Well I'm glad to see that Justin Trudeau has come out in favour of legalizing marijuana.
For the noblest of reasons:
“It’s one of the only ways to keep it out of the hands of our kids because the current war on drugs, the current model is not working. We have to use evidence and science to make sure we’re moving forward on that.”
And I also see the Cons have come rushing out to denounce him for the lowest of reasons.
"These drugs are illegal because of the harmful effect they have on users and on society," the party wrote on its website. "We will continue protecting the interests of families across this country. "Our government has no interest in seeing marijuana legalized or made more easily available to youth."
And so has Jason Kenney...
For reasons unknown.
For surely a grubby 45-year-old religious fanatic who believes in CHASTITY...
Is no role model for ANYONE.
And even his equally crazed leader knows that our marijuana laws are insane.
Last year Mr. Harper himself admitted that “the current approach [to the War on Drugs] is not working.” (Conveniently, he did so in drug-ravaged Colombia, surrounded by leaders of other drug-ravaged Latin American countries. But it’s still on the record.) Yet this is a man whose government introduced a six-month mandatory minimum sentence for growing more than five marijuana plants and offering a friend a puff.
But would still jail Canadians to make himself look tough on crime. Even though the crime rate is falling, marijuana use is skyrocketing, the Great War on Drugs is a total failure. And only helps the criminals, who Harper claims to be fighting.
As for the political effects of Justin Trudeau declaration, I'm not as pessimistic as some Liberals.
Not when there is evidence in the U.S. that marijuana initiatives can encourage young people to vote.
If last month’s results are any indication, younger voters could play a key role in deciding future elections in states with marijuana ballot initiatives. Exit polls suggest voters ages 18 to 29 accounted for a noticeably greater share of voters than four years ago in Colorado, Oregon and Washington – all of which voted on marijuana measures.
It’s not so much the thought of lighting up that appeals to these younger voters, Hanauer said. Instead, they view it through the same lens as same-sex marriage – as a justice and fairness issue.
And there is no reason the same thing couldn't happen here...
As for me, I'm just glad that at the very least we might have another Great Marijuana Debate. The one I thought we had settled years ago.
Not just because I believe that if you are going to take drugs, marijuana is a better and safer drug than alcohol. Or believe that NOBODY should go to prison for smoking it.
But also because I'm sick of watching the reek of hypocrisy hang as heavy in the air as the smell of marijuana does on a Saturday night in this country, from coast to coast to coast.
So good for Justin, and if the NDP is smart it might consider matching his offer.
As for the Cons, I don't think they're going to get any
I mean I can understand why Jason Kenney is against the sacred herb eh?
With all the ethnic banquets he attends, and the way he eats...
If he got the munchies, he'd hoover up the buffet table...
As for Stephen Harper, with all the criminal investigations buzzing around him like horse flies, I hardly think he's in a position to pose as a crime buster.
And now that Canadians know that he has an Enemy List, the last thing they need is to see is him threaten to go after all the people who smoke pot in Canada.
It would not make him look like a Great New/Nouveau Nicer Kinder Gentler Leader eh?
It would make him look like a MANIAC.
Or this guy...
Yup. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what the end of Con Canada looks like eh?
And before their deranged leader jails us ALL.
Let's roll up the Cons like a spliff. Or a fish in a newspaper.
Light 'em up.
And SMOKE them in the next election...
Click here to recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers.
I love hearing any CON say "well there's an on-going investigation into that--it's never a good day when you have to admit that--and they are subject to several!! Sooner or later that will sink into the collective psyche of voters...
ReplyDeletehi Linda...I think it is registering even with some of the dumbest Canadians. If you look at the polls the number of people who don't trust him include some of his Con base. And all those scandals and other cover-ups are only making things worse. The only thing holding him up is the economy i.e.the housing and stock markets. It's like the Phantom of the Paradise. When the cassette goes, he goes too...
DeleteA little know factoid that came out of the drug treatment program from Herman Keefer Hospital in Detroit a while back.
ReplyDeleteApproximately 1 out of 100 heroin addicts die in withdrawal if not properly treated.
Approximately 1 out of 10 alcoholics die in withdrawal if not properly treated. (and alcohol is legal--go figure)
Nobody has ever even heard of marijuana withdrawals and if they say there is such a thing, it is either treated with some ancillary drug or they are right-wing christofascist lying fucking assholes like kenney and harper. Amen.
hi anonymous... what we need is more facts, and not the moralistic/opportunistic ravings of the Reefer Madness crowd. The way I see it drugs have been part of the human condition forever. It's like religion. You can argue until you're blue in the face, but as long as people feel they need it, it's not going away.
DeleteAnd all I can say that in my experience, if you're going to ban drugs you should ban them all. Good luck. And if you are going to be selective you should ban alcohol first, because it's far more dangerous than marijuana. I know,I see its devastating effects almost every day. Hypocrisy reeks, lies KILL...
In the mid-70s it was easier to get your young hands on dope then it was alcohol. The reason? Regulation. Plain and simple. For me, marijuana reform should be legislated for that very purpose; to keep it out of the hands of those far too young to be making informed decisions on its use.
ReplyDeletehi Omar...I agree that more must be done to keep it out of the hands and brains of the young. And as I said in the post, The Great War on Smoking has been a big success. And that's even though tobacco is sold in corner stores, which marijuana most certainly won't be...except I hope in Montreal. ;)
DeleteWe need to decriminalize it immediately so more young people aren't sent to jail for no good reason. And then study the question in a cool rational manner, and come up with a plan that satisfies almost everybody. As I said in the post, what I find particularly depressing is that on the marijuana question we were once ahead of the curve. Even The Economist said we were cool. And look where we are now. How low have we fallen...
Trudeau is absolutely correct. The war on drugs is a total failure. It is a criminal creation machine. First ask yourself why is pot illegal? The reason had nothing to do with health and welfare, it was synthetic fabric producers did not want the competition from Hemp.
ReplyDeleteThose forces are still out there, and now are joined by prison guards unions, police unions, the legal establishment and the big drug industry. Legalization will be a huge blow to the fortunes of all these and more.
So what are they going to do? Exactly what they did with tobacco and global warming. Sow confusion.
Most people have experience with pot and see it is begin compared to tobacco or alcohol. To fight this they bring in the not your grandfathers pot argument. This is false. We have always had hash and most Canadian baby boomers were smoking hash and hash oil. So do not buy this strawman.
After that they got nothing, just protecting their self interest and employing the same useful idiots, many of whom do their dirty work on from the main stream platforms.
hi Steve...I totally agree with you. It took people forever to realize that the Great War on Terror was a total bust, and of course the Cons are playing the crime card because that's just about all they got left. And the MSM plays into their hands by making it sound like we're living in the middle of a crime wave, and that nobody is safe. Because so many boomers smoked, and unlike Wente STILL smoke it, I doubt Harper will get much traction from this one. As I said in the post, I believe that like me, a lot of people just want something new and different. ANYTHING. It's a hunger for change, and since the marijuana proposal is daring, but also safer than it ever has been, I think it will help Truideau more than it hurts him...
DeleteYes, hemp for fibre production is another good reason for legalisation. It makes an excellent, strong and breatheable fibre.
ReplyDeleteI wish the NDP would be more forthright about this.
hi lagatta...there are many spinoffs from the controlled production and marketing of marijuana. You just have to replace moralistic hysteria with science and common sense. But of course, as we know, in Harperland that's a challenge. They ignore science, they hate facts, they act like demagogues, they stir up the mob for cheap political purposes. They are beyond redemption.
DeleteAs for the NDP, they need to be a little more creative if only to grab more of the youth vote. They have so many young MPs, they should showcase them more. They're doing a good job in Parliament but that's not enough to excite and inspire the young...
Considering that there are 3 or 4 South American countries on record as intending to cease their support for the US-financed War On Drugs, Justin gets it and Stevie doesn't. If these countries move on this before the election, it will give Stevie an interesting foreign policy challenge to deal with.
ReplyDeletehi Edstock...good point. And I agree with you. It really is time to cut through the bullshit and say it like it is. When I hear Harper talk about drugs it seems like a flashback to an another era. He once gave an interview on TV and what he said about drugs sounded like something out of Reefer Madness. Clearly nobody offered him a joint when he was at school, and his fear of losing control over himself, prevented him from experimenting further.
DeleteBut then who can blame them eh? Can you imagine smoking up with Harpo, and then having to listen to him babble on about his bizarre obsessions, or the amazing awesomeness of Ayn Rand, or how a lack of control can spread to the bowels, or even worse his boring hockey stories. Five minutes of that and they'd have to carry me out on a stretcher....
Simon, CONS can't abide with facts and evidence, for it proves them wrong EVERY SINGLE TIME... Here's one--the World Health Organiszation deemed alcohol as THE most dangerous, destructive drug on this planet. It destroys lives of famailies, takes people far before their time, and is directly responsible for so many bad spillover effects on our communities and children. It lowers people's inhibitions and when over-used--which is so easy to do--causes people to commit acts they would never do, sober...
ReplyDeleteJason Kenney is a disgusting POS, who cares what that deluded cave man thinks about anything. Leave it to that religiously insane nutter to tweet fake tweets. The war on drugs is nothing but a racist agenda to jail black people in the US.
ReplyDeleteMinor quibble: but your 420 event photo with cityscape is mislabeled as “Montréal 420” in Google & Bing /safari searches. ... it is in fact Vancouver 420 in Robson Square btwn Vancouver Art Gallery & BC Supreme Courts - taken a few years ago before it relocated to Sunset Beach ... I’d recommend you rectify this before the Vancouver 420 event organizers &/or its photographer files a copyright infringement against you. (Just sayin’ ) a bien tôt!
ReplyDeleteI don't really understand what you're saying when I didn't mislabel anything. I didn't say where it was taken and just used it to represent anywhere. But thank you anyway, I replaced the picture with another one...
Delete