Canadian PM Mulls Smoking Marijuana When He Retires

[BurtWorm]

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-life-canada-marijuana.html


By REUTERS

Published: October 3, 2003


Filed at 10:24 a.m. ET

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Now Canada can understand why Prime Minister Jean Chretien seems to be in such a hurry to push through a law decriminalizing marijuana.

Chretien, 69, said in an interview published on Friday that he might give pot a try once it is no longer a criminal offense -- presumably after he retires in February. Under the new law, pot users would only pay a fine if caught with small amounts.

``I don't know what is marijuana. Perhaps I will try it when it will no longer be criminal. I will have my money for my fine and a joint in the other hand,'' he said in an interview with the Winnipeg Free Press.

[Bozita]

1. LOL, In your face, Dumbya.

Jean bitchslaps his dumb-ass neighbor.

hahahaha!

thanks for the post.

[kodi]

2. like bush never smoked a doobie? yeah, right.

.

[Maple]

3. Good for him

He has a good sense of humour and it's coming out more now that he's retiring. :D

[Styles]

4. Gotta hand it to Chretien....

He's been the best Prime Minister of Canada since Trudeau... and he's pissed off the Repulicans just as much too. When he retires, he'll be missed and remembered well.

I was actually suprised recently to find out that his and Trudeau's party "Liberal" is actually more or less centrist.

on edit: misspelling.... oops

[Tommy_Douglas]

6. Well that's how you crush the right wing...

You take a more centrist stance stealing the right wings thunder. (Much like Clinton did)

Fiscal Responsibility, Tax Reduction, etc. Good centrist policies.

Then you temper that with Left Wing social causes. (Gay Marriages, health care, education spending, decriminalization, etc.)

Very few people care about hard right stances in society, but many do care about centrist issues. So the left should take those else the right wing will, and then they'll push their far right agenda... That's sort of what you got in the States isn't it?

[SidDithers]

10. Great Name, btw...

Tommy Douglas was the father of Canadian Health Care system (which morphed from Medicare into the Canada Health Act). He is also the grandfather of Keifer Sutherland. (Keifer's parents are Shirley Douglas and Donald Sutherland)

Sid

[MGKrebs]

20. Just want to say hi to Tommy_Douglas!

Hello from Atlanta, GA, and happy to see you out of the lurker closet. :-)

Welcome.

[Styles]

26. hehe... I am a Canuck... right in the middle of Ontario in fact

Go Leafs !! =)

[HEyHEY]

30. Please don't infect DU with your Maple Leafs diatribe

;-)

Welcome to DU! :-)

[EX-CONservative]

29. Welcome to DU

Hi! Welcome to DU! :hi:

Did you know Tommy Douglas formed the first progressive (by modern standards) government in North America? :D

Also, I read that Tommy Douglas was the grandpa of Keifer Sutherland of "24" (great show!) fame.

:toast:

[Tommy_Douglas]

5. The best quote...

Was back in the day when Bill said. "I tried it but I didn't inhale" and former PM Pierre Trudeau was asked a similar question and said. "I've been to India and China. I've smoked all kinds of shit."

[Bozita]

7. oooh...that's really good! ... bless those Canuckistanians.

welcome to DU, Tommy_Douglas.

[Tommy_Douglas]

8. Thanks...

Read the site for over year, read the boards, never posted. Figured its time. =)

[Lisa]

11. I loved that scene in the CBC "Trudeau" documentary ...

Where Margaret, a 20-something college student, is asking Pierre about his travels in his youth (by the time they were dating he was a couple of decades older than she was) -- anyway, he starts talking about Morocco, and is giving her advice re: drugs ...

BTW, Jean could start even before he leaves 24 Sussex -- it wouldn't be the first time the house was filled with ganja fumes. (Margaret admitted smoking cannabis while she lived there as the PM's wife ....)

As long as he "buys BC", right?

p.s. I have it on good authority that at least one former Tory cabinet minister (and later Senator) is in the Health Canada medical marijuana programme, due to being in chronic arthritis pain. She's got the big bucks and can afford to buy the very best, though.

[Spazito]

9. I am sooo gonna miss Chretien when he retires....

he is an expert at both tweaking Bush's nose and making us laugh at the same time!

[brainshrub]

12. I Love Canadians

I love Canadians! We in the US are soooo lucky to have them as neighbors.
Any time the Repukes claim something can't be done, they go ahead and do it...and do it well. Healthcare? check. Gay marriage? check. Decrimilization? Working on it.
There is not enough time in the day to write all the good things about Canada.

[kysrsoze]

27. How come they're so UN-stupid, UN-like us?

My God. We've got monster trucks, a LOT of white trash, religious fundies, repression, hate, bands wanting to have live suicides onstage, disdain for others....the list goes on and on.

I like to watch Canadian news because it's not all-consumed with the US. I love visiting Toronto - clean and worldly. They even have better strip clubs than we do. It's a completely different atmosphere there. I hear Vancouver is beautiful. People from Newfoundland have Irish accents.

I love Canada.

[sleipnir]

13. Yeah, rock on

Another reason why Canada rocks, your politicians don't mid talking about drugs and the people are cool about it. None of this "I never inhaled" shit.

420 is nothing to be ashamed of or criminalized.

[DeathvadeR]

14. Sweet

Canada Rulez!!!

[DBoon]

15. Why wait until retirement?

n/t

[ozone_man]

19. Good point.

My wife says I have to wait until the kids are all grown up.

This greatly enhances my opinion of Jean Cretien, though it was pretty good already. Canada is a good refuge on occasion from the our right wing culture. Maybe a good place to retire, hmmm ...

[BuckeFushe]

22. My point exactly, why wait? Bet he hasn't waited.

Oh Canada, I hear you calling me.

[iverglas]

16. funny thing

I watch the TV news, I listen to CBC radio in the car, I read the weekend papers -- and I'm even reading the local piece of shit daily since it gave me 3 months free (having abandoned it immediately after Conrad Black bought it years ago) -- and I completely missed this!

I note that the source for the quote is Brit. Must not have been headline news at home. (Yawn; wake us up when he says he's marrying his gay lover. But not too early.)

Imagine if Dubya, or any US politician, had made that little announcement ...



Glad to see Tommy Douglas has finally shown up. I've tried to keep your name alive around here; now you can take over!

.

[Minstrel Boy]

17. Yeah, as a story it's a yawner at home.

but just saw it mentioned on Crossfire. I'm proud we're grown-up enough as a country that this is no big deal here.

[HEyHEY]

21. I looked through the paper today..couldn't find it

[LadeJarl]

18. I'll smoke a fatty in your honor! (n/t)

[David Zephyr]

23. I May Leave My Precious Home in California for Quebec Someday.

Four more years of our current freefall into fascism would probably push me over the edge.

[HEyHEY]

25. Quebec? I thought you wanted to flee the facists...

It'd just be like moving from Italy to Germany in 1937.

[Spazito]

24. I couldn't find it in the paper but...

CTV Newsnet had a blurb on it. I just love it, you go Jean!

[catforclark2004]

28. Canada is where I'm going if Bush wins.

Montreal sounds nice....I speak fluent french....born in Paris....

I'll stay close, just in case the Democrats do something right...like nominate a bullet proof candidate...that would be

General Wesley Clark