Absolutely. There is more criminalization in this bill than we already have in some areas, and that 14-year penalty also means there are no conditional discharges available as well, which I think is a big concern.
Speaking as a member of the cannabis movement, I know that we don't really need the government's help in getting high-quality cannabis products. We just want the government to stop arresting people, and that really should be the focus of this legislation. It's shameful to me that we haven't decriminalized cannabis possession already, that this wasn't a big priority and it hasn't happened yet, but that is the flaw in this legislation, and it's treating cannabis much more severely than alcohol is treated. Yet by any measure, cannabis is safer than alcohol, and I think that everybody who has testified would agree with that idea.
If we're going to restrict cannabis more than alcohol, that will drive people towards alcohol. If we're going to restrict advertising and packaging and all these things for cannabis more than we do for alcohol, that means we're saying we want people to drink alcohol instead of using cannabis, and I think it should be the other way around. The idea that we've made mistakes with alcohol and it's too available so we're going to tighten up with cannabis is absolutely backwards. Cannabis is safer and should be treated like that. To continue to criminalize people because of the cannabis they have on them, or any of this, is entirely the wrong way to go.