Pubdate: Mon, 27 Jun 2016
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
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: Andre Marin
Page: 46

PM's POT CZAR NEEDS CREDIBILITY

If Grits are serious about legalization, things must change

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a shrewd political decision when he
promised to legalize the use of marijuana in the last election. It
made him look hip and no doubt delivered many votes and helped him
gain power.

First, former Toronto police chief Bill Blair was appointed the pot
czar, overseeing the Liberals' legalization.

Being handed this high-profile file was likely a consolation prize for
not making it to cabinet.

Regardless, according to statistics provided by the Toronto Police
Services, during Blair's decade as chief, the number of pot-related
arrests jumped from 1,837 the year he became chief to 5,610 in the
first 10 months of 2013.

His appointment raised eyebrows - he sure doesn't look like the
progressive kind of guy to handle this issue.

His defenders blame former prime minister Stephen Harper's
tough-on-crime mentality for the charges. That's a weak answer. Prime
ministers can't order chiefs of police to charge people.

And the police always have the discretion not to charge.

Blair was absolutely apoplectic in his reaction to the TPS raids on 43
Toronto pot dispensaries, leading to the arrest of 90 people.

He told The Globe and Mail that "the current licensed producers are
competing with people who don't care about the law, who don't care
about regulations, don't care about kids, don't care about
communities, don't care about the health of Canadians. They're
reckless about it. And so they're selling anything to make a fast buck
before we get the regulations in place."

That tongue-lashing sounded more like Chief Blair, not so much like a
government member of Parliament tasked with freeing up marijuana sales.

Second came former health minister Anne McLellan's appointment to head
a panel on marijuana.

The spin on her appointment was that she is the only minister to have
held the three relevant portfolios: Attorney general, health minister
and public safety minister.

If that spin wasn't enough, one industry representative said "it's a
good source in terms of someone with an understanding of all three
departments."

Does having good knowledge of bureaucracy trump being forward-minded
and committed to following through on the prime minister's pledge?

Seventeen years ago, in early 1999, another health minister, Allan
Rock, presciently stood up in the House of Commons to announce that he
had tasked his officials with developing a plan to include clinical
trials for the medical use of marijuana, guidelines for medical use
and the development for safe access to supply. As soon as McLellan
replaced Rock as health minister, she halted the review. Again, a
track record that runs against what she is now tasked to do by the
federal government.

Meanwhile, the federal government's prosecution department, the Public
Prosecution Service of Canada, hasn't hesitated in zealously
prosecuting even the most minor of cases, despite the fact that in
places like Vancouver and Victoria, the only way to get arrested is
"to light up in a police station," according to NDP justice critic
Murray Rankin.

Last week, the Ontario Superior Court overturned the conviction of a
man who was stopped outside a strip club in Guelph with - wait for it
- - $10 worth of marijuana, because the police violated his
constitutional rights. The Crown then proceeded with an application
under the Civil Remedies Act to seize almost all of the $25,000 in
cash found in the man's car. All based on one gram, $10 worth of
marijuana. Sounds like reefer madness to me.

If the federal government truly wants to legalize pot use, it should
stop prosecuting minor cases and saddling people with criminal records
for an act soon to be legal. It should also speed up the process and
put credible, progressive actors to move the plan forward. It's losing
face with every day it's delayed.
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MAP posted-by: Matt