Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy
The Canadian Liberal Party Sunday overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling for the legalization of marijuana. The motion at the party's biennial convention in Ottawa passed with 77% of the vote.
Canada's Liberal Party voted to legalize marijuana at the Ottawa Convention Center Sunday (liberals.ca)
The vote does not bind the party leadership to make legalization part of the party platform, but is intended to give direction on policy positions the membership wants the party to take. The party's Young Liberals, who sponsored the legalization resolution, are pushing to make it part of the platform in 2015.
The convention also saw the party elect a new leader, former head of the party's Ontario wing Mike Crawley, as it attempts to re-energize and reinvent itself after being reduced to Canada's third party in last May's elections. The Liberals had governed the country for most of the last century, but were reduced to 34 seats in the House of Commons in May, leaving the New Democrats to serve as opposition party to the ruling Conservatives.
"I am re-energized by all of you," Crawley said at the convention. "The party is clearly focused on the future."
"If you want to be part of a group of free-thinking, innovative, thoughtful, pragmatic, hopeful, positive, happy people, come and join the Liberal party," said interim party president Bob Rae in his speech ending the convention. "And after the resolution on marijuana today, it’s going to be a group of even happier people in the Liberal party."
Prohibition has failed, Rae said. "Do you really think it makes sense to be sending another generation of young people into prison when you realize that the most addictive substances that are facing Canada today are alcohol and cigarettes? Let's face up to it Canada -- the war on drugs has been a complete bust."
The Liberals half-heartedly embraced marijuana decriminalization when they held power a decade ago, but never got around to actually passing it. Now, having tasted defeat, the party is willing to go further, or at least the membership is. Let's see how closely the leadership is listening.
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Comments
 Means nothing with out
Means nothing with out public support..stand up for what you believe.
The Liberal endorsement of
The Liberal endorsement of the legalization of marijuana is yet another misguided and silly policy aimed at attracting membership. Rae, says the most addictive drugs are alcohol and cigarettes. Well, this is not totally true and although cigarettes cause unnecessary death in a multitude of Canadians due to pulmonary disease, they do not impede one's cognition and it is not a psychoactive drug. Although alcohol is a psychoactive drug, so is marijuana, as well, marijuana has more cancer causing agents then tobacco. Both tobacco and alcohol are physically addictive, where as marijuana is psychologically addictive. All three build tolerance within the human framework - as is true of any drug.
Legalization of any substance or drug has not prevented criminal elements from engaging in it's profit. Bootleggers are still active and illegal sales of alcohol continue to this day. Removing the criminality from marijuana only creates an aire of legitimacy within society. If you have problems with under age drinkers, society will also have problems with under age marijuana use and abuse. Recent research of P.E.T. scans of marijuana users brains show large deficits of under active regions - This is compelling and should make those so willing to legalize, cautious.
Liberals are idiots
If they think that it is going to make anything better they are sorely mistaken.
How many schools have smoke pits nearby? And then now easy access to joints? Kids coming to class stoned.
I really think Canada is going downhill. In a hundred years from now Canada is going to be a free-for-all wasteland.
Really sad.
IÂ take issue with Cheshire's
I take issue with Cheshire's point that tobacco is not a psychoactive drug: (a) it helps a kid staying up all night cramming for the big test to stay conscious instead of asleep, that is the most drastic psychoadjustment of all; (b) it makes a depressed or anxious person "feel better" (temporarily) , etc.
Whether "addictive" or not-- what if legalization of cannabis (The Alternative) brought about a massive reduction in kids getting hooked on tobacco $igarettes (6 million deaths a year) or alcohol (2.5 million deaths a year)? US medical and other costs of $igarette "smoking" are estimated in the $$ hundreds of billions, right? Would Canada like to save some taxpayer money?
Jung's cosmic "Canada going downhill" concern seems to be based on kids' access to "joints"-- well, the typical joint contains 500 mg of herb, to be lit up and "consumed" in a few minutes; what if Management, Moderation, Control, etc. were built into the equipment used-- and for the 500-mg-per-lightup "joint" or "blunt" (the latter with ad(-)dictive nicotine in the cigar skin) a 25-mg-per-serving one-hitter is substituted? (40 separate tokes per gram!)
How much problematic "psychoactivity" (dopiness, ambition loss etc.) is really caused by extra Carbon Monoxide which is delivered by the fast-burning cigarette papers smoking method?
150 million Americans have
150 million Americans have admitted trying cannabis at least once in their lifetime, imagine if they all got caught?
Not to mention it is impossible to overdose on cannabis, and it is proven non-toxic.
Not to mention 47,000 Mexican's have died in prohibition-related violence.
Oh and did I mention alcohol prohibition didn't work?
Or that teens consistently have said it is easier to get their hands on cannabis than alcohol because dealers don't ask for I.D?
Or that Harvard University did a study and found it attacks cancer cells?
"Legalize" is the wrong word. "Regulate" is the more appropriate one.
I agree pot should be legalized!
I totally agree as well!!
legalize pot!
I say the should legalize it, sure it is complicated to do this, reading another post about this, but it can be done and should be done. It is far more harmless than other drugs such as alcohol, cocaine, heroine, meth....when has anyone seen a violent pot head? maybe on the food bill! Pot does have many good things about it for certain kind of medical conditions, too many to list, but it does....we can regulate it, put the rules on it, Spain, Amsterdam are good examples, a few of my friends came back from Amsterdam, they have little coffee shops, and well you can have a coffee and order a joint, or two, buy them in little packs that are legal, they have perfected the system so very well, and so can we. Same rules applies as alcohol, sell it in protected stores, serious ID checks, Liquor stores, where ever, they can make it happen and set up rules and regulations where it can work, caught driving with it in your system make the penalties very high, some how it can all be worked out!!
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