Pubdate: Thu, 27 Aug 2015
Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.montrealgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274
Authors: Nazlee Maghsoudi and Dan Werb
Note: Nazlee Maghsoudi and Dan Werb are affiliated with the 
Toronto-based International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP).
Page: A19

THERE'S NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT 'BIG MARIJUANA'

A Legal Cannabis Industry Could Be Subjected to Sensible Regulations, 
Nazlee Maghsoudi and Dan Werb Say.

With cannabis policy reform gaining traction, predictably dire 
predictions about regulated markets have followed.

You may have heard that cannabis regulation is the first step in an 
inevitable slide toward an unchecked, out-of-control "Big Marijuana" 
industry driven only by profit. Vox even referred to this concern as 
the "best argument against marijuana legalization."

But claims that cannabis policy reform will lead to Big Marijuana 
underplay the level of government control that is made possible under 
regulation.

In many jurisdictions, restrictions on advertising can be used to 
prevent the expansion of the cannabis industry, and any potential 
subsequent increases in cannabis consumption. Uruguay has made use of 
this option, having banned all cannabis advertising and marketing 
when the country regulated recreational use of the drug in 2013. 
According to Julio Calzada, Secretary-General for the Uruguayan 
National Assembly on Drugs, the thinking was simple: "this law deals 
with substances whose use carries risks and can be harmful, and 
therefore any form of promoting their use should be avoided."

Limiting the size and nature of market players is another regulatory 
tool that can address concerns about Big Marijuana. Although cannabis 
markets are not legalized and regulated in Spain, room for 
interpretation of the penal code has allowed for the emergence of 
nonprofit cannabis social clubs.

Some, however, worry that concerns about Big Marijuana may lead to 
unnecessary regulatory controls that act more as an imposition than a 
public safeguard.

And Steve Fox, co-author of the Colorado ballot initiative that 
legalized and regulated recreational cannabis, questions the very 
premise of the concerns over a large and commercialized cannabis 
industry. According to Fox, "Coming from the perspective that 
cannabis is less harmful than alcohol, I don't share concerns that we 
need to stop the wide availability of cannabis and potentially increasing use."

It's for this very reason that Fox believes that the cannabis 
industry shouldn't be subject to tougher regulations than alcohol 
when it comes to advertising and taxation. Yet that doesn't mean that 
some restrictions aren't necessary. "Since alcohol and tobacco 
industries have targeted minors in the past through advertising," he 
points out, "it is entirely appropriate to ensure that advertising of 
cannabis products is not targeted at minors in any way." Initially, 
at least, the data seem to bear this out: in the year after Colorado 
regulated cannabis, the state recorded a slight drop in the number of 
high school students who reported using the drug.

Vancouver city councillor Kerry Jang, who took a leadership role in 
regulating the city's medical cannabis dispensaries, agrees. "One of 
the most important elements of the regulations is the explicit 
banning of advertising to minors. With regulations, such as 19 and up 
age restrictions, we can actually start to limit who these 
dispensaries sell and advertise to." This is simply not possible in 
the unregulated markets under prohibition.

In a recent review of the scientific evidence that we undertook at 
the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP), the data 
suggested that many jurisdictions with legally regulated cannabis 
markets have employed stricter regulatory controls than those used 
for tobacco in previous decades.

As the pace of reform accelerates, the debate about cannabis 
regulation will only intensify. In Canada, the majority of citizens 
want to see our cannabis laws changed.

Given the array of regulatory tools that policy-makers have 
available, fears that regulation will inevitably lead to an 
out-of-control market just don't hold water. Policy-makers should 
look to the range of regulatory options to make sure that, unlike 
cannabis prohibition, we get regulation right.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom