WHATFG
Well-Known Member
from NP
At first it looked like the ultimate flip-flop: the very health minister who ran controversial anti-marijuana ads backs legalization after taking over her routed right-wing party.
Chris Roussakis/ for National PostTweed medical marijuana facilities in Smith Falls, Ontario, Jan. 5, 2016.
But that’s not what interim Conservative Party leader Rona Ambrose said on a Vancouver radio station Wednesday, despite what social media and misleading headlines may suggest. What Ambrose actually did on CKNW New Talk was defend her former government’s (widely mocked) ads about pot and kids’ brains and urge Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to “take it slow” on legalization while moving quickly to regulate the proliferation of medical marijuana dispensaries across the country.
Host Simi Sara started off by asking Ambrose if she thought the party’s opposition to marijuana legalization hurt them in October’s election, especially in pot-friendly places like Vancouver.
“I don’t think so because my message was always about the public health impact on children,” Ambrose said, before referring back to her work as health minister to heavily regulate medical pot, while also warning against recreational use. “As Health Minister at the time, I was really concerned about the infiltration of these dispensaries that are not regulated, there was evidence that they were selling to kids… The product itself is in no way regulated or checked by anyone so no one know what’s in it. We’re still in that situation and that’s a concern.
The new government will legalize marijuana, we know that.
“The new government will legalize marijuana, we know that. My concern is the cat’s out of the bag with the dispensaries, there’s hundreds of them popping up they’re not regulated. I don’t know how they’re going to get that back (under control).”
She also blamed municipal government’s like Vancouver for the growing number of dispensaries, as she said the “decision was made locally” to allow them to open and for police to ignore their spread. She also urged Trudeau to continue to spread the public health gospel that marijuana is dangerous for developing brains.
So, no, Ambrose didn’t all of a sudden learn to stop worrying and love the bong.
In many ways she clung to previous misinformation the Conservatives spread — while many medical pot dispensaries, especially in B.C., operate in a legal grey zone, there’s little evidence they sell to kids. And she defended anti-pot ads even some doctors thought were too political.
At first it looked like the ultimate flip-flop: the very health minister who ran controversial anti-marijuana ads backs legalization after taking over her routed right-wing party.
Chris Roussakis/ for National PostTweed medical marijuana facilities in Smith Falls, Ontario, Jan. 5, 2016.
But that’s not what interim Conservative Party leader Rona Ambrose said on a Vancouver radio station Wednesday, despite what social media and misleading headlines may suggest. What Ambrose actually did on CKNW New Talk was defend her former government’s (widely mocked) ads about pot and kids’ brains and urge Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to “take it slow” on legalization while moving quickly to regulate the proliferation of medical marijuana dispensaries across the country.
Host Simi Sara started off by asking Ambrose if she thought the party’s opposition to marijuana legalization hurt them in October’s election, especially in pot-friendly places like Vancouver.
“I don’t think so because my message was always about the public health impact on children,” Ambrose said, before referring back to her work as health minister to heavily regulate medical pot, while also warning against recreational use. “As Health Minister at the time, I was really concerned about the infiltration of these dispensaries that are not regulated, there was evidence that they were selling to kids… The product itself is in no way regulated or checked by anyone so no one know what’s in it. We’re still in that situation and that’s a concern.
The new government will legalize marijuana, we know that.
“The new government will legalize marijuana, we know that. My concern is the cat’s out of the bag with the dispensaries, there’s hundreds of them popping up they’re not regulated. I don’t know how they’re going to get that back (under control).”
She also blamed municipal government’s like Vancouver for the growing number of dispensaries, as she said the “decision was made locally” to allow them to open and for police to ignore their spread. She also urged Trudeau to continue to spread the public health gospel that marijuana is dangerous for developing brains.
So, no, Ambrose didn’t all of a sudden learn to stop worrying and love the bong.
In many ways she clung to previous misinformation the Conservatives spread — while many medical pot dispensaries, especially in B.C., operate in a legal grey zone, there’s little evidence they sell to kids. And she defended anti-pot ads even some doctors thought were too political.
