Pubdate: Wed, 26 Oct 2016
Source: Muse, The (CN NF Edu)
Copyright: 2016 The Muse
Contact:  http://www.themuse.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2656
Author: Chris Ivancic

HIGH ON TRUDEAU

In an ingenious campaign tactic, Justin Trudeau threw a campaign
curveball at reporters in this country by promising to legalize and
regulate the use of marijuana. What made the tactic especially clever
was its timing; early enough that centrists forgot about it, but late
enough that liberal reformists were excited about it through until
Election Day. Considering that 59 per cent of Canadians supported
legalizing marijuana, in a 2014 survey, it's clear that there is a
certain demographic this type of policy appeals to.

Trudeau has so far got one thing right: "Canada's current system of
marijuana prohibition does not work." Illegal cannabis sales make up
almost half of the illegal narcotics market, which has been valued at
approximately $300 billion American dollars. Legalization will take
this money away from organized crime, depriving them of a substantial
amount of income. This perspective runs in stark contrast to that of
his predecessor who has called the drug "infinitely worse" than
tobacco and claims that legalizing the drug will make it readily
accessible to children, both claims which have little basis. Though
Trudeau has realized that the use of marijuana is not a problem that
Canada can convict itself out of, the NDP don't think that this is
enough, lambasting the PM for not putting legislation into place
sooner and contributing to the number of young Canadians who will have
criminal records for the rest of their lives due to a soon-to-be
archaic law. The legislation is due to hit the streets by spring
2017, but what has taken the government so long?

Bill Blair, the lead craftsman of the government's legalization plan,
blames the intricacies of the legislation on the delay, growing pot
after all "is not like tomatoes." The government must decide how to
tax it, if it can be advertised, where to set safe driving limits, and
who should sell it.

Should a portion of government profits from the sale of cannabis go
towards addictions programming, or should the government be able to
use that money to balance its budget without giving back? Should the
marijuana retailers, which are already popping up en masse in
anticipation of the coming legislation, be able to advertise their
product, or will they be subject to the same advertising ban as
tobacco products? These are all decisions that need to be made, and
written into law, before marijuana can be legalized. This is further
complicated by its progressive nature. Once Canada sets its nationwide
mandate into action, it will either be copied by nations across the
globe or used as an example of how not to regulate pot.

There are also the legal issues surrounding the legalization debate.
The proposed change would violate three United Nationals Conventions
of which Canada is a party. Canada would not be the first to act in
contravention of these treaties, following the small country of
Uruguay and two American states. The fix seems easy enough: Canada
must either make a reservation with regards to the provisions of the
conventions related to marijuana or formally withdraw from the
treaties. In the worst case scenario Canada will receive condemnation
from of the international community for violating sections of the
conventions, given that they lack dispute resolution mechanisms, and
other countries would have trouble showing damages from this domestic
policy.

It's been a year since Justin Trudeau has called for the legalization
of cannabis in Canada. Despite this, the eagerly anticipated change
has seen little progress other than the establishment of various
recommendation making task forces and the appointment of Bill Blair as
chief of the legalization effort. Perhaps the spring 2017 will bring
with it all the changes constituents are looking for, but until then,
they will remain high on Trudeau.
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MAP posted-by: Matt