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Activist claims he sent pot to Liberal MPs
NWT's Michael McLeod plans to turn over package to RCMP

John McFadden
Northern News Services
Friday, January 8, 2016

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The MP for the Northwest Territories says he has no intention of sampling the marijuana that has reportedly been mailed to him and all other Liberal MPs.

On Wednesday, Michael McLeod said he hadn't heard about the one gram package that had been reportedly sent to him by B.C. pot activist Dana Larsen.

Several media outlets have reported Larsen recently mailed the one gram weed packages along with his book, Cannabis in Canada: the Illustrated History, to all 184 Liberal MPs.

"My what?" responded an amused McLeod after Yellowknifer asked him whether he had received his marijuana package in the mail.

"I haven't received anything in the mail. I wasn't aware of the story. I was travelling. I'm not sure what his intentions are. I think if the person is trying to get publicity, he is getting it in this fashion. I don't know what the story is behind it. I have no use for it. I'm not going to turn it over to anybody other than the RCMP."

McLeod added there hasn't been a great deal of discussion about the marijuana issue since he arrived in Ottawa last fall.

"The minister responsible will head this up and I don't expect to be involved in any debate," McLeod said.

Yellowknifer asked McLeod whether he had ever tried marijuana.

"That's a personal question but I don't do marijuana. I don't drink alcohol," he said.

McLeod said he has no objection to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau moving forward on his campaign promise to legalize pot.

"We need to control marijuana use in Canada. I think it's a way to keep it out of the hands of the youth. Right now, it's so readily available and widespread that we have to acknowledge that it's here. It's something people are using and the government has to step in and make sure it's used appropriately."

McLeod said the advantages of legalized pot outweigh the disadvantages. He said it will help bring in much-needed tax revenue to the federal government and take the sale of marijuana out of the hands of criminals.

"Right now, there are a lot of people making a lot of money from the sale of marijuana. This may change that. It will be controlled better and youth will be better educated on its use," said McLeod.

"It's been ignored for too long and it's time we do something about it."

McLeod said he is not prepared to speculate on exactly when legalization will happen but did say he thinks it will come forward fairly soon.

Yellowknife marijuana activist Kim McNearney said she personally knows Larsen and believes this is more than a publicity stunt.

"There are still so may unanswered questions about how the government is going to do this. He just wants to keep the issue on the front burner," she said. "I was thinking about contacting McLeod myself but then Dana went ahead and did this. It's awesome."

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