It's 2018 and the Canadian government continues to move toward their promise to legalize recreational cannabis this year. Canada will be the first G7 Nation to do so.
The green rush has started and shows no signs of slowing down, but this is not the beginning of the story. Cannabis was made illegal in Canada in 1923 and little changed until 2001 when the national public health department started allowing doctors to prescribe it. It was primarily for end of life patients and those suffering from chronic conditions like epilepsy.
Medicinal cannabis legislation has evolved since then and business is booming. Stocks in "Licensed Producers" of cannabis in Canada are soaring as the legalization hype builds; more and more patients are signing up to get "legal weed" for almost any symptom. Once your paperwork (called Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations) is sent by a doctor and you are signed up with an LP you can shop online and have cannabis delivered through the mail.
Medicinal cannabis has also sparked an explosion in profitable Cannabis Clinics who exist solely to dole out prescriptions, not unlike pain clinics south of the border in the United States. The morality of these Cannabis Clinics and their doctors is as questionable as their future. Will their clientele dry up when adults can freely purchase recreational cannabis? Time will tell.
Canada is a large country and describing the current climate is not easy. Cannabis is widely accepted and available in metropolitan areas like Toronto and Vancouver. Vancouver and other cities in British Colombia have taken to licensing cannabis dispensaries instead of enforcing expensive and unpopular laws. Dispensaries in Toronto were on the rise but amidst more crackdowns by law enforcement many are staying closed for good.
Cannabis is not as widely accepted in rural and conservative areas. Even in the face of federal legalization there are municipalities that plan to push back, stating they do not want even a government-run storefront in their city.
Critics of the Cannabis Act, or Bill C-45, argue that Canada is undermining the spirit of all international treaties and conventions to which it belongs. Before legalization the government will have to deal with the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Canada may try to convince the UN to simply allow an exemption for cannabis or it may formally withdraw from the treaties.
Perhaps the biggest concern to even advocates of Bill C-45 is the current political climate in the United States. The previous Obama Administration adopted a policy of non-interference with cannabis-friendly state laws. A recent memo from Jeff Sessions, US Attorney General, rescinds the “hands-off” policy leaving the future unclear.
This news came only days after recreational cannabis became legal in California, on January 1st of this year. California is following in the footsteps of other states like Colorado and Oregon. These states have seen massive tax windfalls and generally positive outcomes.
The windfall cash of sales tax on cannabis has long been a reason to legalize but it should not be the only reason. While the government may be seeing green the black market is waiting to see if the ball is dropped by pricing and taxing cannabis too high.
Part of legalization should be to choke out the black market that is responsible for low quality cannabis and usher in a new era of quality and control. This can only be done by allowing the craft cannabis growers room in the new framework. Fortunately this appears to be the case.
It is abundantly clear that prohibition does not work and as a Canadian I am proud to have my country on the forefront of legalization. It will not be perfect on Day 1 but as a passionate cannabis user I am in support of any step in the right direction.
