cannabisnews.com: Cauchon Admits He Smoked Pot





Cauchon Admits He Smoked Pot
Posted by CN Staff on July 17, 2002 at 07:43:32 PT
By Brian Laghi
Source: Globe and Mail 
Canada's top lawmaker admitted yesterday that he smoked pot in his youth and questioned the suitability of a possession law that can play havoc with an offender's employment. "Yes, of course," Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said yesterday when asked if he had ever smoked cannabis. "I'm 39 years old. I've been elected first when I was 31 years old and yes, of course I tried it before, obviously. 
"Mr. Cauchon raised the possibility earlier this week of decriminalizing possession of the drug, saying it is applied unevenly.Legal experts have said that, although few individuals continue to be punished with jail time, the stigma of a criminal record can close certain avenues of employment and make it difficult to travel to the United States.Asked if it is appropriate that being convicted of simple possession should limit a person's career, Mr. Cauchon said that was one reason MPs and senators have been asked to look at the issue."That's why actually there are two standing committees having a look at it and they will come forward with their own recommendations and conclusions."Mr. Cauchon, a lawyer, said he couldn't tell from his own experience whether smoking cannabis is harmful.Alan Young, a civil liberties lawyer, said that there are several ways in which being found guilty of possession can damage a person's future employment prospects.For example, a private moving company might refuse a job applicant work because a criminal record makes it difficult to bond a person. The federal government often asks prospective employees about criminal offences, he added.Travelling to the United States can also be difficult, Mr. Young said. In the late 1990s, for example, some U.S. border personnel began asking Canadian travellers whether they had ever smoked pot, in an effort to try to slow down importation of Canadian-grown pot, he said."If people were stupid enough to say yes, they were often barred."A spokesman for the Quebec Bar Association said the society punishes a lawyer only when it becomes clear an offence impedes his or her ability to do their job. That could cover a Crown lawyer prosecuting drug crimes, Léon Bédard said.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien told reporters that he has never smoked dope."When I was young the word marijuana did not exist," he said after emerging from a meeting of the federal cabinet. "I didn't know. I learned about the word long after that. It was too late to try it."Mr. Cauchon's decision to consider decriminalization was met with deep skepticism yesterday by representatives of Canadian police forces."We have to be clear that marijuana is a mind-altering drug," said Mike Niebudek, vice-president of the Canadian Police Association.Complete Title: Cauchon Admits He Smoked Pot; Questions Possession LawSource: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author: Brian LaghiPublished: Wednesday, July 17, 2002 – Print Edition, Page A3Copyright: 2002 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.ca/Related Articles & Web Site:Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmCauchon Might Relax Canada's Marijuana Laws http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13397.shtmlIn Canada, Marijuana Possession is Still Illegal http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13376.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by Naaps on July 17, 2002 at 09:53:05 PT
Coming of Age
”Yes, of course,” Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said yesterday when asked if he had ever smoked cannabis. “I’m 39 years old.”This is a political coming of age statement. Studies show - apart from whether someone is on the graft - that strong sentiment against reforming drug laws, particularly for cannabis, lies with older people and the religiously inclined. Older people are less likely to have experimented with cannabis, and are more likely to have been exposed to the propaganda before countering evidence surfaced.Martin Cauchon is the same age as me. Probably, he experimented with marijuana in University, though he hasn’t explained the exact circumstances. No doubt, he knows others who have continued to enjoy cannabis while moving on with their careers and establishing families. If our Justice Minister was the same age as the Prime Minister, the chances of his being warm to reform, despite the overwhelming evidence that the law doesn’t work, would be considerably less.The fact that Mr. Cauchon has first hand experience with Cannabis must influence his decision-making, I wonder what he thinks when rabid prohibitionists claim that it is a gateway drug, or that it dangerous, driving its users insane. Actually, I think that Mr. Cauchon’s previous use of pot is excellent, after all, there was that Canadian study showing that cannabis could increase intelligence, further it must make him consider the real motives, the bullshit, behind the various control freaks clamoring to keep it illegal.  The typical cannabis related article written a couple weeks ago, would have decried the spate of cannabis cultivation with plenty of cops injecting their propaganda. “It is a scourge. We need tougher laws, more power, more money.” Articles such as this are so refreshing. Note, that while a cop is given the opportunity to speak, it is placed at the end, and comes across as not particularly sharp. “We have to be clear that marijuana is a mind-altering drug." Now having said that, Mr. Canadian Police Association, go hide under a rock.
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