PARTISAN JABS MARK ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGN

The launch of a new anti-drug campaign by the federal government took
a decidedly partisan turn Wednesday when Conservative MP Shelly
Glover suggested that Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff finds it
acceptable for youth to smoke marijuana.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq and Glover were announcing a new
television and social media advertising campaign aimed at teenagers
and Glover took the opportunity to make a jab at Ignatieff.

"It's very disturbing as a parent, and as a police officer for almost
19 years, to hear the opposition, in fact the Liberal leader, say to
our children that it is OK to take marijuana in small doses," the
Manitoba MP said during her prepared remarks. She repeated her
comment in French.

When she was asked by the media to explain what she meant, and if
Ignatieff has ever actually said to children that he has no problem
with them doing drugs, Glover read a quote from Ignatieff where he
said he supports the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana
and that he doesn't comment on the "personal lifestyle choices" of
his friends or colleagues.

"That tells my children that a leader in our country is OK if they're
carrying small amounts of marijuana, it's OK if his colleagues are
personally using, when the laws in this country clearly say it is
illegal," Glover said.

Ignatieff's office said Glover took the leader's quote out of context
and omitted the last line of it where he said he does not want to
legalize marijuana.

The Liberal party's current position is that it would consider, but
has not committed to, reintroducing an old Liberal bill that would
eliminate criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of
marijuana and would instead introduce fines.

Liberal justice critic Marlene Jennings said the party doesn't
support people using illegal drugs, but recognizes that people don't
always follow the laws, and the Liberals don't believe a young person
in particular should carry a criminal record for the rest of their
lives, possibly preventing them from entering the United States or
pursuing careers, if they are caught with a small amount of a "soft" drug.