Mulcair promises to decriminalize marijuana the ‘minute we form government’

WATCH ABOVE: NDP will decriminalize marijuana ‘minute we form government’ says Mulcair.

NDP leader Tom Mulcair said he will decriminalize marijuana the “minute we form government” during a stop in British Columbia on Thursday.

“I want to make sure that everybody understands, that the NDP’s position is decriminalization the minute we form government, it’s something we can do right away,” he said.

The decriminalization or legalization of marijuana has been a recurring fringe issue during the first three weeks of the election campaign, with both Mulcair and Justin Trudeau saying they would change the current laws.

Trudeau supports legalization and regulation of the drug, telling a crowd of supporters in 2013 that “it’s one of the only ways to keep it out of the hands of our kids.”

Mulcair wouldn’t say, however, whether he would grant amnesty to people already charged or convicted with possession, saying instead the NDP would “sit down and look at that.”

In-Depth: Federal Election 2015

Conservative leader Stephen Harper is the lone detractor on the issue of marijuana among the three federal leaders saying it should remain illegal.

A recent Ipsos poll suggested nearly two-thirds of Canadians over the age of 18 support decriminalizing marijuana “so that it no longer carries a penalty or fine.” That support was shared to varying degrees among genders and age groups.

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Infographic by Janet Cordahi, Global News