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Timing of legalizing marijuana not right

Opioid crisis needs serious attention first
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The legalization of recreational marijuana pending on Oct. 17 can’t come at a worse time.

The last thing we need right now with rampant drug use already being a serious problem are a bunch of stoned people wandering around the streets. The opioid epidemic is out of control and, yet, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cronies figure it’s more important to add to the problem than find any solutions. We need serious interventions to help addicted people and clean up the messy distribution of drugs and needles on the streets and in our parks.

If we were talking just about the medicinal side of marijuana, the oils and the creams that seem to be helping people cope with pain, it might be a different story.

But the recreational side of legal marijuana does absolutely no good whatsoever. The most troubling part is the enforcement issue doesn’t appear to be sorted out yet and there’s still far too many cases of drinking and driving incidents happening.

The roadways are a danger zone from speeding, distracted driving and impaired driving. Adding stoned drivers to the mix because they will perceive the drug as “legal” is just preposterous.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving officials must be cringing about going back to the Stone Age, so to speak, to make headway on preventing unnecessary deaths from drivers who don’t think first before they go behind the wheel.

Trudeau’s political future is likely on the line and, by next year, he won’t be going back to office in Ottawa. It’s just one of the many decisions he’s made lately that have taken away the “rock star” status he’s been enjoying. The bubble was sure to burst with a serious reality check on major issues.

The federal government’s claim that huge tax revenues are coming its way from marijuana is a fallacy. It’s going to create far more personal harm to people in many ways than any financial good.



Don Bodger

About the Author: Don Bodger

I've been a part of the newspaper industry since 1980 when I began on a part-time basis covering sports for the Ladysmith-Chemainus Chronicle.
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