Will We Have to Wait Longer for Marijuana to Be Legalized? 18SEP17

THIS is a question being debated on both sides  of the U.S.-Canadian border. At least in the U.S. we know this will not happen until tobacco and alcohol companies and the federal politicians they control get the details worked out so these companies are able to control the marijuana market so they can maximize their profits. Legalization of marijuana in Canada is supposed to take place sometime in the summer of 2018, the arguments now are power plays between the federal and provincial governments. From Montreal Simon.....

Will We Have to Wait Longer for Marijuana to Be Legalized?

 

We've been talking about legalizing marijuana in this country for about fifty years, since the Le Dain Commission delivered its report. 

Which was completely ignored, as was another report produced by the Senate.

So I'm glad that our next Canada Day is also supposed to be Cannabis Day, the day the insane War on Weed finally ends. 

But as that day approaches, those who would like that war to continue are becoming more and more vocal.

There is a touch of reefer madness in the air. Again.

 

And this is disturbing.

Canada's police services say there is zero chance they will be ready to enforce new laws for legalized pot by next summer.

They said Tuesday they need more time to properly train officers about the new laws and more than double the number of police officers who are certified to conduct roadside drug impaired driving testing. There also needs to be more time for public education, the police said.​

So is this.

The police request for a delay comes after Canada's premiers warned the federal government in June that they may not be ready with provincial laws and regulations to accompany the federal bill by next summer. 

And with Andrew Scheer vowing to vote against legalization, claiming that the government’s "artificial deadline" is rushing a major shift in Canadian society.

As only he could...

 

Or as only his Cons could...

 

In their never-ending attempts to try to destroy Justin Trudeau.

One really has to wonder whether those prohibitionists will succeed in kicking the cannabis can down the road.

Which is a real problem, because we've already waited long enough to end that madness.

And we do need a deadline.

The legalization of marijuana has been debated in Canadian politics since the 1970s and studied by task forces and committees for decades. It has been official government policy for two years. There are still 10 months before it is slated to be legal in July. Sure, there are significant details to work out – but this is not Mission: Impossible.

It's one thing for the provinces and police to say they haven't yet got all the details of the legislation. But the plan to legalize marijuana has been coming at them in slow motion through consultations and a task force led by former justice minister Anne McLellan.

If there was no deadline, the details would keep being troublesome, and unresolved, for years.

There is absolutely no evidence that legalization will lead to a huge increase in the number of Canadians using marijuana, since those who do so can already obtain it from dealers all over the country.

 

And the only difference legalization will bring, is that those Canadians will no longer have to feel like or be treated like criminals, for consuming a drug that is measurably safer than alcohol.

In a country that is sodden with booze, and where the greatest drug threat to young Canadians is not marijuana... 

 

It's binge drinking.

Or opioid use.

Or the possibility of being busted, and being sent to jail, or getting a criminal record that will haunt them for the rest of their lives, for absolutely no reason.

 

Millions of Canadians of all ages have already been victimized by the insane war on marijuana, and enough is enough.

The premiers and the police need to get their act together.

And end this reefer madness once and for all...