cannabisnews.com: Young Liberals Plan Debate on Pot





Young Liberals Plan Debate on Pot
Posted by FoM on August 08, 2001 at 11:50:20 PT
By Kevin Dougherty, The Gazette
Source: Montreal Gazette
The legalizing of marijuana will be debated this weekend at the annual convention of the Quebec Liberal Party's youth wing. "We have a lot of questions," Isabelle Merizzi, president of the Liberal youth wing, told reporters yesterday. "I hope we get answers." Merizzi noted that legalization of marijuana was proposed last year as well, but was not debated. This year party members from Pointe-aux-Trembles, an east-end Montreal riding, have raised the issue once more and have also proposed legalizing prostitution. 
The resolution on prostitution, which is less likely to be debated, calls for allowing the sex trade in designated brothels, while cracking down more severely on street prostitution. "We will invite the young people from Pointe-aux-Trembles to explain their position," Merizzi said, referring to the marijuana resolution. "I have many, many questions." Merizzi would not state her position on the legalization issue, but did note that the Bloc Pot, a fringe party favouring decriminalizing marijuana, has attracted interest among young voters. The Pointe-aux-Trembles resolution calls for decriminalizing cannabis solely for use in private places by people 18 years and older. Potential Tax Source It notes that keeping drugs illegal leads to "dangerous problems of criminality" and suggests that government control of sales and production would increase the quality of marijuana sold, while boosting government tax revenues. The resolution also argues that while tobacco is legal, it is "much more dangerous to health than marijuana," which has therapeutic value. In a recent poll conducted by Leger Marketing, close to 53 per cent of Quebecers said they favour legalization of marijuana. Marijuana is already available in Canada as a prescription pain-reliever in cases where conventional alternatives are ineffective, and the federal government has authorized a medicinal marijuana-growing operation in Flin Flon, Man. Police forces across the country are vocally opposed to legalization, but committees of the Senate and House of Commons in Ottawa are studying such a possibility. While the marijuana debate is likely to be the focus of media attention at the weekend gathering, the official schedule of convention business calls for dealing with the phenomenon of globalization. Merizzi said the Quebec government should become a more active participant in international decision-making, both in areas within provincial jurisdiction and beyond. New Foreign-Relations Deal A resolution calls for negotiating an agreement with the federal government to define Quebec's international role, and argues that the province should do more internationally to defend and promote Quebec's cultural diversity and the French fact in North America. The young Liberals also suggested that Quebec's foreign-relations budget be increased and don't see why the premier of the province should have to seek permission from Ottawa to meet with foreign heads of state. "I think it is important that the premier can see who he wants to, without permission from the Canadian government," Merizzi said. Last year, the young Liberals proposed that the teaching of English begin in Quebec's French-language schools from the first grade. This year, while maintaining that position, the young Liberals will be asked to approve a resolution affirming that Bill 101 has been useful and should be maintained, but rejecting the position advocated by PQ hard-liners that the children of immigrants to Quebec should be streamed into French CEGEPs or junior colleges. Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)Author: Kevin Dougherty, The GazettePublished: Wednesday, August 8, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc.Contact: letters thegazette.southam.caWebsite: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmIt's Time Feds Woke Up and Inhaled The Aroma http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10550.shtmlDeep In The Ground Lies The Marijuana Farm http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10509.shtmlCannabisNews Articles - Canadahttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=canada 
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Comment #1 posted by reality on August 08, 2001 at 22:46:16 PT:
critical mass
If 53 percent of the voters want legalization isn't that saying something? You know if they had a vote who the most energized side would be. The war is lost. Warshington is spending money on some lost ideology that no one can recall. Legalize MJ and try to fix something that really needs fixing. How about breaking up every corporation with a market capitalization of a trillion dollars? There is another war that you could fight for the next 25 years or are the multinationals just to powerful to even start with?Or how about changing Martin Luther King Day to Peace Day or Christmas to Love Day or Easter to Reflection Day. There is a war in there somewhere you could win.The laws are the problem and not the substance. Good grief already.ALL WE ARE SAYING IS GIVE GRASS A CHANCE.
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