Much rides on pot policy
News that Justin Trudeau’s Liberals are preparing to table legislation to legalize pot next month have appeared, no doubt uncoincidentally, at a moment when the government’s progressive bona fides are under increasingly vigorous attack.
The old saw that Liberals run on the left and govern on the right seems to broadly apply to Trudeau’s party. Take its abandoned promise on electoral reform, its unambitious second budget, troubling delays on new transparency measures and tax-code changes, as well as a mixed record on indigenous reconciliation. It would be fair to say, at least, that the Liberals have disappointed a good number of left-leaning critics.
This, as one might expect, has given new energy to New Democrats. During Sunday’s NDP leadership debate, the candidates enumerated with relish a litany of broken or undelivered Liberal commitments, focusing on one promise in particular: the legalization of marijuana.
But now that complaint seems to have been neutralized. As first reported by CBC News, the government is planning to bring in legislation next month with the aim of legalizing pot by July 1 of next year.
This is welcome news. Some 70 per cent of Canadians support legalization and the evidence suggests that, if done right, it will do much more good than harm. Moreover, the longer it takes the government to act on its promise, the longer the current destructive confusion around pot laws will persist.
During their debate, NDP candidates excoriated the Liberals for continuing to support the enforcement of anti-pot laws even as Ottawa moves to legalize the substance. But once the government decided not to decriminalize marijuana in the interim, it’s not clear what choice it had. Pot is illegal until it isn’t, however awkward the intervening months.
Now that the government seems set actually to move on its promise, the challenge will be to get the details right. That is, to write laws that are enforceable, maximize the potential benefits and mitigate the risks.
Early signals are encouraging. It seems the legislation will generally follow the guidelines set out last year by a federal task force chaired by former justice minister Anne McLellan. These are by and large sensible.
The government, for instance, appears poised to set a national minimum age for buying and consuming cannabis at18. This would run counter to a recommendation from the Canadian Medical Association that the age limit be put at 21 to avoid damage to developing brains. But the lower limit is sound. The reality is that18 to 20 is the prime age for experimenting with pot. Banning these people from getting the drug legally would all but guarantee the continuation of a thriving black market and would do little to keep pot out of their hands.
That said, legalization does raise real public-health concerns. The government should take seriously the task force’s recommendations to redirect tax money toward public education and research on the drug’s health effects. It should also consider investing more in addiction services for young people, which are now scarce and underfunded.
By necessity, many key details, such as where marijuana will be sold and for how much, will be determined at the provincial level. It will be important for Ottawa to work with the provinces to ensure that lower governments, especially those opposed to legalization, do not undermine its benefits by, for instance, unduly limiting accessibility or setting overly restrictive age limits or prices.
The Liberal promise to legalize pot was among the party’s earliest appeals to young and progressive voters. More than a year after Trudeau’s election victory, many among this group have grown skeptical. For both country and party, Trudeau would be wise to move quickly on legalization — and to be careful to get it right.
The Liberals would be wise to move quickly and get it right