Canada’s Liberal Party Votes Yes To Legalizing Marijuana

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Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

​Liberal Party members in Canada voted Sunday morning to make the legalization of marijuana official party policy.

The Liberals are attempting to find a new direction and policies that will resonate with Canadians and help pull it back from the brink, report Lee Berthiaume and Jason Fekete at the National Post.
On Saturday night, delegates at the party’s biennial convention in Ottawa voted to open the party to outsiders by creating a new, free category of membership. They are hoping to revolutionize Canadian politics and help rebuild the Liberal Party.

Debate over cannabis legalization was reportedly contentious, but 77 percent of delegates ending up voting in favor.
Samuel Lavoie, president of the Young Liberals of Canada, said he was excited to see the “overwhelming” support from members to legalize marijuana, but said he wasn’t sure it would get into the party’s national election platform.
“There is no doubt that there’s a strong will from the membership to have this part of our election platform,” Lavoie said. “As to whether it will be a platform commitment in 2015, we will see.”
Lavoie said he realized the federal leader could keep the marijuana resolution from being included in the platform and that some members “have concerns” with it, but he said he hoped the party will follow the will of its members.
“The next election is four years down the road, so there’s lots of room for debate,” he said. “It will be difficult for anyone to just ignore the result and the will of the membership.”
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