Instead of having MPs do the job we’re forced to pay them for, the Liberal government has decided to appoint a legalization task force consisting of mostly doctors and law enforcement.
A “task force” is a military term, also used in policing, which originates with the US Navy. Its use for civilian purposes only goes to show how militarized society has become.
The drug war has militarized police, fostered distrust in authority, and ruined the lives of millions of otherwise peaceful law-abiding citizens.
That the government is using the term “task force” and putting former Toronto police chief Bill Blair in charge of the legalization file is an indication that the war on drugs is far from over.
This is a task farce. The government already investigated cannabis 44 years ago, and a majority of Canadians support the decriminalization and legalization of the plant.
So what’s the point? Why not just remove cannabis from the criminal code, pardon nonviolent offenders, and give the provinces the responsibility on how best to govern the legal regime?
Because, this is the Liberal government. More power and bureaucracy are the answers to everything.
According to the government’s discussion paper, the objectives of the task farce include: keeping cannabis out of the hands of kids, keeping profits out of the hands of “organized crime”, shifting police resources from simple possession to trafficking and illegal production, prevent criminal record for simple possession (but again, not for selling and producing cannabis outside the regulatory framework), harsher penalties for driving under the influence, and promoting “public health” propaganda.
Cannabis is still considered a vice, a “scourge” as task farce leader Anne McLellan called it. Even to the point that the committee will look into capping THC.
The discussion paper reads, “Given the significant health risks, maximum THC limits could be set and high-potency products strictly prohibited.”
What health risks? No one has ever died from THC and the myth that it negatively impacts young people’s brain (beyond the point of repair) is unsubstantiated bullshit.
This legalization task farce accomplishes two goals.
One, it gives Canadians the illusion that the government is being careful and moderate with its legalization roll-out. Democracy appeals to short-term public relations, not what is in the best interests of everyone in the long-run.
Second, the task farce gives lobbyists opportunities to influence decisions and control the outcome. I’m sure the Cannabis Growers of Canada aren’t overtly excited about spending time, money and resources into influencing the opinions of men like Bill Blair.
But so it goes in this modern form of communism. If cannabis connoisseurs don’t get their voice heard, the licensed producers (LPs) will win out, because, obviously, the LPs are lobbying for their viewpoint that they should be the sole suppliers.
The longer legalization takes, the more time the LPs have to lobby and the more the cannabis community will become fractured based on petty differences and arguments over what legalization should look like.
Of course, factions aren’t necessarily bad, as it can be desirable to have a healthy array of opinions and beliefs, but when the opposition is well-funded and united, a divided community only plays into their agenda.