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Canadian Lawmaker Vapes Marijuana And Doesn’t Care What Anyone Thinks

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A Canadian member of Parliament openly consumes marijuana, something he says will be completely normal and not at all noteworthy soon in light of the country’s new legalization law that went into effect this week.

“Just as someone might have a glass of wine or a scotch on a Friday night, I would turn to my vaporizer,” MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith said in an interview with CBC news.

But it’s not all about getting high for fun and relaxation for the member of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s party. He also consumes cannabis medicinally.

“I have Crohn’s, so sometimes I turn to it for that reason as well,” he said.

Within a matter of years, though, no one will care whether lawmakers toke up, Erskine-Smith believes.

“Five years from now, no one will be interested in this question because we’ll all recognize we’re responsible adults, and this is far less harmful than alcohol, far less harmful than tobacco,” he said. “And we should use it responsibly, yes, because there are potential harms.”

“Certainly Canadians are capable of doing this because we’ve been doing it for decades.”

On that point, Erskine-Smith acknowledged that he too has been consuming cannabis before prohibition officially lifted on Wednesday.

“It would be sort of silly for me to stop now, wouldn’t it?” he asked.

Trudeau himself previously admitted that he illegally smoked marijuana while serving in Parliament, but said this week that he has no intention of consuming cannabis now that it is legal.

Canada’s Liquor Stores Will Heavily Outnumber Marijuana Stores On Legalization’s Launch

Photo courtesy of Cannabis Culture.

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Tom Angell is the editor of Marijuana Moment. A 20-year veteran in the cannabis law reform movement, he covers the policy and politics of marijuana. Separately, he founded the nonprofit Marijuana Majority. Previously he reported for Marijuana.com and MassRoots, and handled media relations and campaigns for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

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