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blogcutterSaturday, April 20 (4/20 in US-style notation) at 4:20 PM, a rally was held on Parliament Hill in favour of legalizing cannabis for non-medicinal purposes. I actually find it almost unfathomable that, more than forty years since we first addressed the matter, this is still an issue at all.
My awareness of the issue began with the LeDain Commission. I remember going up to the Hill with my friends to actually demonstrate in FAVOUR of something - the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs. LeDain was considered to be a rather conservative judge in most respects, but with regard to his views on marijuana, he definitely had the youth of the day on his side. Here is a quote from the majority report of that Commission:
The costs to a significant number of individuals, the majority of whom are young people, and to society generally, of a policy of prohibition of simple posssession are not justified by the potential for harm of cannabis and the additional influence which such a policy is likely to have upon perception of harm, demand and availability. We therefore recommend the repeal of the prohibition against the simple possession of cannabis.
If the sale of cannabis were to be all legal and above board, its quality and consistency would be easier to test and guarantee. Studies would be commissioned to test the safety (or not) of cannabis for pregnant and nursing women and the extent to which driving or performing other tasks under the influence should be allowed. And a note to Stephen Harper who seems so gung-ho on his "tough on crime" agenda: this would free up police resources to chase down all those murderers and terrorists out there! Isn't that a win-win situation for folks of all political stripes?
If cannabis does get legalized, it will be interesting to see what the marketing model looks like. Will there be Cannabis Control Board retail outlets? Will we initially have to fill in little forms to get our fix, just as was the case at LCBO stores in the olden days? Or will we go the route of tobacco retailing and marketing, insisting that fortresses be built around cannabis displays and gory pictures be put on the packets so that folks under 18 or 19 don't get exposed to and led into temptation but are delivered from evil?
We shall see!
My awareness of the issue began with the LeDain Commission. I remember going up to the Hill with my friends to actually demonstrate in FAVOUR of something - the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs. LeDain was considered to be a rather conservative judge in most respects, but with regard to his views on marijuana, he definitely had the youth of the day on his side. Here is a quote from the majority report of that Commission:
The costs to a significant number of individuals, the majority of whom are young people, and to society generally, of a policy of prohibition of simple posssession are not justified by the potential for harm of cannabis and the additional influence which such a policy is likely to have upon perception of harm, demand and availability. We therefore recommend the repeal of the prohibition against the simple possession of cannabis.
If the sale of cannabis were to be all legal and above board, its quality and consistency would be easier to test and guarantee. Studies would be commissioned to test the safety (or not) of cannabis for pregnant and nursing women and the extent to which driving or performing other tasks under the influence should be allowed. And a note to Stephen Harper who seems so gung-ho on his "tough on crime" agenda: this would free up police resources to chase down all those murderers and terrorists out there! Isn't that a win-win situation for folks of all political stripes?
If cannabis does get legalized, it will be interesting to see what the marketing model looks like. Will there be Cannabis Control Board retail outlets? Will we initially have to fill in little forms to get our fix, just as was the case at LCBO stores in the olden days? Or will we go the route of tobacco retailing and marketing, insisting that fortresses be built around cannabis displays and gory pictures be put on the packets so that folks under 18 or 19 don't get exposed to and led into temptation but are delivered from evil?
We shall see!
