Spadework done for legalizing marijuana: industry experts

OTTAWA — As Justin Trudeau prepares to tackle the politics of legalizing pot as part of his Liberal government’s legislative agenda, industry experts say he will have access to a world-class marijuana framework set up under the Conservative government.

Chuck Rifici, co-founder of Canada’s first publicly traded marijuana manufacturer, said a renowned production and distribution system has been established under the medicinal umbrella.

Rifici — also a volunteer chief financial officer for the Liberal party’s national board of directors — credits Stephen Harper for the country’s expansive marijuana infrastructure.

“I’m sure it’s not something he would like to have on his resumé, but I think only a Conservative government could have created MMPR [Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations],” he said. “I think if another government had been in power the Conservative base would have been up in arms …

“Obviously, the courts have forced them along the way, but they’ve put in a very robust … system.”

In 2013, the Conservative government announced Health Canada would no longer produce pot for patients — a decision that sparked the creation of commercial industry for medical marijuana.

Trudeau’s Liberals have promised to legalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana.

“Canada’s current system of marijuana prohibition does not work,” the Liberal election platform said.

“We will remove marijuana consumption and incidental possession from the Criminal Code and create new, stronger laws to punish more severely those who provide it to minors, those who operate a motor vehicle while under its influence and those who sell it outside of the new regulatory framework.”

The first step in the path to legalization will be to establish a provincial, territorial and federal task force to hear from public health, substance-abuse and public-safety experts.

Donald MacPherson, the director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, said Canada is well-positioned to tackle this issue.

There has been a vigorous discussion underway in the academic and public health community for the past decade because many believed legalization was inevitable, he added.

MacPherson said he would like to see the Liberal government move forward on this undertaking early in its four year term — though “that doesn’t mean rushing it.”

Recreational marijuana is now legal in five American jurisdictions: Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, Washington state and Washington, D.C.