Pubdate: Sat, 14 Nov 2015
Source: Hamilton Spectator (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 The Hamilton Spectator
Contact:  http://www.thespec.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/181
Author: Lorne Warwick
Note: Lorne Warwick is a retired teacher, freelance writer, and a 
blogger who writes primarily about the Canadian political landscape.
Page: A17

Marijuana

REEFER RICHES: LEARN FROM OTHERS ON LEGALIZATION

Liberal government is on the right track, but caution is needed going forward

Ontario residents of a certain age will well remember the days when 
purchasing alcohol of any kind from the Liquor Control Board of 
Ontario was a ritual conducted without joy.

Far in the future lay what we now take for granted: multitudes of 
attractively-displayed products from around the world, all eagerly 
beckoning customers to try new libations, many offering in-store 
samples, specials, etc.

Back in the era when sobriety and moderation were much encouraged, 
the consumer chose from a printed list of products, filled out an 
order on a small piece of paper, tendered it to an anonymous clerk 
behind a barrier who would hand it off to another employee who then 
disappeared into a stockroom (no displays allowed!) and returned with 
the purchase in a discreet brown bag. The customer would promptly 
leave, perhaps feeling a certain unease at having been involved in a 
transaction that did not seem to be wholly sanctioned by society.

It was not an atmosphere that encouraged enthusiastic consumption.

My reminiscing was prompted by a documentary I recently watched on 
CBC called "Reefer Riches," which was made when the chance of a 
Liberal victory and their promised legalization of marijuana seemed 
remote at best. I now have little doubt the new government will act 
upon that promise, and I do think it will serve a greater good, but 
only if it is handled properly, something the documentary made very 
clear to me.

Justin Trudeau has stated that legalizing pot will be a means of 
helping keep it out of the hands of kids and reducing the 
multibillion-dollar black market. Since the war on drugs has been a 
proven and costly failure, this makes sense. However, the steps taken 
by American states that have embraced legalization can serve as 
cautionary tales to help ensure Canadian legislation strikes the 
right balance between access to and promotion of marijuana.

As you will see if you watch the documentary available on the CBC's 
website (www.cbc.ca/firsthand/episodes/reeferriches), Colorado, one 
of the states where legalized cannabis use is now almost two years 
old, appears to be a pothead's paradise. With open displays of 
plants, tinctures and edibles, daily specials and a growing "pot 
tourism," the emphasis is clearly on the promotion of consumption. It 
is a model we would do well to avoid if our purpose truly is to 
control its use.

As one of the speakers in the film points out, Canada can learn a 
great deal from the mistakes that were made in jurisdictions that 
have legalized the drug, one being the post-legalization public 
service announcements about the dangers of smoking and driving, ads 
that in retrospect should have hit the airwaves far in advance of 
actual legalization. Another is the cavalier way in which edible 
marijuana products have been promoted, leading to overdoses. While 
such incidents are never life-threatening in and of themselves, they 
do pose some grave risks, especially for children whose parents might 
carelessly leave a pot-infused cookie or candy bar lying about within 
easy reach.

In my mind, our country would do very well to avoid the open 
commercialization format shown in the film, and instead adopt a very 
understated, discrete and perhaps slightly intimidating model similar 
to what once existed in Ontario: no displays, a product list, and 
access limited to government-run stores.

A bit regressive and Puritanical? Perhaps, but still a model that 
repudiates prohibition without extolling cannabis consumption.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom