Parliament of Canada

Governor General of Canada (info@gg.ca)

Legalize and Regulate Cannabis (Marihuana)



We call upon the Governor General (Governor In Council) to call a national referendum, similar to the referendum of 1898 on alcohol prohibition, a democratic vote of all citizens, to direct the government to follow the recommendations of the LeDain Commission of 1972 and the Senate Subcommittee Report of 2002 as a matter of national interest. Whereas up to 64% of Canadians support legalization of cannabis, we demand that the will of the people be heard via constitutional due process;



WHEREAS, despite almost a century of prohibition, millions of Canadians today regularly consume cannabis and other cannabis products for medical, spiritual and social reasons;



WHEREAS cannabis is valuable for agricultural, medical and industrial products and presents a means of reducing global warming;



WHEREAS the failed prohibition of cannabis has exhausted countless billions of dollars spent on ineffective or incomplete enforcement and has resulted in unnecessarily dangerous and expensive congestion in our judicial system while many citizens have received criminal records for a victimless crime;



WHEREAS various cannabis decriminalization or legalization policy prescriptions have been recommended by the 1969-72 LeDain Commission of Enquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs, the 2002 Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs as well as the 2002 House of Commons Special Committee on the Non-Medical Use of Drugs;



WHEREAS the Courts have declared cannabis prohibition to be unconstitutional and the legal status quo for the criminal regulation of cannabis continues to endanger Canadians by generating significant resources for gang-related violent criminal activity and weapons smuggling – a reality which could be very easily confronted by the legalization and regulation of Canada’s cannabis industry;



WHEREAS the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs [1961] states that a signatory’s obligation to enact criminal penalties for the nonmedical production, possession, and distribution of marijuana (cannabis) is “subject to its constitutional limitations.” and the penal provisions of the ‘61 convention includes the caveat: “subject to the constitutional limitations of a Party, its legal system and domestic law.”, the Government will amend said treaty accordingly;



WHEREAS the U.N. has declared that prohibition creates corruption at all levels of government and correspondingly, politicians and government agents who support prohibition also support organized crime;



BE IT RESOLVED that the Canadian government will legalize cannabis and ensure the regulation and taxation of its production, distribution and use, while enacting penalties for illegal cross-border trafficking: cross-border importation and exportation, and impaired driving as per roadside sobriety standards;



BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Canadian government will invest significant resources in social and educational programs designed to promote awareness of the health risks and consequences of cannabis use and dependency according to the findings of the Senate Report of 2002, especially amongst youth;



BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Canadian government will extend amnesty to all Canadian citizens previously convicted of cannabis possession or cultivation, and ensure the complete elimination of all criminal records related thereto;



BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the federal Canadian government will work with the provinces and local governments of Canada on a coordinated regulatory approach, similar to alcohol controls, for cannabis which maintains significant federal responsibility for cannabis control while respecting provincial health jurisdiction and particular regional concerns and practices.

[Adopted from: Young Liberals of Canada and the Liberal Party of Canada (British Columbia) 2012]





