The Devil Is in the Details! On Regulating Cannabis Use in Canada Based on Public Health Criteria; Comment on “Legalizing and Regulating Marijuana in Canada: Review of Potential Economic, Social, and Health Impacts” (original) (raw)
Related papers
2016
Notwithstanding a century of prohibition, marijuana is the most widely used illicit substance in Canada. Due to the growing public acceptance of recreational marijuana use and ineffectiveness of the existing control system in Canada, the issue surrounding legalizing this illicit drug has received considerable public and political attentions in recent years. Consequently, the newly elected Liberal Government has formally announced that Canada will introduce legislation in the spring of 2017 to start legalizing and regulating marijuana. This editorial aims to provide a brief overview on potential economic, social, and public health impacts of legal marijuana in Canada. The legalization could increase tax revenue through the taxation levied on marijuana products and could also allow the Government to save citizens’ tax dollars currently being spent on prohibition enforcement. Moreover, legalization could also remove the criminal element from marijuana market and reduce the size of Canada’s black market and its consequences for the society. Nevertheless, it may also lead to some public health problems, including increasing in the uptake of the drug, accidents and injuries. The legalization should be accompanied with comprehensive strategies to keep the drug out of the hands of minors while increasing awareness and knowledge on harmful effects of the drug. In order to get better insights on how to develop an appropriate framework to legalize marijuana, Canada should closely watch the development in the neighboring country, the United States, where some of its states viz, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska have already legalized recreational use of marijuana.
A recent editorial in this journal provides a summary of key economic, social, and public health considerations of the forthcoming legislation to legalize, regulate, and restrict access to marijuana in Canada. As our government plans to implement an evidence-based public health framework for marijuana legalization, we reflect and expand on recent discussions of the public health implications of marijuana legalization, and offer additional points of consideration. We select two commonly cited public concerns of marijuana legalization – adolescent usage and impaired driving – and discuss how the underdeveloped and equivocal body of scientific literature surrounding these issues limits the ability to predict the effects of legalization. Finally, we discuss the potential for some potential public health benefits of marijuana legalization – specifically the potential for marijuana to be used as a substitute to opioids and other risky substance use – that have to date not received adequate attention.
Cannabis use in Canada: Policy options for control
1998
La politique concernant le cannabis devrait s' efforcer de réduire les risques associés à la consommation et, en même temps, les coûts et conséquences adverses qui découlent des tentatives en vue de la contrôler. Les mesures actuelles se sont avérées incapables de réaliser l'équilibre souhaité: elles ont suscité des coûts sociaux et individuels considérables sans produire d'effet de dissuasion visible ou d'autres effets bénéfiques. Les auteurs esquissent un certain nombre d'autres options possibles.
Prohibition vs. Legalization of Marijuana: The Canadian Context on Legalization Policy
2014
This capstone would not have been possible without the guidance and help from Dr. Ken McKenzie. I would like to thank him for his continued support and encouragement during the course of my research, in helping me analyze economic trends, and enrich my understanding of the application of economics for my capstone topic. Dr. McKenzie encouraged me to think outside the box and get creative. I am sincerely appreciative for the advice I was given over the last couple of months. I could not have completed this project without him.
Evaluating the impacts of cannabis legalization: The International Cannabis Policy Study
International Journal of Drug Policy, 2020
An increasing number of jurisdictions have legalized non-medical cannabis use, including Canada in October 2018 and several US states starting in 2012. The policy measures implemented within these regulated markets differ with respect to product standards, labelling and warnings, public education, retail policies, marketing, and price/taxation. The International Cannabis Policy Study (ICPS) seeks to evaluate the impacts of these policy measures as well as the broader population-level impact of cannabis legalization using a quasi-experimental research design. The objective of this paper is to describe the ICPS conceptual framework, methods, and baseline estimates of cannabis use. The ICPS is a prospective cohort survey conducted with national samples of 16-65year-olds in Canada and the US. Data are collected via an online survey using the Nielsen Consumer Insights Global Panel. Primary survey domains include: prevalence and patterns of cannabis use; purchasing and price; consumption and product types; commercial retail environment; problematic use and risk behaviours; cannabis knowledge and risk perceptions; and policy-relevant outcomes including exposure to health warnings, public educational campaigns, and advertising and promotion. The first annual wave was conducted in Aug-Oct 2018 with 27,169 respondents in three geographic 'conditions': Canada (n = 10,057), US states that had legalized non-medical cannabis (n = 7,398) and US states in which non-medical cannabis was prohibited (n = 9,714). The ICPS indicates substantial differences in cannabis use in jurisdictions with different regulatory frameworks for cannabis. Future waves of the study will examine changes over time in cannabis use and its effects associated with legalization in Canada and additional US states. personal cultivation and zoning restrictions (Government of Canada, 2019). The federal government has also committed to using cannabis tax revenue to fund public education campaigns and increase funding for mental health and addiction services (Budget 2018. Equality + growth: a strong middle class, 2018). The Government of Canada has identified several objectives for legalizing cannabis. These include: (1) protecting the health of young people by restricting access to cannabis; (2) preventing illicit activities by allowing licit cannabis production and ensuring appropriate legal sanctions; (3) reducing the burden on the criminal justice system; (4) providing a quality-controlled cannabis supply; and (5) ensuring Canadians understand the risks of cannabis (Cannabis regulations SOR/ 2018-144, 2018). Evaluating the impact of cannabis use is thus critically important to examining whether these public health objectives
Substance Use and Misuse, 2019
Background: Observing and documenting major shifts in drug policy in a given jurisdiction offer important lessons for other settings worldwide. After nearly a century of prohibition of non-medical use and sale of cannabis, Canada federally legalized the drug in October 2018. Across this geographically large and diverse country, there is a patchwork of cannabis policies as the provinces and territories have developed their own regulatory frameworks. Objectives: As drug policy transitions are often studied well after implementation, we document early stage cannabis regulatory policy planning in the four most populous provinces of Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. Methods: In June 2018, we systematically searched peer-reviewed and gray literature (such as web content, reports, and policy documents authored by varied authorities and organizations) to identify key aspects of the evolving provincial cannabis legalization frameworks. In the absence of peer-reviewed studies, we reviewed primarily gray literature. Results: For each of the four provinces examined, we provide a succinct overview of early-stage public consultation, plans for cannabis distribution and retail, other key regulatory features, endorsements of a public health approach to legalization, general alignment with alcohol policy, and contentious or standout issues. Conclusions/Importance: Our review clearly illustrates that cannabis legalization in Canada is not unfolding as monolithic policy, despite a federal framework, but with divergent approaches. The public health outcomes that will result from the different provincial/territorial regulatory systems remain to be measured and will be closely monitored.
Cannabis use in Canada: The need for a'public health'approach
2009
Abstract Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in Canada, used by 1 in 7 adults and 1 in 4 students. Other forms of drug use (eg, alcohol or injection drug use) are increasingly approached within a public health policy framework that focuses on reducing harms rather than use per se. Cannabis, by contrast, remains formally controlled by a criminal justice approach that focuses on enforcing abstinence.
From Toques to Tokes: Two challenges facing nationwide legalization of cannabis in Canada
The International journal on drug policy, 2017
In 2015, a new Liberal Government came to power in Canada, elected on a platform that included legalization and regulation of cannabis for recreational purposes. Their legislation, based on recommendations from a Federal Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation, is due in early April 2017. This commentary utilizes Canadian Federal policy papers, previous literature, and internal and international agreements to examine two key areas critical to the development of a nationwide regulated market for cannabis in Canada; the need to overcome restrictions to legalizing cannabis in United Nations' drug control treaties, and the unique challenges that non-medical cannabis creates for navigating interprovincial trade policies in Canada. Irrespective of UN conventions that appear to prohibit legalization of cannabis the Government is preparing to bring forward legislation as this article goes to print. At the same time significant squabbles impede the selling of even beer and wi...