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BY LifeSiteNews.com By Thaddeus M. BaklinskiOTTAWA, March 17, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Prime Minister Harper clearly expressed his opinion on a variety of issues, including the topics of legalizing marijuana and instituting a national day care plan, during an interview on YouTube released Tuesday evening.The interview was based on questions submitted to YouTube and voted on by Canadian citizens. Responding to the question about why the government doesn't end the war on drugs by making marijuana legal for adults, just like alcohol, and instead focus on violent criminals, the PM said that as children grow up they "will increasingly come into contact with drug use, and I guess as a parent, you know, this is the last thing I want to see for my kids or anyone else’s children."He went on: "I also want people to understand what we’re really talking about ... we’re talking about the drug trade.  You know, when people say focus on violent crime instead of drugs, and yeah, you know, there’s lots of crimes a lot worse than, you know, casual use of marijuana."But when people are buying from the drug trade, they are not buying from their neighbor. They are buying from international cartels that are involved in unimaginable violence and intimidation and social disaster and catastrophe all across the world. All across the world."The PM expanded his point by arguing that something as common as buying contraband cigarettes supports criminal networks."Even when people buy, you know, an illegal carton of cigarettes and they avoid tax, that they really understand the kind of criminal networks that they are supporting, and the damage they do.""And even if these things were legalized,” said Harper, “I can predict with a lot of confidence that these would never be respectable businesses run by respectable people."Because the very nature of the dependency they create, the damage they create, the social upheaval and catastrophe they create, particularly in third world countries…I mean, you look now, you look at Latin America, some of the countries to the south of us, and the damage the drug trade is doing, not just to people’s lives as drug users. Look at the violence it’s creating in neighborhoods, the destruction of social systems, of families, of governmental institutions, the corruption of police forces."Harper concluded that legalizing marijuana would not lead to the utopian culture the questioner envisioned."We should not fool ourselves into thinking that if we somehow stopped trying to deal with it, it would suddenly turn into a nice, wholesome industry. It will never be that. And I think we all need to understand that, and we all need to make sure our kids understand, ... the wider social disaster they are contributing to if they, through use of their money, fund organizations that produce and deliver illicit narcotics."Independent health researcher and naturopathic physician Dr. Terry Vanderheyden praised Prime Minister Harper's remarks."I think PM Stephen Harper gave a well thought out response to the issue, hinting at the potential health repercussions of marijuana use," Dr. Vanderheyden told LSN.He also noted that the mistaken idea that marijuana is somehow a safe drug, a belief held by many of the survey participants, is one kept alive by a "naive media.""In Canada, the CBC and especially radio host Michael Enright are particularly to blame for this notion."Vanderheyden pointed to the negative experience of other countries that have relaxed their narcotics laws. "I believe that legalized marijuana would only hasten the demise of our already bankrupt, overburdened Canadian medical system," he said."If we look to the UK and the Netherlands, health authorities there already lament the surge in mental health problems related to the easing of marijuana laws. It has placed a strain on medical resources; then of course there is the terrible effect it has had on the lives of those afflicted. Schizophrenia has been proven to be at least 50% more prevalent as a direct result of habitual marijuana use. Most of those affected live a life of disability.""I think that armed with the truth, the overwhelming majority of Canadians would recoil at the possibility of legalized marijuana," Dr. Vanderheyden concluded.Turning to a question on his government's decision not to embark on a national day care plan, Harper said that the existing measures for helping parents with the cost of child care - whether it be through institutionalized care or by looking after their own children at home - are approved by most Canadians."There are a range of things we do in Canada to support the childcare choices of Canadians. I think our approach has been well received by Canadians," Harper stated.Enumerating the various measures in place to assist parents, the PM remarked that "a lot of Canadians have a lot of different childcare needs.""Canadians want to make their own childcare decisions," the PM stated, observing that "we had a previous government that promised to create a national childcare system for many years. They spent billions of dollars. Canadian parents never saw any of that. So we took that money, put it into direct support for Canadian parents so they can make their own childcare choices."The transcript of the YouTube interview with Prime Minister Harper is available here.See related LSN articles:Study Shows Canada’s Universal Daycare Plan Has “Strikingly Negative” Consequenceshttp://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/feb/06020205.htmlStudy Finds Daycare Damages Babies Brain Chemistryhttp://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/mar/06032903.htmlConservative Party Promises Choice in Child Care Allowance and Tough Actions on Drug Crimehttp://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/dec/05120503.htmlSmoking Pot Doubles Mental Illness Riskhttp://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/mar/05030102.htmlIrish Researchers Find Cannabis Linked to Infertilityhttp://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/mar/04033108.html http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/prime-minister-harper-addresses-marijuana-national-day-care/

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