Pubdate: Tue, 05 Jul 2016
Source: National Post (Canada)
Page: A7
Copyright: 2016 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wEtbT4yU
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286

OTTAWA'S POT PLAN ALL ABOUT CONTROL

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.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom