Canada PoliticsJustin Trudeau defends his summer of pot talk
The Conservative party's latest narrative about Justin Trudeau is that he was foolish to spend his summer talking about legalizing pot.
"His decision to put his ill advised marijuana policy two years ahead of any economic policy is just more proof that he lacks the judgement to be Prime Minister and is in over his head," the party wrote in an email to supporters a couple of weeks ago.
[ Related: Tories slam Justin Trudeau over vague policies and support for marijuana ]
Well the Liberal leader is making no apologies.
On CTV's Question Period, Trudeau said that it is an issue that's important to Canadians.
"Canadians are concerned about the $500 million a year we spend on needlessly prosecuting and going after pot users. Canadians are concerned about the 475,000 people who now have criminal records in the past eight years since Mr. Harper has taken power.
They're also concerned about our teenagers who have easier access to pot than they do to alcohol. There are also concerns about the money and the billions of dollars being funneled into criminal organization through this current prohibition."
Question Period host Robert Fife also asked Trudeau about a report, from last week, that suggested that he could have trouble entering the United States because of his admission to smoking marijuana.
[Related: Could Justin Trudeau be barred from entering the U.S. for pot admission? ]
One U.S. immigration lawyer told Yahoo! Canada News that there's a very real possibility that Trudeau could be denied entry.
"If [Trudeau] was to be questioned [at U.S. customs] and...admitted to the essential elements of this offence that would constitute of a violation of a law relating to a controlled substance and that would be problematic for him," Fadi Minawi of Niren and Associates said.
"We have dealt with people who are barred for life from the US for previous drug use upon being questioned – this happens more frequently than many people believe."
But Trudeau says he's not concerned about that.
"I think that that highlights the absurdity of the existing laws," he told Fife.
"And if that is indeed the case I will be in good company with just about every other political figure who has...in the past weeks admitted to pot at one point in their lives."
The full CTV interview with Trudeau — where he also talks about Syria and Quebec's Values Charter — can be seen here.
[ Related: New poll suggests Canadians still unsure about Justin Trudeau’s competency ]
Whether Trudeau's pot talk will buoy him or hurt him at the polls in 2015 remains to be seen.
While he's seen a jump in the opinion polls, Abacus Data pollster David Coletto says that legalizing marijuana just isn't a ballot box issue.
"Young Canadians are worried about far more personal issues in their lives like finding a good job, paying off their student loans, and affording their first house," Coletto recently told Yahoo! News.
"In a survey we did in October 2012, only 4 per cent of Millennials aged 18 to 30 we surveyed ranked decriminalization of marijuana as one of the most important issues facing youth today in Canada. Finding a job, student debt, and affordable housing were far more likely to be ranked as top issues."
Coletto's assertion was supported by a Nanos Research poll last week where only six people out of 1,000 said that marijuana was the "top national issue of concern."
Incidentally, the economy was the number one top concern and senate scandals were number two.
Maybe Trudeau was foolish to 'waste' his summer talking pot while remaining silent about the economy and the senate.
(Photo courtesy of the Canadian Press)
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