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Writer's pictureActon UP
Oct 18, 20184 min read

Light it UP!!! - Candidates and Cannabis

Light it UP - Candidates and Cannabis


Legality does not always equate to morality. Slavery was once legal, while women voting was once illegal. Residential schools were legal until the last one was finally forced to close in Saskatchewan in 1996. Alcohol and Sunday shopping were once illegal, but we do both these things now without batting an eye. If you were in Nazi Germany, it was illegal to hide Jews from the Nazi’s, though today we look at those who did so as heroes. Women in the Suffragette movement were trailblazers, and governments that participated in slavery and residential schools are still apologizing. Sometimes what is legal is wrong, and what is moral is illegal.


Martin Luther King Jr. said “ One Has a Moral Responsibility to Disobey Unjust Laws” and St. Augustine said “ An unjust law, is no law at all”.


Ultimately history is the judge of morality with our standard of morals being the present. Every day we are creating, writing and re-writing history, though, this is only considered news on a weekly basis. Every day we are defining and redefining what is considered moral and politicians are writing and re-writing what is considered legal, which brings us to Cannabis.



Cannabis has been used for as long as we can tell, from being a medicine in ancient China and the west, to being discovered in tombs from Ancient Egypt. In the west Cannabis has gone in and out of legality. Once mainly used as a source for fibre, it was instructed by the Queen of England that any land owner with more than 60 acres would have to grow cannabis for industrial use. It was required for farmers to grow Cannabis. The founding fathers of United States of America were hemp farmers, in fact, the Constitution was written on hemp paper. Cannabis was called the “billion dollar crop” and with the invention of the decorticator (a machine for stripping plant skin or bark) it became a more efficient alternative to paper made from trees.



This is where things went wrong for the Cannabis plant.


Those with vested interest in the paper and printing industry saw Cannabis as a threat to their booming paper industry, and started a campaign against it thus releasing many publications drawing false correlations to psychotic episodes, murderous husbands and “Mexican immigrants raping white women”. This was also the first time Cannabis was called by its slang term Marijuana in order to defamiliarize people with the household name Cannabis.


It would not be long after, that Cannabis would be made illegal, causing countless people to be jailed and have property taken away from them for a victimless crime.


Which brings us to October 17th. October 17th 2018 is the first day of Cannabis being legal, once again, in Canada since the early 1900’s. A lot of people thought the world would fall apart, it hasn’t, yet at least. Soon our politicians will be able to vote on whether they will allow Cannabis to be sold in our community.



We wrote all of our local Candidates for Councillor or Mayoral positions to find out their thoughts on Cannabis.


Here is a copy of the original email…


“Dear Candidates and incumbents,


With elections fast approaching, we were hoping to please get all of your opinions on Cannabis.


We know the Town of Halton Hills is in the process of gathering more information, but we feel as if this is nothing new to society. People have used Cannabis for 1000’s of years, the only difference is now it will become legal, again, thus creating new business and tourism opportunities, allowing medical and recreational users easier access, and upsetting those who are not pro-cannabis.


The Government of Ontario has recently stated that municipalities will have a chance to opt in or opt out of the Cannabis legislation.


As the Halton Police stated, legalization will undoubtedly lead to a “Social adjustment period”, a time when Cannabis consumers, and those pro-cannabis, will have to adjust to non-consumers and those who are anti-cannabis. There is no right decision, only the decision that is best for Halton Hills, as regardless of what is chosen, whether you are pro or anti-cannabis, complaints and praise will come from both sides.


We feel it is the voters right to know each of your stances on Cannabis before they go to the polls on October 22nd or prior.


We would like to know your stance before then. If you could respond to these 4 questions it would be greatly appreciated. For anyone who does not respond, we will write “ did not reply”. You are welcome to do this for any or all of the questions, but we will be listing it as such. We would appreciate your responses by October 8th, so we can write and publish the article containing each of your answers shortly afterward.


The questions we would like you to answer are...


1. Have you ever used Cannabis? And if so, what did you think of it?

2. What is your current stance on Cannabis?

3. Would you vote for Halton Hills to opt in, or opt out, or wait to opt in of the new legislation?


4. What is your opinion on Cannabis vs. Alcohol? Do you find one substance to be better, more harmful, or equal?


Thank you in advance for your responses.


Highest regards,


Acton UP”


Below you can find our Q&A from each Candidate broken down by position they are Candidates for, if their name is not on the list, its because we did not receive their response.


Mayoral Candidates



Ward 1



Ward 2



Ward 3



Ward 4



Regional Councillor Wards 1 & 2



Region Councillor Wards 3 & 4



Regional Chair


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