Pubdate: Wed, 16 Dec 2015 Source: Globe and Mail (Canada) Copyright: 2015 The Globe and Mail Company Contact: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168 Author: Dan Malleck Note: Associate professor of health sciences at Brock University; author of When Good Drugs Go Bad Page: A11 WHY IT MAKES SENSE TO HAVE LIQUOR CONTROL BOARDS SELL POT Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says the provincial liquor control board is the best way to sell marijuana. Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger made the same comment last month. The Ontario and British Columbia governments' employees unions have also called for it to be sold through liquor retailers. Some may ask, what have they been smoking? But based on why Canada developed these boards in the first place, the premiers have a good case. Are liquor boards the best way to distribute cannabis? Yes, and here's why: Liquor control boards were created so provinces could manage the legalization of another recreational drug, alcohol. When Prohibition gripped Canada a century ago, liquor was used medicinally as well as recreationally. But many saw it as a terrible social danger. Under Prohibition (which most provinces implemented during the First World War), to consume alcohol non-medically was to consort with criminals. This led to problems such as violent criminal networks expanding trade and protecting turf. Similarities to cannabis as a medicinal, recreational and criminally enriching substance are clear. Nevertheless, there are some key differences. Alcohol was criminalized at a time when many people enjoyed it, and banning it proved to be unworkable. Conversely, when cannabis was criminalized, relatively few Canadians consumed it. But as pot smoking became widespread, the demand enriched drug-trafficking networks that had been in place for decades, moving cocaine and opiates across borders. If this illegality heightened pot's appeal to the "counterculture," it also reinforced sinister stereotypes of the plant. Consider Stephen Harper's statement during the election campaign that marijuana is "infinitely worse" than tobacco. Research actually shows this to be far from the case, yet the former prime minister's mistaken assertion is understandable. When something is illegal, it is easy to believe that it is inherently dangerous. So how to legalize something so laden with negative baggage? When legalizing liquor after Prohibition, provincial control systems oversaw its distribution and sale, while licensing and inspecting manufacturers. Although liquor boards are now widely reviled, they played an essential role in negating fears about social disorder that were at the heart of the prohibitionist message. Government management contradicted the widely held belief that booze would destroy society. So those advocates of liquor control systems managing cannabis sales have historical precedent. With pot, as with liquor, government management of distribution and oversight of its manufacture would help promote a moderationist approach that should address problems quickly while calming fears that the world is coming to an end. Cannabis is less problematic than alcohol. It usually makes users mellow rather than belligerent, and doesn't wreak such havoc on the body. Users would be subject to no-smoking bylaws, regulations would restrict the age of consumers, technology for detecting cannabis-impaired driving is advancing and decriminalization would decouple this mild intoxicant from networks pushing far more dangerous chemicals. Factor in tax revenue, lower policing costs, the undermining of illegal traffickers and the fact that people who consume legal drugs are less reluctant to disclose their use if they develop problems such as addiction, and legalization provides far more benefits than risks. Provincial liquor systems, however disliked they may be, have nearly a century of experience controlling the distribution of that other psychoactive substance. Adding marijuana to their mandate would mean an established control infrastructure could manage away the worst features of cannabis consumption that are rooted in its illegality. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom