Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s mother, Margaret Trudeau, gave the keynote speech at a catholic high school last Saturday in which she talked about the regulating of cannabis, among other things. The issue of cannabis legalization is a hot one, as her son has promised to legalize cannabis and more recently said that this will be happening in the not too distant future.
The potential damage to a young person’s brain is a major concern for her regarding legalization, and why she thinks it should be regulated. “This is one of the reasons why we really have to get hold of marijuana and regulate it. All evidence shows that children under the age of 18 should not smoke marijuana. It’s very bad for the development of their brain. After 18, go ahead!” she said to the crowd which laughed at the last remark.
Her speech covered many topics, including her own fight against mental illness which lasted several decades. She says that she took to cannabis very naturally in the late 60’s, in an attempt to treat her own un-diagnosed bipolar disorder. “It was the beginning of my self-medicating my little brain. I didn’t know what depression was, I didn’t know about mania. I knew very little at that time,” Trudeau said.
She told stories of her escapades in the 70’s, which were very stressful due to the combination of being a Prime Minister’s wife and having bipolar disorder. This included her infamous encounter with The Rolling Stones. She claims that she has beaten the illness after years of intensive therapy, and ended the speech on a positive note.