Does The Green Party Want To Legalize Weed?

The legalization of marijuana in Canada has been a heated debate for years. However, each political party has a different opinion. One political party that has concluded that it’s time to legalize marijuana is the Green Party of Canada.

Since the late 1980s, the Green Party has encouraged the legalization of “soft drugs”, which are drugs deemed to be less detrimental than alcohol and tobacco. According to studies conducted by the World Health Organization, marijuana is no more of a threat to our health than alcohol or tobacco. Taking this into account, as well as the Party’s belief that prohibition of marijuana hasn’t been effective in controlling its production, sale and use, the Green Party believes that legalizing, regulating and taxing marijuana is necessary.

One of the Party’s goals is to decrease organized crime associated with marijuana through legalization. Their argument is that because marijuana grows easily, people can grow their own and there would be a substantial decrease – if not total elimination – of grow-operations. Grow-ops pose increased crime risks and are often part of an organized crime network. Making marijuana more accessible will also lower its price, which makes it less profitable for drug dealers and organized crime groups.

Without legalization, possession of marijuana of up to 30 grams is an offence with a possible fine of $1,000 and six months in jail. In 2014, there were about 60,000 drug offences reported in Canada for cannabis possession and over 22,000 resulted in charges. The Green Party views the criminal records people incur related to cannabis possession as having serious implications, making it more difficult for those individuals to find housing, jobs and possibly travel. The legalization of marijuana will lead to a lower number of Canadians attaining insignificant criminal records, but rather more promising futures. Furthermore, the Green Party supports the notion that legalizing marijuana will “free up” police resources to fight “real crime”.

Beyond legalization, the Green Party believes a marijuana awareness program is essential to ensuring people know how to use marijuana moderately and correctly, as well as the associated health risks. Knowledge is power, and the Green Party would like to empower Canadians.