Will the legalization of pot become an election issue? Stay tuned. We see a closeup of purple gloved hand reaching into the middle of a green marijuana pant.

Will the legalization of pot become an election issue? Stay tuned.
Photo Credit: cbc.ca

Conservative leader Stephen Harper ramps up Canada’s marijuana debate

Stephen Harper has turned up the heat in the long-running battle between people who support the legalization of marijuana and his Conservative Party.

Conservative leader Stephen Harper made a campaign stop at the Vancouver shipyards on Wednesday, a day after he announced an increase of funding for the RCMP to target marijuana grow-ups and meth labs. It's a good photo-op shot. We see Harper dressed in a dark suit, an ultra-white dress shirt and blue tie, which mostly hidden by a pair of microphones. He waves with his right hand as we view the city's skyline behind him.
Conservative leader Stephen Harper made a campaign stop at the Vancouver shipyards on Wednesday, a day after he announced an increase of funding for the RCMP to target marijuana grow-ups and meth labs. © CP Photo/Sean Kilpatrick

Legalization, Harper said on Tuesday is the “wrong direction for society.”

He also promised if he is re-elected prime minister that he would increase funding to help the RCMP target marijuana grow-ops and meth labs by 20 per cent.

Observers say he was doing two things: playing to his socially-conservative base and taking a swipe at Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, who favours legalizing marijuana.

The country remains divided on the issue, but Harper might be swimming up stream on this issue.

Last year an Ipsos-Reid public opinion poll for the Department of Justice found that about 37 per cent of Canadians believe marijuana should be legalized and 33 per cent said possession of small amounts of marijuana should be decriminalized with a fine.

That’s 70 per cent of the population who don’t back Harper’s hardline approach.

Gonzo Nieto is co-chair of a national alliance called the Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy. We see a young man in his 20s with close-cropped brown hair wearing a navy blue sports jacket and a jean-type shirt buttoned to the top of his neck. His head slightly tilted downwards, he looks at the camera from dark brown eyes and the hint of a beard.
Gonzo Nieto is co-chair of a national alliance called the Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy. © Courtesy: Gonzo Nieto

Other notable figures: about 14 per cent of those surveyed said marijuana laws should stay the same, and 12 per cent said marijuana penalties should increase.

Finally, 52.6 per cent said they believed marijuana use would “stay about the same” if legalized, while 38.4 per cent said it would increase.

For some perspective, RCI contacted Gonzo Nieto.

Nieto graduated last October from Montreal’s Concordia University with a degree in psychology & behavioural neuroscience.

He is co-chairman of  Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a nationwide alliance that lobbies for drug reform.

He spoke by phone from Montreal.

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