Canadian Conservative Leader Tells Joe Rogan Marijuana Should Be A ‘Personal Choice,’ Despite Voting Against Legalization

The head of the Conservative Party of Canada says using marijuana should be a “personal choice”—even though he voted against the bill that legalized cannabis nationwide in his country that entitled adults to freedom from the threat of criminalization for consuming it.

In an interview on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast that was released on Thursday, Canadian Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre presented a philosophical idea about cannabis policy that the host said he appreciated as the two discussed their neighboring nations’ conflicting marijuana laws.

Rogan lamented the fact that while rules are being finalized to reschedule cannabis under U.S. law—with the backing of President Donald Trump—the reform wouldn’t federally legalize the plant as the Canadian government achieved under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of the Liberal Party in 2018.

“If alcohol is legal, marijuana is far safer—it should be legal. It’s ridiculous,” Rogan said. “It’s also a personal freedom thing. Leave people alone. No one’s robbing banks smoking weed and killing their neighbors. It’s crazy.”

Poilievre interjected that it’s “a personal choice thing.”

When it comes to cannabis, the role of government should be essentially the same as alcohol, Rogan said. That is, “Leave them alone.”

And the Canadian conservative leader agreed, saying “that’s my philosophy.”

“The bottom line is, if you cannot trust a man to govern himself, how can you trust him to govern for others?” Poilievre said. “If you think that human nature is so flawed that people cannot make decisions for themselves, then how could you possibly trust human nature to make decisions for other people—to impose decisions on their lives? And who watches the watchmen?”

“We’re constantly told we need to be kind of guided by these people from ivory towers. But who are these angels anyway? They’re just human beings like everyone else,” he said. “So when you give them more power, you give them the power to impose their will on people, then that ultimately gets abused.”

The two were aligning on a basic libertarian principle that treats government power with skepticism and scrutiny, while upholding individual liberty as an ideal that should not be infringed.

“So even you’re right—even when somebody is doing something that I don’t agree with, and I would think it would be better for all of us if they didn’t do it—the mal that is done by giving me the power to impose my decision-making on them is worse than the benefit of trying to direct them towards a better decision,” Poilievre said. “That’s my philosophy. It’s pretty simple. I think all the best things in life are simple.”

“You know, we overcomplicate things. Government is way too complicated. You know, I think we need to get back to the simplicity,” he continued. “The greatest speech in the English language was Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address—271 words. Einstein compressed mass and energy into a five-character equation. Bruce Lee was an advocate of simplicity.”

“Simplicity is is a virtue, and I think we have to get back to simplicity, especially in government,” Poilievre said. “Simpler, clearer, easier to manage.”

Rogan, evidently enamored with the lawmaker’s stated philosophy, said, “I think your message resonates with me,” and if he was Canadian, he’d “vote for you 100 percent.”

But philosophy aside, if Rogan had voted for Poilievre ahead of the Parliament’s vote to legalize marijuana, he would’ve cast his ballot for someone whose stated belief in personal freedom to use cannabis didn’t translate into support for the kind of reform that’s actually given Canadians that choice. Poilievre voted against the legislation, as StratCann noted after the interview with Rogan aired.

And while he’s said that a Conservative Party in control of the Canadian government wouldn’t move to reverse legalization under his leadership, he also sharply criticized a local pilot program in British Columbia to decriminalize possession of all currently illicit drugs, saying in 2023 that the policy change made the city of Vancouver a “hell on earth.”

Meanwhile, eight years after Canada enacted marijuana legalization, a nationally representative survey found that support for the reform is increasing over time. Relatively few Canadians want to legalize other drugs, however.

Roughly two-thirds of Canadian adults (65 percent) now say they agree with cannabis being legal, according to the survey from Research Co. That’s up three percentage points since the firm last polled on the topic in 2024.

A survey released last year also showed that a majority of Canadians feel the marijuana sector that’s emerged since cannabis was legalized nationwide is an “important contributor” to the country’s economy.

Canadians seem to recognize the value of the cannabis industry to the country’s overall financial health, with 59 percent describing the sector as a valuable component of the economy in the poll conducted by Abacus Data and commissioned by the cannabis company Organigram Global. That includes 69 percent of recent Liberal voters and 58 percent of recent Conservative voters.

When the research firm previously asked Canadians that question last April, 57 percent agreed about the importance of the marijuana market relative to the national economy, so this represents a slight increase.

Observers have also been watching how broader adult-use legalization impacts medical marijuana in Canada, noting, for example, patient enrollment rates declining after legalization was enacted but before retailers opened for business.

A study released in 2024, meanwhile, found similar marijuana use rates and support for legalization in both the U.S. and Canada despite the countries’ different national approaches to regulating the drug.

Another report found that marijuana legalization was “associated with a decline in beer sales,” suggesting a substitution effect where consumers shift from one product to the other.

Meanwhile, a separate survey out of Canada that was financially supported by the government recently found that youth marijuana use rates have declined after the country legalized cannabis—contradicting concerns voiced by prohibitionists.

A separate Canadian government report found that daily or near-daily use rates by both adults and youth have held steady over the last six years after the country enacted legalization.

New York Senators Approve Bill Addressing Medical Marijuana Reciprocity For Out-Of-State Patients And Pre-Rolled Joints

New York senators have approved a bill related to reciprocity for out-of-state medical marijuana patients and the availability of pre-rolled joints in the medical cannabis market—even though the state has already enacted those reforms separately.

The Senate Health Committee on Tuesday passed the legislation from Sen. Jeremy Cooney (D) in a 9-3 vote, advancing it to the floor for consideration, where on Thursday it advanced to third reading.

Under the proposal, a “person who is not a resident of this state, but who is authorized to engage in the medical use of cannabis under the laws of such person’s state or jurisdiction of residence, is deemed to hold a valid registry identification if the person provides legitimate documentation and abides by the legal limits on the possession, delivery and production of cannabis for medical purposes in this state.”

The legislation directs the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) to establish regulations, and it would also be authorized to “enter into reciprocity agreements with other states with medical cannabis programs.”

Further, the measure, S3105, tasks the board with promulgating rules for the “approval of pre-roll products in the medical cannabis program”—though those products are also already legal for patients to purchase under state law.

If passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor, the reforms would take effect immediately.

Tuesday wasn’t the first time the Health Committee took up the bill. Last year, in the first half of the two-year legislative session, the measure moved through that panel and passed on the Senate floor before stalling out in the Assembly. Now the measure has cleared the panel again.

But the rationale behind advancing the measure is somewhat unclear, as the governor last year signed separate legislation from Cooney into law that contained provisions that are in effect granting reciprocity to out-of-state medical cannabis patients. Also, patients are already able to buy marijuana pre-rolls, among other product types, under existing rules.

A spokesperson for the senator’s office told Marijuana Moment on Wednesday that the legislation enacted in November “was a little more big picture about the evolution of the program,” whereas the bill that moved through committee “is a little more targeted in its scope.” However, the staffer said they were awaiting further clarification from Cooney’s legislative team.

In addition to the reciprocity provisions, the already-enacted law streamlines the patient certification process and allows adults 18 and older to grow their own cannabis plants for therapeutic use.

—Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.—

Meanwhile, last month the senator separately introduced legislation that would allow New York liquor and wine stores to obtain a permit to sell low-dose cannabis-infused drinks at their businesses.

Also, the governor of New York last month signed legislation into law that revises zoning requirements for licensed marijuana businesses, granting more flexibility to retailers located within certain distances of schools and places of worship.

In January, New York officials released a set of reports providing a 2025 end-of-year status update on the evolution of the state’s medical and adult-use marijuana markets—touting record sales, revenue hauls for state coffers, licensing approvals, equity initiatives and more.

All told, retail cannabis sales in New York have exceeded $2.5 billion since the passage of recreational legalization, including $1.6 billion that was generated last year alone as of November. Also, licensed storefronts nearly doubled from 261 in 2024 to 556 in 2025.

Last July, meanwhile, New York officials announced the first round of grants under a $5 million program to help retail marijuana businesses owned by justice-involved people cover startup costs.

Iowa Senators Approve Psilocybin Therapy Bill For PTSD Patients

An Iowa Senate panel has approved a House-passed bill to create a state-regulated therapeutic psilocybin program for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee advance the legislation from Rep. John Wills (R) in a voice vote on Thursday.

The panel adopted an amendment from Sen. Dennis Guth (R) to narrow the scope of the bill to allow only people with PTSD to access the psychedelic therapy instead of the broader version that was passed by the House last year.

The revised measure also eliminates provisions that would have created a new Psilocybin Production Establishment Licensing Board under the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to oversee the industry. Instead, the current Medical Cannabidiol Advisory Board would take on the responsibility of regulating the psychedelic and be renamed to the Medical Controlled Substance Advisory and Licensing Board.

“I have some friends, some people I know, that I think would really benefit from this,” Guth said. “But we have to be careful how we proceed with this.”

Sen. Kara Warme (R), the chair of the panel, agreed, saying that the “bill is not done” and still needs some more work before it should be enacted into law.

“I think we have an interesting challenge as lawmakers to look at a really promising potential solution to help Iowans with PTSD, especially our veterans, who are facing this—but also there is a lot of unknowns that remain,” she said. “It’s a new potential solution, and so I appreciate the work that’s going in to make sure that we do this in the right way that’s cost effective for tax taxpayers, and also thinks through the risks and rewards of something new and not heavily studied like this.”

If enacted into law, HF 978 would allow patients with PTSD who receive recommendations from medical professionals to legally access psilocybin produced in-state by licensed entities. Administration sessions for the psychedelic would be supervised by registered facilitators who would need to complete state-specified psilocybin education.

Administration sessions themselves would need to take place at registered clinical locations and would need to be video recorded. Those records would need to be available for inspection by state officials upon request.

Local governments could not outright ban psilocybin facilities, nor could they deny them appropriate licenses based merely on the fact that the psychedelic is federally illegal.

Notably, a licensed psilocybin production facility could be co-located with one of the state’s few licensed medical cannabis producers—known in Iowa as medical cannabidiol producers—and the bill says regulators may grant psilocybin licensing preferences to those existing cannabis producers. Facilities couldn’t be located within 1,000 feet of a community location or 500 feet of a residential area.

Only people 21 and older and who do not have a misdemeanor for drug distribution or any felony on their record could work at psilocybin producers, and licensees themselves would face background checks.

Up to four independent testing labs could be licensed under the bill, and the state could also establish its own lab.

License applications would be accepted beginning July 1, 2026.

The measure also directs HHS to conduct a study on “the use of psychedelic compounds other than psilocybin in the treatment of medical conditions.”

—Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.—

The bill as originally introduced would have limited the psilocybin therapy program only to patients with PTSD, with a ceiling of 5,000 participants at any one time, but those provisions were removed with a House floor amendment last year. Now, however, the Senate panel has added back in the limitation to PTSD patients only.

Last year, Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) vetoed separate legislation that would have allowed doctors in the state to immediately prescribe a synthetic form of psilocybin in the event of federal approval of the psychedelic substance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), arguing that it “surrenders state authority to make an informed determination about classification to federal officials.”

“This decision is not a dismissal of the emerging science or the sincere advocacy behind this legislation,” the governor said at the time. “Rather, it is a call for a more deliberate and Iowa-centric approach.”

Image courtesy of CostaPPR.