NOVEMBER 17 T H LEGALIZATION OF MARI JUANA MOTION This house believes that cultivation and consumption of marijuana should be legalized

d in Canada. CONTEXT Marijuana, or cannabis, is the most widely used illegal drug in North America. A history of the legalization of marijuana in Canada can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_history_of_cannabis_in_Canada. The Green Party of Canada is the only seat-holding federal party in Ottawa currently supporting the legalization of this substance, while the New Democrats have previously endorsed it until early 2009 when Jack Layton reversed their position. Should the government be controlling the personal moral choice a person makes of whether to consume marijuana or not? Will drug and street crimes be reduced through this motion? Is this a slippery slope to legalize other drugs, and eventually all drugs? Will this motion indirectly encourage more cultivation and consumption of this drug? Does the extra tax revenue make this one of the supporting justification for this motion? And after all, should this substance be legalized in Canada? THE PANEL Moderator: Sahal Malek Head of the Proposers: Blair Stevens Head of the Opposition: TBA FORMAT Adapted from the Oxford Union debating format, practiced by heads of state, prominent intellectuals, and galvanizing figures across the cultural spectrum. This version of debating is carefully crafted by the Executives of the Politics Club. The debate will have a Moderator and a Panel of one to three experts on the issues. These positions will vary debates by debates. We first divide into two groups: the Proposers, or those who defend the motion, and the Opposition, or those who assail the motion. The number of people on each side will constitute the first vote on the motion (for example: if there are 60% of participants defending the motion, the motions first vote is 60% Yay and 40% Nay). The debate takes on three rounds: Opening Statement: Each side is allowed two minutes for their opening statement Rebuttals: The main part of the debate. We will run this round until there are fifteen minutes left to the end of the debate. The Moderator and the Panel will provide insights, comments, and questions occasionally to liven up the debate or contributes to the context. Closing Statement: Each side is allowed two minutes for their closing statement. The vote to decide the winner now takes place. The Moderator and the Panel are allowed to vote. The debate is finished and now the Moderator and the Panel may leave a final comment.