The Liberal plan to legalize pot next year will not only make history. It may be key to the governing party’s chances of re-election in 2019.
Polling data that surfaced after the 2015 election suggests that the youth vote strongly contributed to the Liberals’ majority win at the ballot box. Millennials reportedly turned up at the ballot box in “unprecedented” numbers. It has also been suggested that most millennial voters want to see pot – and in some cases all drugs – legalized.
David Colletto, who leads Abacus Data’s Canadian Millennial Research Practice, says it’s important for the government to make good on this promise if they hope to retain the youth vote that was largely responsible for their majority victory two years ago.
“The Liberals have to follow through on this,” he says. “It’s a proxy for them doing what they said they would do. I think there are liabilities across the board if they don’t legalize.”
Canada’s Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation, which was chaired by former Liberal cabinet minister Anne McLellan and vice-chaired by medical researcher Dr. Mark Ware, presented more than 80 recommendations at a press conference last year intended to inform the government’s legislation on cannabis (Bill C-45).
Jenn Jefferys – National Observer – October 31, 2017.
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