The sooner we regulate dispensaries to protect kids, the better: Rona Ambrose

Dec 19 2017, 11:00 am

Last year as Health Minister, Rona Ambrose made it clear that the Harper Government was not going to legalize marijuana, much less support municipalities regulating dispensaries.

Now, as interim leader of the Conservative party she seems to have accepted that the new government will legalize marijuana, but  is more or less sticking with her position on marijuana and dispensaries that sell the drug, saying kids are at risk.

Ambrose says there was evidence dispensaries were selling to kids and no one was regulating the produce so no one knows what is in it.

She says hundreds of dispensaries have popped up now across the country.

But didn’t that happen under the Harper government’s watch?

“We of course said many times that we expected police to do their jobs, but there was a decision made. In other jurisdictions it didn’t happen so much, but here in Vancouver the decision was made locally at the municipal level to allow the dispensaries to move ahead. That was up to the municipal government.”

Now she says legalization should come with strong public health messaging telling kids about the dangers of marijuana.

 ”I hope that the faster they move on this the better, because the proliferation of pot dispensaries is quite large…and they’re unregulated, so the sooner they can move on that the better to protect kids.”

Ambrose not tweeting anytime soon

She has distanced herself from Twitter due to its toxic atmosphere for politicians.

Rona Ambrose says the abuse she endured on Twitter just became too much.

“I made a conscious decision over two and a half years ago to stop looking at Twitter because it was so nasty and even violent at times and so toxic I thought what is the benefit?”

Ambrose says Twitter needs to make changes.

“It is so nasty especially for women in politics. I don’t know what will have to happen for that to change. I think part of it is the anonymity of Twitter that people can say what ever they want and not be held accountable.”

She says her staff keep an eye on her Twitter account but don’t use it much.

 

Originally published on CKNW.com

DH Calgary StaffDH Calgary Staff

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