefore (it) can be safely
distributed to those who need it," Leitch said.

She pointed to the documented health risks that marijuana poses to
children and adolescents, and noted the hypocrisy in anti-cigarette
campaigns by Health Canada, while the Trudeau government is
normalizing pot.

Except the government isn't leading the charge on mainstreaming
marijuana; it's reacting to a change that has been happening over
generations.

I have never smoked pot, and I don't particularly care for the smell
of it. I've found myself twice in social situations where a joint was
passed and have managed to avoid a third.

My own dislike of pot notwithstanding, it should be accessible to
adults who want it - such as Trudeau - without the risk of
prosecution.

The Conservative Party, whose members so often - and rightly -
criticize the nanny state in other areas, would do well to not defer
to this premise that the government needs to protect society from the
horrors of marijuana.

As well-reasoned as Leitch's objection to pot may be, from a medical
point of view, with alcohol, tobacco, fast food and pop available on
demand, access to pot, which seems to be uninhibited even under its
criminal status quo, seems relatively benign.

While public opinion doesn't necessarily dictate morality, the hard
line drawn by Leitch does reinforce the old "Conservatives are out of
touch" trope.

Within the conservative movement, her position also underscores the
sad reality that libertarians are a rare breed in elected office.

As someone who adheres to socially conservative standards but doesn't
believe in the state imposing them on others, I find myself aligning
with libertarians on most issues.

Most of them have abandoned the Conservative Party (in fact, I know a
few of them were chanting 'told you so' after my Leitch interview).

Fellow leadership candidate Maxime Bernier, heralded as the sole voice
for libertarians in the Conservative Party, tacitly opened the door to
supporting Trudeau's marijuana push, in a CBC interview April 16.

"I am more for it," he said. "It depends how the government will do
it. At the end, I will decide whether I will vote for it or against
it. But I am more toward - for - that."

If the Conservative Party wants to be relevant - especially in
engaging younger people on the right, who are more drawn to
libertarian philosophy - more voices like Bernier's must emerge.

And, yes, that means the Conservative Party of Canada must embrace a
leader who supports the legalization of marijuana. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D