Peace River-Westlock MP Arnold Viersen says the Liberal government’s plan to legalize marijuana is a half-baked scheme.
In an April 19 press release, Viersen said Bill C-46, the legislation for legalization of marijuana, does not address the harms of the drug’s use and challenged the fed’s claim it was necessary to push forward.
“They say Canada’s youth are smoking more pot than ever and this isn’t even true,” he said, citing a statistic from the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse, that found that marijuana usage by youth aged 15 to 24 had dropped from 33 per cent last year to 24 per cent.
“It is a half-baked pot plan and makes no sense to me. The programs we had in place before this were working and all of a sudden, the Liberal government wants to reverse all of that progress?
“They are pushing legalization through with no consideration of the serious health risks that include respiratory effects, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, psychosis and addiction. I’m against it certainly.”
Viersen said the Conservatives will continue to fight legalization, which is now in its second reading.
“Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tabled the new bill and repeated his claim that he wants to keep pot out of the hands of children, but really, it is just a promise made to the users.
“How will the issue of roadside testing be addressed? To my knowledge, the police don’t have a device ready to do that.”
The new legislation allows police to issue tickets for possession of over 30 grams of marijuana and administer saliva tests if they suspect a driver of being high. Grounds for requiring a test would include red or glazed over eyes, or the vehicle smelling of pot.
The penalty for selling marijuana outside of the regulatory framework can be to up to 14 years. The bill also increases the penalty for providing minors with pot to a prison term up to 14 years.
Youth caught with five grams of marijuana or less would no longer be criminally prosecuted. The minimum age to legally smoke a joint will be set at 18, with provinces having the option to choose a higher age limit.
Users will be permitted to grow a maximum of four plants up to a metre in height, or purchase pot from a licensed seller.
Cannabis was made illegal on April 23, 1923 during a late-night session of the House of Commons. While popular opinion on the drug at the time was heavily shaped by a book called The Black Candle by women’s suffragist and police magistrate Emily Murphy, who claimed that marijuana use among immigrants was a direct threat to white women, the actual legislation was the result of pressure from the League of Nations which had launched an international drug control effort.
Canada legalized medical marijuana in 2001. The Supreme Court of Canada expanded the definition of medical cannabis to include edibles, tinctures and oils in addition to inhaling the drug in 2015.
According to Statistics Canada, cannabis possession accounts for over half of all police reported drug offenses and drug-related court cases. Fifty-two per cent of those court cases result in a guilty plea and half of those resulting in prison sentences. Jail time for cannabis possession tends to range between one to 30 days.
There are no recorded cases of marijuana causing a fatal drug overdose.
