MPs have gone to pot on this one

Dear editor: Just before federal MPs departed Ottawa’s parliament for home turf — to participate in endless rounds of rubber chicken barbecues, some to protest pipelines, others to march in Pride Parades — they passed Bill C-45 to legalize recreational marijuana, taking effect on Oct. 17.

Probably there’s a legislative reason why that date was chosen, but my BFF Mr. Google supplied a host of other celebrations on that same day.

They include National Mulligan Day, when we can give ourselves a second chance; National Pasta Day, when we can forget about dieting; National Hagfish Day, when we are urged to look for beauty in even the ugliest of specimens; National Edge Day, for those of the Straight Edge Movement to renew their pledge to refrain from alcohol, tobacco and recreational drugs.

Oct. 17 has far too many other special interest groups listed to mention here, and really have no idea how many Canadians are caught up with these kind of celebrations.

Used to be only Mother’s and Father’s Days that were reasons to purchase Hallmark cards, now it’s every day of the year.

For example, I always knew June 21 as the Summer Solstice with the longest day and shortest night, but recently learned that it’s also Indigenous People Day, International Yoga Day, World Music Day and National Selfie Day, among many others.

With the federal election due just one year after recreational pot becomes legal, our Liberal government will be bending over backwards to accommodate as many special interest voters as possible. Who knows, after the MPs return to duty on Sept. 17, they may consider adding some more days to the year, with the Gregorian calendar becoming a Justinian calendar, perchance.

They certainly need every extra day they can get to sort out all the ramifications arising from Bill C-45, even though it has been in the works for three whole years.

With the price of legalized bud at over $10 a gram, the government’s drug dealers will need extra time to compete with the wellestablished illegal pushers whose price is below $7 per gram.

Vehicle safety rules and roadside sobriety testing for driving while under cannabis impairment are still up in the air, despite years of discussions between municipalities, provinces and Ottawa.

Then there’s so many former politicians wanting to get their irons in the fire by mass-producing legal weed, and return to slurp from the government’s trough —surprise, surprise — while these questions go unanswered about many basic regulations regarding distribution and sales.

Very little has been clarified, the powersthat-be seem so relaxed and lost in a haze of smoke and mirrors, chances are they have all become so lethargic after sampling the product before it becomes legal.