Canada: Feds Unveil Anti-drug Campaign

[Jim Finnel]

The launch of a new anti-drug campaign by the federal government took a decidedly partisan turn yesterday when Conservative MP Shelly Glover suggested that Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff finds it acceptable for youth to smoke marijuana.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq and Glover were announcing a new television and social media advertising campaign aimed at teenagers and Glover took the opportunity to make a jab at Ignatieff.

"It's very disturbing as a parent, and as a police officer for almost 19 years, to hear the opposition, in fact the Liberal leader, say to our children that it is OK to take marijuana in small doses," the Manitoba MP said during her prepared remarks. She repeated her comment in French. When she was asked by the media to explain what she meant, and if Ignatieff has ever actually said to children that he has no problem with them doing drugs, Glover read a quote from Ignatieff where he said he supports the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana and that he doesn't comment on the "personal lifestyle choices" of his friends or colleagues.

"That tells my children that a leader in our country is OK if they're carrying small amounts of marijuana, it's OK if his colleagues are personally using, when the laws in this country clearly say it is illegal," Glover said.

Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe has also expressed support for changes to marijuana laws, Glover said.

"My children need to hear the message very clearly from all leaders, from all government officials that marijuana use, simple possession of marijuana is illegal and there are consequences. The biggest consequences to them is the destruction of their lives," said Glover.

Ignatieff's office said Glover took the leader's quote out of context and omitted the last line of it where he said he does not want to legalize marijuana. The Liberal party's current position is that it would consider, but has not committed to, re-introducing an old Liberal bill that would eliminate criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana and would instead introduce fines.

Liberal justice critic Marlene Jennings said the party doesn't support people using illegal drugs, but recognizes that people don't always follow the laws, and the Liberals don't believe a young person in particular should carry a criminal record for the rest of their lives, possibly preventing them from entering the United States or pursuing careers, if they are caught with a small amount of a "soft" drug.

Jennings said police agencies back that position and agree their time is better spent going after major grow ops and organized crime than teenagers with a joint. The Liberal party's position is not the same thing as condoning the use of drugs by young people, Jennings said.


NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Pubdate: Thu, 18 Nov 2010
Source: Times & Transcript (Moncton, CN NK)
Copyright: 2010 New Brunswick Publishing Company
Contact: timestranscript.com - Contact - Breaking News, New Brunswick, Canada
Website: timestranscript.com - Breaking News, New Brunswick, Canada
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[Gothmog]

Won't somebody think of the children! :rolling my eyes:

 

[Jim Finnel]

..take the profits away from the criminals by letting people grow their own supply and leave us be.

but that would involve taking away profits from big pharma, logging, paper, building materials, big oil, the prison/leo industrial complex, and on and on and on, etc. etc.

 

[Jim Finnel]

I would like to agree with you but....1. the pharmacutical companies dont use any of it as a med or a base and the Gov't has already given ok as a homegrown med, so pharmacutical co's have nothing to say...

they could.
one thing leads to another
if your talking pharma you involve othe hemp related industries. one example would be the plastics industry. could off set with good recycling though.

2. Teach the logging/paper/building supply industry to grow and harvest pulp quality hemp then they could still make their profits.

old dog new trick syndrome
people tend to cling to their old ideas until forced into it by cultural pressures. when we want it enough we will have it. The sooner older generations depart us for whatever, newer ideas will move forward. But by doing it that way things never happen until a couple decades to late. But thats how it looks to me after 56 years. The majority of my generation and the one before it, at least those who got it have changed. Probably has a lot to do with kids & grandkids, mortgages etc.

3.Oil from hemp is just veggy oil which is already being used as fuel/lubricant etc so not much extra competition anyways.

Ok, lets take corn for example, it takes more energy to produce corn oil than it creates.

4. Leo's jobs now thats the big kicker isnt it? who of you would want to lose their job.
how many people earn a living on the "war on marijuana"
how many budgets are financed by the budgets for the "war on marijuana"
how big could the fight against other crimes be if they didnt fight the "war on marijuana"?

from the oval office to the lowest paid prison worker, quite a bit I'd say

control/money/power/greed

speaking about class warfare, it would be to off topic but I'll mention it due the incarceration statistics, those so-called lower classes are the majority of victims of the war against Canabis users, no pun intended.

As long as class warfare is in the realm of Cannabis or hemp it can be discussed.