Romeo Saganash
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House of Commons
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Canada
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decriminalization
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Romeo Saganash: Thoughts on Canadian leadership
| February 10, 2012
"
...
We also must not give into fear when it comes to our criminal code.
The so-called "tough on crime" agenda is simply "dumb-on-crime" in my
view. It flies in the face of the facts, every serious study and
on-the-ground experience in other countries. In the United States, they
are now reversing the changes they made to their laws in the face of
evidence that such an approach actually makes crime worse.
Mandatory minimum sentences interfere with an independent judiciary, undermining the rule of law. I believe in providing judges with sufficient freedom to make the best decisions on every case that comes before them.
When it comes to marijuana laws, I think it may be time to go further. A proposition in California suggested that it is time to look at full legalization, regulation and taxation. Medical authorities have recently made the same recommendation. Marijuana is no more harmful than alcohol. Unlike alcohol, it is non-addictive.
The criminalization of marijuana creates ties to other crime, just as prohibition did with alcohol. This creates an enormous cost for the justice system, the penal system and for society as a whole when we criminalize tens of thousands of our young people. This idea deserves serious study. In the interim, decriminalization is the least we can do toward reducing the harm inflicted by our current legislation.
...
"
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/romeo-saganash/2012/02/romeo-saganash-thoughts-canadian-leadership
Mandatory minimum sentences interfere with an independent judiciary, undermining the rule of law. I believe in providing judges with sufficient freedom to make the best decisions on every case that comes before them.
When it comes to marijuana laws, I think it may be time to go further. A proposition in California suggested that it is time to look at full legalization, regulation and taxation. Medical authorities have recently made the same recommendation. Marijuana is no more harmful than alcohol. Unlike alcohol, it is non-addictive.
The criminalization of marijuana creates ties to other crime, just as prohibition did with alcohol. This creates an enormous cost for the justice system, the penal system and for society as a whole when we criminalize tens of thousands of our young people. This idea deserves serious study. In the interim, decriminalization is the least we can do toward reducing the harm inflicted by our current legislation.
...
"
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/romeo-saganash/2012/02/romeo-saganash-thoughts-canadian-leadership
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