BR Trudeau Pot Legalization – CP

Source: The Canadian Press – Broadcast wire
Apr 25, 2017

TORONTO – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his younger brother, Michel, was able to avoid a criminal record after he was caught with marijuana because of his father’s connections.

Trudeau revealed the little-known fact about his brother, who died in a B-C avalanche about 20 years ago, during a broadcast interview with Vice Media last night about the government’s plan to legalize marijuana.

He says six months before Michel’s death, his brother was charged with possession of marijuana after he was involved in a collision and police found a Sucrets box with a couple of joints inside when they helped him collect his belongings scattered across the road.

Trudeau says his father — former prime minister Pierre Trudeau — contacted his friends in the legal community to get Michel a good lawyer to make sure Michel wasn’t — quote — “saddled with a criminal record for life.”

Trudeau used the anecdote to highlight how minorities and people with little means often don’t have the option to clear their name in the justice system — something he says legalizing marijuana will help fix.

Although he did not give specifics about how his government would help people charged with marijuana possession — he says the government would look into the matter once the laws have been changed.

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(The Canadian Press)

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