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what a disappointment...the federal NDP needs to talk about mental illness, but not in the context of criminalizing pot users.
Mulcair's policy is not the correct one. We should try to change this at the next convention.
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See Unionist's post at #84 above and good luck to you. Dana was well funded and had a great deal of support after doing out reach work as a member with other NDP members.
Legalized how? Regulated how? Taxed how? The how is really an important issue. I don't think a policy that blows the gates wide open and allows marijuana to be produced and sold like any other item complete with advertising and becoming a flavour-of-the-month at Tim Hortons will be very popular.
I think - hope? - Mulcair's learned the damage he can do by musing aloud on such matters. But as Unionist reminded us, the treatment of Dana Larsen speaks to some institutional hypocrisy that is not Mulcair's fault alone. The Liberals see a wedge on the left, and some at least mean to cynically exploit it. The NDP, and not just Mulcair, needs to rehabilitate its credibility here, and had better know it's not only the right thing but the politically smart thing to do.
I don't see what the problem is with Mulcair's position. Step 1 - immediately ditch all the Tory mandatory minimum sentences for possession of small quantities of cannabis, Step 2 - have a commission report on a comprehensive policy approach on ALL currently illegal drugs - many of which i think should stay illegal (ie: heroin, crystal meth etc...) and some others should be decriiminalized.
Its not as if it was EVER NDP policy in the first place that if we won power - within the first 100 days people would start being able to buy pot at their nearest convenience story...the current policy is very vague and more of a statement of principles than anything else. If NDP members didn't think Mulcair went far enough in supporting instant legalization of drugs - they were free to elect someone else as leader. We elected Mulcair and he now has our mandate to develop actionable drug policies
I think that its also a very positive sign that Mulcair has appointed Francoise Boivin as Justice critic and Craig Scott as her deputy critic. They are both people with very socially liberal views on justice issues.
We have been down this road before, everytime the NDP takes a position that falls short of instant legalization of absolutely all drugs - we hear these Cassandras warning that 100% of young people will drop the NDP like a hot potato (of course this also smacks of this ageist stereotype that all young people only care about being able to do drugs). We were warned that when the NDP made it clear that Dana Larsen was "persona non grata" at the Halifax convention in 2009 - the NDP would pay some huge price. We paid a price all right - 103 seats and more support among younger age cohorts than ever before.!
Thx Stockholm for your timely reminder that power is the ultimate goal.
The problem is not a vague policy on the issue it is that your leader spouted stupid MSM talking points instead of intelligent comments. If he had answered with something other than a foolish bogeyman no one would have noticed. He is the author of his own foot in mouth disease. Loose canons sink ships and he is the loose canon on this issue.
That comprehensive report you want was done by Ledain 40 years ago and we are still waiting for pot to be legal. Sorry for getting a little impatient to hear that the new King of the NDP thinks we need to go back to square one. In the meantime how many peoples lives will be ruined by being charged? How many people will die in the gang wars fueled by the War on Drugs?
Nothing to see there their lives are irrelevant in relation to the ultimate goal.
i think all the provinice should break up with one another; at this rate, our society is experiencing a complete break down where everyone is out for their own short tem interest.
Now get out your phone and tweet and text some more for unity...
No it doesn't. There's no doubt at all about pot being harmless, especially relative to a host of other legal drugs. Aspirin is much more dangerous. Anyone who intended to do this would just do it. Mulcair's just stalling because he doesn't want to muddy his waters with a volatile issue like this. Like electoral reform, this is the kind of thing that will never get off the ground without a lot of public pressure.
But we haven't been on the road to government before. I think Mulcair and the party need to be very careful about bait and switch messaging that could come with the huge price of alienating our already disinclined to vote supporters.
As well, it's infuriating to watch the Liberals potentially benefit by our misstep on this given their 40-years of foot dragging. I hope the lesson is learned, because Mulcair needs to protect his left flank as he projects the capital-calming image of "reliable manager."
And as a reminder of where that "relaible manager" narrative can lead you in steps alond the road: NS NDP Chooses Austerity Management as its Agenda
...and further in that same vein...
CFL