By Jamie Barrie P rime Minister Justin Trudeau is meeting Canadians face to face holding a series of town hall style public meetings across Canada. In what can only be charac- terized as a vast departure from the Harper era, Trudeau’s public forums are all inclusive. As witnessed at the first event in Lower Sackville NS, there was no pre-registration to identify subversives, questions were not vetted, and the audience was as politically diverse as they get. In a bold move, screaming protesters from outside were permitted into the venue. They were given seats placing them in front of national and regional media in attendance. Trudeau not only acknowledged them for a question, but answered with compassion and respect while standing firm on policy. It’s a new day in Canadian politics. One of the anticipated topics was the legalization of recre- ational marijuana in Canada which under Bill C-45 is sched- uled to takeplace this July. The PrimeMinister was challenged on the government decision to ignore medical advice from the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) that 18 years old is too young to be the minimum age to purchase the drug. The CMA suggests 21-25 years-old as a better limit. The man asking the question suggested doctors believe the brain of an 18-year- old is subject to acute damage from regular marijuana use and that inhaling any smoke is bad for a developing respiratory system. Additionally, the speaker asserted, provinces choosing the lower age will open the doors to some students having the legal right to purchase drugs and increase their prevalence in high schools. The questionmet significant applause. There aremany, includ- ing Liberals, who feel the move is a bad one. The case has not been well explained in the media and Trudeau has been accused of trying to win votes with younger Canadians by legalizing drugs. The PM’s answer on this question appeared to settle the debate once and for all for those in the room that were still questioning the wisdom of the initiative. Shockingly Trudeau said he agreed with all the scientific evidence the gentleman quoted from the CMA and that he too wants to keep marijuana out of the hands of young people. He then pointed out as a society we have failed to do this emphasizing that marijuana is in our schools now and young people have easy access to it. Trudeau noted that his information suggests it is easier for young people to get their hands on “pot” than it is beer. He noted beer requires an ID to purchase because there is no black market like the one that exists for marijuana.
people because it would be too high to disrupt what is already happening with people younger than that. His theory is that “pushers” don’t ask for ID to sell and they will do business with just about anyone. By lowering the legal age, you eliminate the number of potential customers who rely on black market drugs as their supply. The PM believes the less sources there are to buy black market marijuana, the harder it will be for young people to purchase it illegally. Trudeau went on to say that despite what people think and hear he is personally not a fan of marijuana or legalizing it. Jokingly he added he is not a fan of coffee either but banning it would get him kicked out of Ottawa within a month. He said he recognizes the need to try something different in protecting the very young from getting their hands-on drugs. While at the same time ensuring that those who do use marijuana have assurances what they are smoking is safe and coming from a government controlled source. The Prime Minister stated regulation like alcohol is a far better model than ignoring what is happening today with marijua- na. Black market sellers dealing to anyone and funnelling all the profits to organized crime needs to end in his opinion. According to Trudeau the illegal marijuana trade is a multi-bil- lion- dollar cash cow for crime groups in Canada. In the new regulatory model, the federal and provincial governments will receive the profits versus street gangs, bikers and other orga- nized crime groups.
The PM added using a minimum age of 21 or higher would have no impact on keeping marijuana away from young
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JANUARY 2018 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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