Canada: Is Omission of Marijuana Reform in Budget a Stall Tactic?
The fact marijuana law reform was absent from the 2016 federal budget does not diminish Liberals’ stance on legalization, a top drug policy expert says.
Eugene Oscapella, a University of Ottawa criminal justice professor and lawyer who specializes in social policy development, says, in fact, that the omission of funding to regulate marijuana is actually a good thing given the government should be focused on a health-based approach, rather than viewing it as a major source of tax revenue.
“First you have to design the regulatory framework,” says Oscapella. “The provinces are going to have to get involved in this, and there are costs and benefits to each side.”
Former Toronto police chief Bill Blair, who is parliamentary press secretary to the Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, is charged with the job of creating a task force to study other jurisdictions where recreational marijuana use is legal. Because Blair has yet to announce...
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