YOUTH WING SET FOR THE RACY STUFF

Sex and Drugs Discussions Promise Lively Workshop

Sifting through the poli-speak of the Liberal convention is a thankless
task, but from time to time, sexy words like "legalized marijuana" and "sex
trade" jolt everyone to attention.

That's why today's discussion promises to be a welcome break from the norm.
No more "home heating" and "early learning" for us. Today, we deal with
matters of VICE.

During the justice/constitutional policy workshop, the Young Liberals will
present their case for removing Section 213 (which forbids communicating
for the purposes of sex trade-related acts) from the Criminal Code of
Canada. Later in the afternoon, the Alberta Liberals follow with their case
for legalizing marijuana.

While not all policy proposals end in acceptance, there has been
considerable grassroots support for both initiatives. The Liberal Party's
youth wing has been trying to rally the troops toward both proposals, and
although it is uncertain if the Liberal membership will accept them in
2005, both are likely to resurface at the next policy convention if defeated.

The questions before the Liberals are quite simple: does the party want to
lead Canada into the realm of the ultra-enlightened (or ultra-immoral) and
join the Netherlands by removing restrictions on prostitution and
marijuana? Also, does the party want to get the ball rolling in 2005?

In both cases, there are compelling arguments to accept the proposals.

In the case of prostitution (which is called the world's oldest profession
for a good reason), the main argument for removing Section 213 is the
protection of sex-trade workers who continue to earn their living in their
own way regardless of the laws currently in place.

Removing Section 213 would be a first step toward shifting prostitutes from
the shadow economy into the legitimate one; a step that would undoubtedly
improve their working conditions and safety. And since all attempts made by
God-abiding and moral societies to stamp out the Daughters of Corinth have
been spectacularly unsuccessful, maybe accepting prostitution as a fact of
life isn't such a bad idea after all.

In the case of marijuana, Statistics Canada's July 21, 2004, edition of
Health Reports states that more than 10 million Canadians over the age of
15 have admitted to trying cannabis at least once. Because moderate
marijuana use seems about as harmful as the perfectly legal practice of
having a few drinks, working toward legalizing the "drug" doesn't seem like
such a far-fetched proposition.

The Alberta Liberal proposal argues that bringing the pot trade into the
real economy would bring the Canadian government billions in tax revenue
each year and would take away a lucrative source of money from criminal
organizations. And since Canadian attempts at prohibition have proven
unsuccessful and costly, legalizing pot seems like a win/win proposition.

The problem with both these policy initiatives is that they're not
exclusively in the realm of basic economics and common sense. While tax
revenues and protecting sex workers are good reasons to support both
proposals, there are other important factors that need to be weighed as well.

Many Canadians -- including the Young Liberals -- don't see marijuana and
prostitution as great moral problems. Just as many -- including older
members of the Liberal caucus -- do.

During a lighthearted moment at Friday's Q & A session with the Young
Liberals, Prime Minister Paul Martin told the crowd that "there's probably
a couple of resolutions that you and I aren't going to agree on."

The crowd laughed on Friday; leaving me to wonder who'll get the last laugh
this afternoon.