Justin Trudeau picks Bill Blair to lead marijuana legalization reform

OTTAWA — Former Toronto police Chief Bill Blair will help lead the Liberal efforts to legalize marijuana.

Blair, who made the leap from policing to politics last year, has been tapped to help Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to make good on an election pledge to reform current marijuana laws, which the Liberals argue don't work because too many Canadians wind up with a criminal record for possessing only small amounts of the drug.

The party's election platform spelled out the commitment to loosen the laws. "We will remove marijuana consumption and incidental possession from the Criminal code and create new stronger laws to punish more severely those who provide it to minors, those who operate a motor vehicle while under its influence, and those who sell it outside of the new regulatory framework," the platform said.

The Liberals promised to create a federal-provincial task force to study the issue and...

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