Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Proponents of open and easy access to legalized marijuana will not be pleased by the tone of a new discussion paper released by the federal government. If anyone thought the breezy support for recreational pot offered by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the campaign trail would translate into neighbourhood "dispensaries" peddling a rich and varied assortment of products to passing clients, they will be deeply disappointed. The plan looks much more likely to be about control, policing and regulation. Fun has nothing to do with it.
The paper is titled Towards the Legalization, Regulation and Restriction of Access to Marijuana. That offers a sense of the government's thinking as it works toward legislation to legalize the drug, which has been promised for next spring. A key concern of the authors is the avoidance of "normalization" - i.e., preventing the impression that Ottawa actually approves of marijuana use - which might inspire Canadians to actually buy the stuff. While the paper acknowledges the controlled use of marijuana has valid medical benefits, it evidently sees recreational use as an unpleasant reality that needs to be discouraged, even as it is reluctantly tolerated.
In this, the document may be more in line with public opinion than marijuana proponents like to admit. While an overwhelming majority of Canadians tell pollsters they favour legalization, they also show strong support for federal controls over access, quality and distribution.
According to the paper, only eight per cent of adult Canadians say they use marijuana, compared with 25 per cent of those aged 15 to 24. Preventing use by that younger group is central to the government's aims. The draft document notes that while marijuana may not be the demon drug of more extreme assertions, there are real health concerns, especially over use by young people. "Marijuana is not a benign substance and the scientific evidence clearly demonstrates that young people are at a higher level of risk," it states. The younger the user and the greater the use, the bigger the danger of long-term harm.
Thus, it proposes several ways to limit usage. Possible restrictions include: a ban on consuming pot in public or limiting usage to controlled venues or clubs; strict limitations on advertising or promotion "to dampen widespread use and reduce associated harms;" limits on the amount people can grow for personal use (U.S. jurisdictions allow a maximum of four to six plants); and a minimum age for legal purchases that could be as high as 25 to reflect the concern over health impacts on youth.
The report looks with favour on the draconian regimen used to reduce tobacco use (which health officials would like to stamp out altogether), noting that "few countries have been as successful as Canada in lowering smoking rates and shifting public attitudes." It points out that today's marijuana plants are far more potent than casual users may recall from their youth: average THC levels range from 12 to 15 per cent, compared to three per cent in the 1980s. It proposes limits on the sale of pot products, like cookies, candies or creams, arguing they represent an increased risk of accidental consumption, or "normalization."
It also sides heavily with the need for intense policing on quality, origin and distribution. "Significant efforts" are urged to shut "down illegal operations, be they store-fronts or internet operators." The operators of illegal "dispensaries" sprouting on the streets of Vancouver and Toronto will find nothing encouraging in the document: there is no sign the Liberals sympathize with their call for a vibrant marketplace. While U.S. states like Colorado and Washington allow retail operations, it notes, they place limits on licensing and locations to take account of neighbourhood attitudes. The report also reflects continuing concerns over organized crime, warning that "regulating a substance does not automatically remove it from illicit markets."
One thing that is not in doubt is the enthusiasm of the nascent pot industry. Even with marijuana limited to medical use, Canada had 33 licensed producers as of June 28, 416 applications awaiting approval and new ones arriving at a rate of 20 a month. With the many opportunities for taxation, regulation and policing a much-broader legalized market presents, Ottawa would seem to be on the verge of a sizable boom in bureaucracy and a cash cow with rich revenue streams to fuel its yen for spending. Canadians may have thought Trudeau's support for legalization reflected a liberal approach to drug use; it appears more likely his government is largely appreciative of the opportunity to further expand the government's size, and its regulatory role in Canadian lives.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Ottawa's Pot Plan Is About Control, Not Fun
Author: Kelly McParland
Contact: 416-383-2300
Photo Credit: Larry Wong
Website: National Post
The paper is titled Towards the Legalization, Regulation and Restriction of Access to Marijuana. That offers a sense of the government's thinking as it works toward legislation to legalize the drug, which has been promised for next spring. A key concern of the authors is the avoidance of "normalization" - i.e., preventing the impression that Ottawa actually approves of marijuana use - which might inspire Canadians to actually buy the stuff. While the paper acknowledges the controlled use of marijuana has valid medical benefits, it evidently sees recreational use as an unpleasant reality that needs to be discouraged, even as it is reluctantly tolerated.
In this, the document may be more in line with public opinion than marijuana proponents like to admit. While an overwhelming majority of Canadians tell pollsters they favour legalization, they also show strong support for federal controls over access, quality and distribution.
According to the paper, only eight per cent of adult Canadians say they use marijuana, compared with 25 per cent of those aged 15 to 24. Preventing use by that younger group is central to the government's aims. The draft document notes that while marijuana may not be the demon drug of more extreme assertions, there are real health concerns, especially over use by young people. "Marijuana is not a benign substance and the scientific evidence clearly demonstrates that young people are at a higher level of risk," it states. The younger the user and the greater the use, the bigger the danger of long-term harm.
Thus, it proposes several ways to limit usage. Possible restrictions include: a ban on consuming pot in public or limiting usage to controlled venues or clubs; strict limitations on advertising or promotion "to dampen widespread use and reduce associated harms;" limits on the amount people can grow for personal use (U.S. jurisdictions allow a maximum of four to six plants); and a minimum age for legal purchases that could be as high as 25 to reflect the concern over health impacts on youth.
The report looks with favour on the draconian regimen used to reduce tobacco use (which health officials would like to stamp out altogether), noting that "few countries have been as successful as Canada in lowering smoking rates and shifting public attitudes." It points out that today's marijuana plants are far more potent than casual users may recall from their youth: average THC levels range from 12 to 15 per cent, compared to three per cent in the 1980s. It proposes limits on the sale of pot products, like cookies, candies or creams, arguing they represent an increased risk of accidental consumption, or "normalization."
It also sides heavily with the need for intense policing on quality, origin and distribution. "Significant efforts" are urged to shut "down illegal operations, be they store-fronts or internet operators." The operators of illegal "dispensaries" sprouting on the streets of Vancouver and Toronto will find nothing encouraging in the document: there is no sign the Liberals sympathize with their call for a vibrant marketplace. While U.S. states like Colorado and Washington allow retail operations, it notes, they place limits on licensing and locations to take account of neighbourhood attitudes. The report also reflects continuing concerns over organized crime, warning that "regulating a substance does not automatically remove it from illicit markets."
One thing that is not in doubt is the enthusiasm of the nascent pot industry. Even with marijuana limited to medical use, Canada had 33 licensed producers as of June 28, 416 applications awaiting approval and new ones arriving at a rate of 20 a month. With the many opportunities for taxation, regulation and policing a much-broader legalized market presents, Ottawa would seem to be on the verge of a sizable boom in bureaucracy and a cash cow with rich revenue streams to fuel its yen for spending. Canadians may have thought Trudeau's support for legalization reflected a liberal approach to drug use; it appears more likely his government is largely appreciative of the opportunity to further expand the government's size, and its regulatory role in Canadian lives.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Ottawa's Pot Plan Is About Control, Not Fun
Author: Kelly McParland
Contact: 416-383-2300
Photo Credit: Larry Wong
Website: National Post