With the Liberals plan to introduce legislation legalizing marijuana still on track for the spring, MP Bill Blair met with London officials Tuesday to talk pot.

The ex-Toronto police chief, who’s tasked with shaping the legislation, is travelling across Canada to discuss the federal government’s plan to legalize and regulate the drug for recreational use.

Blair met with Mayor Matt Brown and police Chief John Pare in London — where a half dozen illegal pot shops operate — before sitting down with The Free Press.

Q: You’ve been meeting with stakeholders across the country to discuss legalization. Who exactly are you meeting with and what are you hearing?

A: I’ve spoken to police chiefs in every community I’ve visited. But I’m also speaking with mayors, with other civic officials, with people who represent public health agencies . . . there’s a strong consensus that we must do better.

Q: According to a 2016 news report, you held a series of informal meetings with advocates for the illegal marijuana dispensaries. What did you take away from these meetings?

A: We’ve tried to listen to every voice. One of the challenges that communities right across Canada are facing is that there are some individuals who are ignoring the laws that currently exist . . . Unfortunately there are a number of individuals who have sort of jumped ahead of any regulatory changes and are still producing and selling marijuana illegally. I’ve had some discussion with representatives of those organizations and I remind them that the laws should be obeyed.

Q: Will there be a place for any of the existing dispensaries to sell marijuana once it’s legalized?

A: The responsibility for determining the regulatory framework and the environment for distribution really rests with the provinces. Within our constitution, that’s their responsibility . . . whatever systems the province choose to put in place, we want to make sure it is an effective regime for keeping this out of the hands of kids and competing effectively with organized crime.

Q: In December, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said municipalities should “enforce the law” when dealing with illegal marijuana dispensaries. Are you communicating this message to the police chiefs you’ve met recently?

A: Police chiefs have a great deal of responsibilities. With respect to public safety, they’ve got to priortize. They (have) limited resources for all those things that will maintain the safety of their communities. Law enforcement is their responsibility, but they have to set their own local priorities.

Q: Based on your experience as a former police chief, what’s the biggest impact legalization and regulation will have on policing?

A: Right now, the police are expending resources and the criminal justice system is somewhat burdened by the enforcement of the criminal law . . . I believe we’re going to have to ask more of the police, particularly at the introductions of these regulations, while people learn how this system will work.

Q: Research shows that marijuana use poses a risk to developing brains up to the age of 25. Will people under that age be able to buy marijuana?

A: There are some decisions that need to be made by both the federal government and the provinces. There is a recommendation that we received from the task force that suggested as a minimum age, the age of 18, but also a recommendation that provinces could make a determination of setting the age higher . . . It really is a decision based on competing values: on the one hand we want to protect kids from any potential health harm related to its use, and on the other you don’t want to (push) this mass market of young people over to organized crime.

Q: You’ve previously said you’ve never tried marijuana. Will that change after it’s legalized?

A: No, absolutely not. And I’ve never used any psychoactive drug or any illegal drug. That’s a choice that I’ve made. I find those things are performance degrading and I have no intention of ever using such a drug.

dcarruthers@postmedia.com

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