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One had the distinct feeling that some of my colleagues would only have been satisfied had the assembled ministers put on a Bob Marley record, sparked up a nation-sized spliff, and confessed they were already “lit af” by virtue of a mid-morning bong session. If the Liberals really believed that marijuana was so dangerous, asked one, why on earth were they making it easier to obtain? Surely they had imposed so many restrictions that the bulk of the trade would continue to be in the black market.

Others complained that the rules on advertising were too restrictive, or that it was folly to try to regulate the growing of marijuana plants at home. As if that were not enough, there were all those “unanswered questions,” like how it would be taxed, or who would distribute it, and so on. Hadn’t they just punted all the hard questions to the provinces?

With respect, I think my colleagues are demanding of the government “a foolish consistency.” No doubt the Liberals’ back-handed approach to legalization is heavily influenced by political calculations: it would not be surprising to find internal polling showed they were vulnerable on the issue, especially once you move beyond the top-line “should pot be legalized” question to the realities of implementation.

But there is also sound reason in principle to proceed with caution. For goodness sake: we are only the second country on earth, and the only large one, to do this. Legalization is probably, on balance, the best approach, but if we are honest we will acknowledge only probably, and only on balance. There are potential downsides as well as upsides, some of which we have anticipated, others of which we may have not. A little humility is in order.