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A little over a decade ago a wandering federal government stuck its finger to the wind to see what would carry them back to power in the next election. It openly dithered with the idea of decriminalizing marijuana only to make a half-hearted attempt that was doomed to fail. As a result of this irresponsible attempt to gain popular favour, police officers commonly encountered confused young people who believed that decriminalization was all but a done deal. Unfortunately, many of them now have criminal records.

Considering, therefore, the still-present legal implications of its use, and considering the ever-present health implications of its abuse, I would ask our new federal government and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to tread carefully so as not to make light of what is a serious issue.

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As the government moves forward with the legalization of marijuana, I would like to point out that tone matters. In this respect, I believe the government has gone off course, and it would do well to correct it.