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‘It’s a Pandora’s box’: MP Ritz on pot legislation

May 2, 2017 | 10:09 AM

Battlefords-Lloydminster member of Parliament Gerry Ritz thinks the federal Liberal government is “going to pot” when it comes to the new marijuana legislation.

In April, the Trudeau government announced it would table legislation to legalize the drug in Canada. The tabled bill from Ottawa will set the minimum age requirement to buy marijuana at 18 however provinces and territories will have the option to set individual age limits.

For Canadians who want to grow their own stash, each household will be permitted to have up to four plants.

While the move is a progressive one, Ritz as a member of the opposition, sees it as a step backward when it comes to safety or housing.

“It’s like opening a Pandora’s Box and that once it is open you will never get it closed again,” Ritz said. “Colorado is proving that with domestic violence and crime on the rise plus children on playgrounds as young as 10 years old are being approached to buy drugs. It’s not been a success story by any stretch of the imagination.”

Ritz said there are so many concerns for legalizing marijuana that the Liberals are not taking into consideration.

“I’m concerned for people like landlords who have apartments or condos for rent,” Ritz added. “Now tenants can have up to four plants a meter tall in their apartment and you can have 30 grams in your possession. I can see huge issues here.”

He also questioned the government’s consideration to allow teens as young as 14 to possess marijuana. 

“If you are under 18, even as young as 14, you will be allowed to have five grams of marijuana on you,” Ritz said. “Think of it, to say to someone as young as 14 to go out at recess to get high. When has this ever made sense?”

The long-serving MP said he feels the government is moving too fast on the controversial legislation and argues little consultation was done.

“Medical professionals have said that they should keep the age limit at 25, not at 18 because the brain is still developing at this stage in life,” Ritz said. “But again there was very little consultation done.”

The government has announced that the legislation would legalize marijuana across Canada by July 1, 2018.

“It’s the first campaign promise the government intends to honour,” Ritz stated. “Pot should not be a priority, in fact, it’s a promise I’d like to see go up in smoke.”

 

roger.white@jpbg.ca

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