Ahead of Canada's 2015 election, marijuana advocates scrutinize competing plans for reform

Canada has a federal election scheduled for October 19, 2015. Ahead of that date, the country's three leading parties—the ruling Conservatives, the Liberals, and the New Democrats—have staked out different positions on the subject of recreational marijuana.

The Conservatives have committed to a tough-on-crime agenda that maintains the status quo. Meanwhile, the Liberal party led by Justin Trudeau has promised to legalize marijuana. The NDP's Thomas Mulcair has pledged to decriminalize the drug while devoting resources to further study the issue.

Those platform positions put forward by the Liberals and the NDP are not as similar as most people believe. We explore the differences in a three-part series.

	Part one: Liberals and NDP promise marijuana reform but pot crimes could still haunt Canadians for decades
	Part two: Decriminalization versus legalization: marijuana advocates scrutinize competing plans for reform
	Part three: Marijuana advocates warn NDP plans for decriminalization would leave organized crime in control