Trudeau urges legalization of marijuana
Federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says he’d like to go beyond pushing for decriminalizing cannabis and legalize it altogether. Speaking in Kelowna this week, Trudeau said the current war on drugs isn’t working.
“Tax it, regulate. It’s one of the few ways to keep it out of the hands of our children,” he said in a video clip posted on YouTube.
KELOWNA, B.C. — Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who has already called for the decriminalization of marijuana, this week said he would like to see it legalized altogether.
Speaking in Kelowna, he told a crowd, “I’m actually not in favour of decriminalizing cannabis. I’m in favour of legalizing it.
“Tax it, regulate. It’s one of the few 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.”
The Liberal leader’s comments, captured in a brief YouTube video clip, appear to take his party farther than it has gone so far on the issue of drug legalization.
The party’s website says, based on a resolution last year from the British Columbia Young Liberals, “Liber- als understand the need to consider ending the prohibition of marijuana and addressing the root causes of crime to see real results.”
That resolution appears under the heading “Smart on Crime and Cannabis.”
In November, the Charlottetown Guardian reported remarks Trudeau made at a Prince Edward Island high school, in which he said he was a “huge fan of decriminalization” of pot.
According to the Guardian, he said, “I think we have to recognize first and foremost that the war on drugs, as it exists right now, doesn’t work.”
In that appearance, Trudeau also emphasized, however, some of the negative effects marijuana might have on the brain. “We have to be mindful of the message that we’re sending, about what’s OK and what’s not OK, because we’re trying to get people to live healthier lives,” The Guardian quoted him as saying.