Marijuana seems to be on the collective Canadian mind lately as yet another high-ranking official announced that they are not only for marijuana legalization but that they’ve smoked it themselves. These admissions have caused quite the stir.
Shocking, I know. But keep in mind this is quaint, polite, rule-abiding Canada we’re talking about here.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford yesterday became the latest politician to admit to some canuk cannabis use. “Oh yeah, I won’t deny that,” Ford said with a laugh to reporters. “I’ve smoked a lot of it.”
Ford is the second politician this week to admit to cannabis use after Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne admitted that she smoked “very, very infrequently” and hadn’t had a toke in about 35 years. “It’s never been a big part of my life,” she told reporters earlier this week.
This all comes on the heels of Liberal party leader Justin Trudeau admitting that he has smoked cannabis not only in the past, but since he’s been elected into office in 2008. He told the Huffington Post August 22 that he has smoked cannabis a handful of times in his life, most recently about three years ago at a dinner party.
“We had a few good friends over for a dinner party, our kids were at their grandmother’s for the night, and one of our friends lit a joint and passed it around. I had a puff,” he told the news outlet. Trudeau says his admission is part of a new campaign of transparency for Canadian liberals.
Trudeau last month came out in favor of legalizing cannabis altogether at a rally in British Columbia. “I’m actually not in favor of decriminalizing cannabis – I’m in favor of legalizing it,” Trudeau said according to the Huffington Post. “Tax and regulate. It’s one of the only ways to keep it out of the hands of our kids because the current war on drugs… isn’t working.”
Of course, not everyone is as pleased with the open discussion on cannabis use in Canada.
“By flouting the laws of Canada while holding elected office, he shows he is a poor example for all Canadians, particularly young ones. Justin Trudeau is simply not the kind of leader our country needs,” Justice Minister Peter MacKay said in a statement last week.
However, Canada clearly disagrees. A 2012 poll showed that about 66 percent of the country would be in favor of decriminalization measures.
