Jodie Emery under fire for saying alcohol causes rape

MONTREAL (NEWS1130) – Prominent marijuana rights advocate Jodie Emery is under fire from women’s rights advocates after saying alcohol causes rape.

While appearing on our sister station in Toronto 680 NEWS podcast Maclean’s on the Hill, Emery argued that marijuana shouldn’t face the same regulation as alcohol.

“Marijuana is not like alcohol, which causes rape, violence, murder, death and disease every single minute of every single day,” she said.

Emery then admitted that she’d been a victim of sexual assault.

“Alcohol causes people to behave in ways they’re not supposed to,” she said.

“It’s sad that you think that many – all – of the sexual assault perpetrators across this country are actual monsters and rapists just using alcohol as an excuse,” Emery continued.

But women’s rights and anti-harassment advocate Julie Lalonde said Emery’s comments are absurd, risky and wrong.

“You talk to survivors of sexual violence and the vast majority of them will find that deeply offensive and they will say you are enabling sexual assault by saying that,” she said.

Lalonde said comments like those are dangerous because they try to normalize and excuse sexual assault.

“There’s a difference between arguing that people who commit sexual violence can be rehabilitated and become members of our community and saying these are all innocent men who meant no harm to women, they just got drunk and oops I raped somebody. That is dangerous, dangerous thinking,” she explained.

Lalonde added that she supports the legalization of marijuana and said she is sad Emery would use this type of language to try and argue that.