You go Canada, alcohol one of the worst man made drugs ever conceived, alcohol, has ruined more lives than opiates, or marijuana combined. Alcohol is a drug as well, but it HAS a proven track record of broken homes, wrecked lives, ruined parents, millions killed, maimed, billions in lost productivity. Not to mention the cost of healthcare for severe alcoholics. Alcoholism, and it's side effects, liver damage, brain damage the number of people killed by liver toxicity, cirrhosis, people that have died from Delirium Tremens (DTs).
Not one person has ever died from marijuana, or had any of the issues that alcohol brings. You cannot get physically addicted to marijuana. You won't rob, steal, to get a joint, you won't pawn your electronics to get more weed.
Alcohol is by far the worst drug ever created by man, yet, no one ever talks about the vast amount of societal damage it has wreaked over the hundreds of years it's been around. The worst damage alcohol has done, is Native Americans who had never had alcohol until the white man poisoned them with it. The white man took away their culture, and turned their men in drunken hopeless victims. Their bodies can't metabolize alcohol, they way whites can. Whites, have thousands of years of experience with alcohol, Indians didn't.
I'm from Alaska, alcohol has turned many into non functioning alcoholics. It destroyed their culture and ruined many of the people. Marijuana has never done that kind of damage, that is a fact.
16
Well played, Canada! Once again, you are lighting the way for the Americans.
Alas, we only have to look to the stellar results of Colorado and other states that have legalized medicinal and recreational cannabis for our own success stories.
How are street gangs funded, you ask? Mostly through the sale of marijuana. If it's legal, they don't have as large a clientele, unless they start competing on price/quality. Less gangs = less crime. That's a win for all of us.
What epidemic are we in the midst of? Oh yeah, the opioid crisis! That's the drug problem that leads to more American deaths than anything else including car accidents and gun violence. What is cannabis? Oh, it's a pain distractor! It helps people manage pain without becoming addicted and losing everything they own and every relationship they have.
Tired of taking dopey, highly addictive meds with oodles of side effects for anxiety, depression, insomnia or PTSD? Cannabis may have a solve for you, much to the chagrin of America's wildly powerful prescription drug industry.
Childhood epilepsy? Cannabis saved the life of a young boy I adore.
So thanks, Canada! One of these days maybe we'll get our act together and legalize it, too.
13
Canadians live in provinces, and territories. Not states
6
It will be interesting to see how quickly the nation fails to be able to operate with half of its population "baked" to the gills.
4
Weed is so boring, tired of seeing it in the news. Anyone who likes it has known forever where to get it already. Don't see what all the excitement is about.
4
There are tons of regulations in place. It's not like we'll be walking around stoned. Just a situation where pot is allowed and it's about time. I don't do it and don't care to, but it's an alternative to booze for some.
4
Canadian police have had since 1923 to find a way to measure impairment by marijuana, etc. Despite the very large and well-known number of people who have been using it in the last sixty years, they only now appear to be greatly concerned.
1
Congratulations to Canada--a civilized country and society. You set a good example, and I'm proud to be your neighbor.
We to the south are undeniably controlled by a corporate-sponsored congress and seem to be unable to enact legislation which highlights community benefits. So it goes....
12
How will the city officials eliminate swatting in hospitals where folks are balancing the stigma of mental illness and alcoholism and opioid use disorders? From a healthcare perspective, the Canadian Medical Association has been the only organization it seems not to be putting plants - literally - in every media report. Sure, we've come a long way baby, but it'll take years of Florida tourism dollars to sort this out. Whoops, sorry.
1
The marijuana stocks in Canada have increased in value significantly this year. The e-commerce businesses will also see increases to revenue because of online sales of cannabis and related products. The Government of Canada will also see increase in tax revenue. Are the long term health implications for abuse and addiction to cannabis severe enough not to legalize it?
2
This has been a long time coming. In 1972, a federal government commission (the Le Dain Commission) issued its report (after 3 years of study) recommending that marijuana be legalized. It also recommended a simple $100 fine for the possession of any drug, including hard drugs.
The hard drug recommendation was rejected immediately by the government, but the marijuana recommendation had both support and opposition within the cabinet. In the end though the report was shelved.
5
Canada is a GREAT country.
Wish we were as sane and rational.
The US has gone off its rocker.
How is pot not legal in NYS, or, at least, NYC?
16
And let’s pray that it stays that way.
1
@RTC America is perfectly rational and sane. You can get all the guns you want... but weed is illegal.
6
As a Canadian, it is much easier to tolerate the malignant silliness of Donald Trump, his family, and the GOP when I am stoned.
39
Marijuana is no better or worse than alchohol. Legalize, Regulate and place a 100% tax on both of them. Anyone selling to minors; punish the sellers to the fullest extent of the law.
7
Alcohol makes people act stupid. THC actually makes people stupid. Ever try to complete a complex mental problem with multiple steps while under its influence.
Like the populace isn't dumb enough already.
14
Those illegal shops in Vancouver only became illegal this morning. Many have been operating for years licensed by the city. It is the illegal dealer on the street and in smaller communities who will be out of business. Despite all the brouhaha, kids still consume far more alcohol than marijuana
The whole thing has been much ado about nothing. I am sad about the fact that so much production and sales is in the hands of big business. Here in BC fifty years of grower production knowledge has been discarded. I, for one, predict that many will choose to grow their own, especially in suburbs and rural areas especially if one is already growing tomatoes in a greenhouse.
3
I would guess that most Canadians are proud of their country today. The idea of legalizing marijuana in Canada has gone back to the 1970’s, when the government of present Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s father, Pierre-Elliot Trudeau, commissioned the LeDain Report on Marijuana, which recommended the decriminalization of marijuana. The report was never acted upon mainly due to concern over U.S. reaction. Now, finally, nearly 50 years later, our government has finally acted to do what Canadians and simple justice demanded. It is a very good day for my country.
19
The opening paragraph reflects a very US view: " a national experiment that will alter the country’s social, cultural and economic fabric, and present the nation with its biggest public policy challenge in decades." That would be true if the entire US were to legalize cannabis. It is unlikely to be true in Canada, just as it has not been true in Colorado, where the sky did not fall down and use didn't even go up. Nor did the "social, cultural and economic fabric" of Colorado suddenly change. Canadians will keep calm (and mellow) and carry on.
24
While legalization is convenient for the middle class, it's a life saver for those who smoke up while black (or Native). Now, with not so much as a whiff of probable cause, law enforcement will have no choice but to back off and leave our fellow citizens be.
16
Too much of anything can come with a cost. Too much playing tennis, too much gaming, too much booze, too much fatty foods, even, in the words of Bob Dylan-too much of nothing can cause a man to sleep on nails, cause another man to eat fire. So what? Let's sit back and hope moderation will kick in once the giddiness recedes, It will take some time, but all things must pass.
4
All this talk about the dangers of marijuana use are pedantic and uninformed. There's far more danger in legal products such as alcohol, tobacco and junk food.
As a bit of anecdotal evidence, I once made a batch of hash brownies and put them outside to cool. My dog ate them. He was a bit woozy for a while, but other than that was fine.
10
While rather atypical of a Canadian. I can help but boast how legalizing marijuana is an example of Canadian pragmatism in view America's failed war on drugs. Yup, it seems that attitude toward pot has gone up in smoke.
13
"Take a puff out of crime!"
I lived in Montreal for over 3 years, and, on the whole, I found Canadians to be the nicest, warmest, generous, most wonderful people I've ever met.
Whenever I travel there, as soon as I'm across the border I feel an immediate sense of relief that I'm now in a place that is: safer, saner, more compassionate, cleaner, fairer, friendlier, smarter, more honest, and a whole lot less stressed out.
Mentally, it's like a relaxing spa that's the size of an entire country.
Don't get me wrong, I love the United States, and that's what makes what's happening here so incredibly sad, and so incredibly depressing.
If there is no Democratic landslide in the mid-terms, Donald Trump will probably kill the Mueller investigation and push for an end to term limits. At which point, I will really have no reason to stay, other than to watch our 242 year old experiment in democracy turn into a GOP controlled dictatorship for the benefit of the 1%. - Something too horrific to endure.
The thing is, while I love and admire the ideals of the United States: freedom, equality, opportunity, fairness, etc, etc, I find them be continually under assault by the power-for-power-sake-alone GOP, while Canada is actually stepping up and embracing these ideals and turning them into a shared reality.
Through our elections, as undemocratic as they may be, we have ended up on a path to ruin, while Canadians continue to move forward on a path to make their country a paradise on earth.
47
My biggest concern as a Canadian citizen has been reading the statistics published about traffic fatalities in Washington State in the year after legalization went into effect: an increase to 17% of fatalities (compared to 8% pre-legalization) were attributable to drivers with marijuana in their systems.
People in an altered state of consciousness make poor decisions, particularly regarding invincibility and inhibition. We already have enough harm done by those who choose to drink and drive.
Until there is accurate, readily available, and infallible technology at hand to conduct roadside driver checks, I will not rest easy about stoned drivers taking the wheel.
10
Nice to see so many supportive comments i guess, but i think this is still rightly described as a "national experiment". There will be many consequences, no doubt, some of them unexpected and unintended. We will see where this goes.
9
The irony is that, as a Canadian citizen, I will now be even more severely interrogated by US Customs and Border Patrol agents about marijuana use, my ancestry, my destination, my family, my employment status etc.
However, once across the BC / Washington border, there are recreational cannabis stores within 500 metres (yards).
Have these stores changed America's social, cultural and economic fabric?
3
@Chris James
No and neither have the stores in the US.
1
Tomorrow's headline: Canadian Investors Bullish on Pizza Delivery Companies.
11
@JW
Better yet, Hostess, announces THC infused Twinkies, Cupcakes, and Suzi Qs.
3
How many Canadians, do you suppose, realize that if they've smoked even one joint in their life (unless it's with a medical prescription), they'll have to lie to a Federal border agent in order to cross into the US from now on. . .or go through a lengthy and un-guaranteed waiver process, costing hundreds of dollars?
3
@Cynthia Lunine Pretty much every Canadian traveler who has crossed the border into the USA and has been interrogated by your Customs and Border Protection agents.
How many US citizens think the US has "open borders" is beyond me.
12
@Cynthia Lunine
So what, what makes you think they weren't lying before that.
4
@Cynthia Lunine
What are you talking about? Canadians aren't asked at the border if they've ever smoked a joint. Waiver process? Hundreds of dollars?
Crossing the border is a simple, painless process. A few questions and you're on your way.
3
Does the Canadian DUI law cover marijuana?
yes...they brought out a revised law in honour kf this. It is a lot stricter vis a vis alcohol than the previous. There are going to be many court challenges.
2
@my2sons Yes, it does.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/cannabis-consumption-car-ticket-...
4
Geez, it is like they are building a sanity magnet there.
16
This is a mistake. The user starts in legalized, and being expensive, can not maintain the addiction, then goes pro illegal. As for the plantations, this is not new in Brazil, only illegal, people will start planting, and will become micro entrepreneurs of traffic.
2
@Clodaldo Borges
Traffic to whom, most countries are legalizing it.
3
The addiction?
2
Oh yes, I forgot to tell you, according to almost all drug rehabilitation programs, marijuana is extremely addictive. Of course you’re short term memory loss doesn’t allow you to remember these facts. Since marijuana is as bad as alcohol it’s really great to legalize now two things that can cause problems for other people. Since marijuana is legalized in Washington state, auto fatalities have risen greatly. Please read this a few times because I’m afraid you won’t be able to remember this for too long after you read it
1
I live in Colorado. We legalized marijuana five years ago and the effect is, basically, zero. Except that we are emptying our prisons of non-violent offenders, we are saving ourselves millions in saving by not enforcing stupid laws, and those of us that don't smoke still don't smoke. It literally changed nothing. The Times headlines make it sound like it is some big social experiment, but it has been done here. It is a good thing.
29
I think legalization is the way to go but I think it's important to understand that people can abuse Marijuana. In my experience, it decreases motivation and moreover, for folks with mental health issues, it exacerbates delusion. I'm not saying these are reasons to make it illegal, but that caution is a reasonable stance to take, and that we should pay attention to the public health research that will follow. I write this as someone who has been around it for twenty some years.
That said, I celebrate the fact that folks, usually folks of color, will no longer go to jail for smoking it.
13
@tea
That's all 20 years, well I'm 52 and I've been around it for more than 20 years. I've never been less motivated, or had memory issues, nor has anyone else I've known.
And if you have access to some sort of medical documentation with regards to exacerbating mental issues, then you need to show the evidence. But the research shows the opposite is true, which is why, they are looking into using it for PTSD.
9
I cannot take more umbrage to the notion that legalizing pot will "alter the country’s social, cultural and economic fabric." Here in California, where weed has been legal for nearly two years now, literally NOTHING has changed, except for the fact that we're no longer ticketing and arresting smokers. There hasn't been an epidemic of high drivers; kids aren't smoking more; people aren't acting different.
NOTHING HAS CHANGED.
14
I cherish every brain cell I possess and have no interest whatsoever in sacrificing a single one of them to the dubious joys of pot.
Am I the last completely-straight-in-every-respect American male alive? Should I be in a museum? What is to be done with me?
12
@A. Stanton
Pot enhances my brain cells' functioning. Helps them communicate in new and interesting ways. Makes the funny funnier, the exciting more exciting, the interesting more interesting. Even makes dull things interesting!
7
@A. Stanton:
Pot does not destroy brain cells anywhere as much as drinking alcohol.
9
I commend you and admire you!
3
I just got back from our single store in this small city. While I had to wait about 45 minutes, there was a great sense of camaraderie among my queue-mates. The staff in the government-run store was professional and cheerful, and it was a positive retail experience.
My hope is that allowing recreational use for adults will make it easier for law enforcement to identify underage users and restrict their access.
9
From what I have read, Canada has a very scientific approach to trying to MANAGE the consumption of cannabis.
What is missing, and why I read the article, as I have read others from other news providers, is the substance called CBD or cannabidiol, one of the many compounds in cannabis plants, and additionally HEMP, a different plant.
CBD is the medicinal compound from Cannabis.
In the US, now I believe that anyone can purchase CBD from HEMP.
Both work to relieve nerve pain and inflammation.
The medicinal values of CBD should be studied by Canadian government, the US FDA and other organizations, say in Switzerland, which has a great deal of pharmacological research and development.
4
@RR: CBD has been shown to heal bones in a study in Israel...
1
@RR
No worry. Ere in Canada, CBD is well researched and available both in store and online
4
People don't realize that cannabis has been used medicinally for 5000 years. It was totally legal in the US until 1937. The only way it causes a high is one of the oils is heated. Even that is less dangerous than the synthetic opiods so widely prescribed by doctors. There needs to be a way to make it readily available for medicinal purposes.
14
@Karin
Not sure where you're getting your information about heating oil, that is patently false. How do you explain edibles, like Gummy Bears, or mints that dissolve, or infused drinks, you are mistaken in you assessment.
He’s right. Before making edibles, it must be heat-treated.
1
Oh, the burning irony of the creators of our opioid crisis bemoaning the supposed poor judgement of the Canadian government. The medical association’s doctors hand out Percocet and OxyContin like candy for years and have no qualms about it. Despite this, they think your average citizen is so irresponsible that they can’t manage to cope if they are allowed to smoke a joint once in a while legally.
There will be problems that arise as we integrate Cannabis into our culture. We managed to survive the lifting of an alcohol prohibition, I’m sure we will be just fine (and maybe a little more chill).
16
Hey Lonnie, not only that, no one has died from marijuana, so what's the big deal?
8
@Lonnie Doherty
Well, sadly it won't be long until corporate america weasels it's way into the cannabis market. Walmart, wants to experiment with selling weed in their Canadian stores. Because they can't just leave things alone. But in my opinion, it will be way to late, companies won't be able to out pace the Canadian companies that spent years building a worldwide cannabis business.
My mother is an immigrant from Vancouver, I wish her parents never would have immigrated from Canada. The upside is, I enjoy dual citizenship.
1
People have been using cannabis for a long time...pretty widely since the 1960s. Law enforcement was pretty uneveven across Canada which saddled people with criminal records for victimless so called crimes. People could not cross the USA border with such a record. People have been driving with it in their system for years. To my observation the real serious crashes were caused by alcohol and recently by negligent regulation of truckers i.e. Humbolt Saskatchewan. One of our previous right wing govts.privatized licencing of truckers. One horrible accident: licence given to an intellectually challenged man. Did not check brakes at top of steep hill...Horseshoe Bay West Vancouver. Truck lost control killing a family..I have forgotten number of victims at the ferry terminal.
Some groups are studying...working with using cannabis to help control...not cure...narcotics addiction. Using it to augment Suboxone...to prevent fatal relapse. Recently they have made the prescription of Suboxone more available.
Even though they were grey market..Vancouver has had quite a number of dispensories for a few years..closing now to get licences. No difference in anything. Car accidents..too many high power cars with ignorant drivers. People are flunking their exams multiple times even with graduated licencing. Apparently they are too cheap to pay for lessons.
Come to Canada...Our dollar is at a 75% discount.Most cities so limit where one can smoke. Edibles are not legal yet.
3
@bcer
Edibles are legal here in Seattle, so are infused drinks. However, you can buy infused beer, spirits, vodka, whiskey, etc. So this is why is't an investment vehicle, that I for one own hundreds of shares in all three of the big ones, Tilray (I bought in at $20.00 a share, sold 200 at $300.00 two month later, I made 80,000 from my 8,000 dollar investment), of which I still own roughly 150 shares of Tilray. I own Canopy Growth, and Aurora Cannabis.
1
Why are the Canadians so much smarter than we are?
17
We are smarter on at least two levels...the one you mentioned ....and we would never have elected the man you have as your president. As for everything else we're mostly the same.
18
@baz
As someone who enjoys dual citizenship (my mother was born in Canada, my family owned a huge logging company back in the day, Stoltze Logging.
Canada, has their version of Trump, so Canadians had better be paying close attention to them, one is, Sons of Odin, Soldiers of Odin, Three Percenters , The Storm Alliance, and of course, Marine Le Pen.
They all share the same thoughts on race, immigration, and a host of others. It's worth not ignoring them. If Canadians do ignore those groups, they do so at their own peril.
https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/barbara-perry-on-the-far-rig...
@fast/furious: Because they don't have the GOP, Faux News and trump...!!!
5
It is not an experiment it is real, it is here probably forever. Look at it good or bad and make your own choice. One thing that is known is accurate data can now be collected about all aspects of cannabis use by the general public and it's effects and affects on the "test" crowd.
It is not as if we passed a law saying consumption was mandatory, use is left to the individual.And in the coming years each individual will have more accurate information before deciding to use or not, like they currently have on alcohol, smoking ,narcotics and even vitamin C.
9
O' Canada!
Legal here in NV for over a year, and frankly you'd never know it once all of the hoopla subsided.
18
Whoop-de-doo...now an intoxicant less amazing than beer is legal in Canada.
2
Another good reason to move out of the United States.
16
@John
Well, it's legal in DC, what are you whining about....but your right, Canada is a better choice, lucky for me, I enjoy dual citizenship.
3
5.3 billion dollar illegal industry.............5.5 billion dollar legal industry. Hilarious.............the usage is there. Life is not black and white and you cannot legislate that kind of behavior otherwise nobody would murder, nobody would beat their wives, rape, drink and drive, etc.
That said, We can all raise our kids well, help them to make good decisions for themselves, volunteer to help those in more challenged populations.
3
"...will alter the country’s social, cultural and economic fabric..."
Really? How?
9
I think it's ridiculous to jail people for marijuana. Legalizing it, however, seems irresponsible. The main argument I hear for legalizing pot is that it's not as bad as opiates or alcohol. If you're legalizing something because it's 'not as bad as...' that's not an argument I'd lead with. Medical marijuana could do wonders in terms of the opiate crisis. People recreationally getting high every day could also do wonders for the mental health profession.
I agree, it's less dangerous than alcohol. What isn't mentioned though, are the effects it has on memory, dementia, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety etc. We've all seen that one guy who smokes pot all day and doesn't have the motivation to even hang out away from home. I'm not saying it's the majority, but I am saying the number will increase. There are people out there who wouldn't buy popular drugs unless they were legally acceptable. To think the number of people smoking pot won't increase is naive.
Why not decriminalize?
3
Decriminalize, nah. What is that? No revenue in that and then it becomes a subjective thing. Legalize it, nothing bad happens. Look at the results.
2
@Coles Lee
Legalizing and regulating serves to ensure quality control and consistent content of the active ingredient. As mentioned by another poster here, you can't buy alcohol that doesn't show the alcohol content by volume. Also, the premise is that by legalizing it, the black market should eventually disappear - who makes or sells bootleg liquor these days? Finally, with regulation, the public can be assured that it's not cut with fillers or noxious drugs.
@Coles Lee
Those are old sterotypes, the Tommy Chongs of the world don't really exist. I've been smoking it for well, since I was 13, I'm now 52, so I don't see any issues, what was I talking about.....
1
I am Canadian and have been commenting for over a decade. This cannabis thing is not worth the ink, it is not an experiment we are a liberal democracy like the Nederlands and if we find it doesn't work for us we will vote to change the law.
The Saudi story has real resonance we are at war with the Saudis a war as real as any war that has gone on before but it is a 21st century war and it isn't about property it is about ethics and values. The war with the Saudis is a declared war and is three months old and is about our belief in press freedom and the jailing, torture and murder of Saudi journalists.
We are also at war with China, Russia, the Philippines and much of the United States, its executive, its legislative and judiciary.
We are doing this while the Republican Government of our largest province is at war with the Canadian Conservative government of our largest and most dynamic city and our conservatives who are our official opposition are fracturing into Republicans and Canadian conservatives. In Canada the provinces have jurisdiction over cities.
Marijuana it seems is more important to you that it is to us. We are trying to protect our ethics and values and you are an existential threat. We have the population of California and a smaller economy that California.
Come on up and enjoy talking about politics again over a joint or two we can promise the discussion won't lead to rage and no one will be shot.
9
@Memphrie et Moi
Seems like your at war with a lot of people, how does Canada pay for all these wars.
1
Recall the damage done when Prohibition turned US citizens who drank alcohol into criminals.
1
Cannabis prohibition was a moralistic crusade devoid of medical or scientific grounding that created a criminal underground and ruined the lives of innocent people.
17
@John Conroy
But that movie, Reefer Madness, was super cool. I seem to remember I and my schoolmates all wanted to try marijuana after being shown the film in health class :)
1
With characteristic efficiency, the provincial Conservatives in Ontario have destroyed all the planning which would have allowed retail sales of Marijuana on the day it became legal.
Instead of Liquor Control Board stores with their staffs trained to check IDs, Ontario's new plan is:
"Nothing now, maybe something later"
Of course, we can order on the web, and no child has ever lied on the internet have they? Dolts.
This from a premier who is rumored to have once been a dealer himself.
As of today, people in Ontario can grow their own, so four months from now there will be a run on junk food. :-)
9
Canada has also allowed the door to open wide to cannabis medical research and its potential health benefits.
As it is hard if not impossible here today in the US to do any research on it because of its federal classification.
Not easily allowed to be studied at all.
Canadian scientists will soon be telling us all about this miraculous, natural alternative medicine. Let the healing begin.
7
@MS
Because of it's classification in the US, it can't be researched unless it's a federal lab. Which is why I said, Canada, will always be out front in terms of corporate structure. As you know, companies wrote to Trumpo the clown, and said, we can't make money unless it's decriminalized. As long as the old white men that run congress stay in power, it will never happen.
As the US attorney in Mobile, Alabama, Jeff Sessions was talking over a case one day in the 1980s with two fellow prosecutors. It had to do with a young black man who had been kidnapped and brutally murdered by two members of the Ku Klux Klan. The Klansmen, Henry Hayes and Tiger Knowles, slit the victim's throat and hung his body from a tree. Sessions learned that some members of the Klan had smoked marijuana on the evening of the slaying, he said aloud that he thought the KKK was: "OK until I found out they smoked pot."
Sessions has also said, "Good people don't smoke marijuana"
My question is, how would he know, about good people, since he ISN'T one of them.
1
So many here who think the sky is falling. Nothing is really going to change from yesterday to today, except basically that you will not be arrested for having under 30 grams of marijuana on you.
Marijuana is less harmful, even helpful in some cases, than alcohol. So it makes sense to legalize it and regulate it instead of only having the black market to turn to and not knowing what it is laced with.
There will be hiccups, as with most new legislation introduced, but I am proud of my country for legalizing it - even though it will have no effect on my life. Letting adults make their own decision, what a novel idea.
5
Amazing. Canada finally got it right. This comes only 46 years after the fascinating Licit & Illicit Drugs was published in 1972 by the radical Consumer Union (publisher of Consumer Reports). They recommended legalization back then. After seeing this Times news item, I had to dig up my old beat-up copy I bought upon its publication. It was then, and still would be, one of the most engrossing nonfiction books I've ever read -- 600 small-print pages worth. A page-turner, believe it or not.
Here are a couple of excerpts from the Acknowledgments and Recommendations sections from Edward M. Brecher:
...As I wrestled with that task, the Canadian Government's Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs, popularly known as the Le Dain Commission, issued its 1970 Interim Report. My immediate problem and several others were thereby resolved; and I was heartened to learn that a number of the conclusions I had been reaching independently closely paralleled those of the Interim Report...
...It is now much too late to debate the issue: marijuana versus no marijuana. Marijuana is here to stay. No conceivable law enforcement program can curb its availability. Accordingly, we offer these seven recommendations.
(1) Consumers Union recommends the immediate repeal of all federal laws governing the growing, processing, transportation, sale, possession, and use of marijuana...
7
"...the Canadian Medical Association Journal called the government’s legalization plan an “uncontrolled experiment in which the profits of cannabis producers and tax revenues are squarely pitched against the health of Canadians.”"
Take that one with a grain of salt. Whenever a medical association ignores the positive of legalization (eg, US states with legalized pot have less opioid addiction), and issues dire health warnings, they're just sticking up for their cousins in big pharma who are hawking their expensive version of pot that leaves out many of the other therapeutic substances found in marijuana.
6
People on alcohol and marijuana should not get health care in any country. They are sicker more, they are damaging their blood vessels. Both alcohol and marijuana are a depressant so the more you use the more constricting of the blood vessels are occurring and you will give yourself a stroke plus lung cancer. Latest Harvard study shows any type of aerobic exercise done even 3 days a week 20 minutes each session will help people feel better.
@D.j.j.k.
A real Puritan! Problem is, Puritans didn't make it, and neither will your stone age thinking. You're what Bob Dylan calls a "walking antique".
2
@D.j.j.k. what about people who are overweight? Which is half of America btw.
2
@D.j.j.k.
It's odd you would say such nonsense, unless you have some sort of evidence your just babbling about things that are totally untrue. There is no clinical evidence to back your claims up.
Early studies on rats bred for high blood pressure found that THC reduced levels of blood pressure, and that tolerance developed to this effect. Mechoulam predicted in 1978 "Numerous synthetic cannabinoids are currently being investigated as analgesics and as sedative-relaxants. Cannabinoids such as CBD and the synthetic HU-211 have been shown to reduce ischemic cell damage following cardiac arrest or stroke. CBD also counteracts the increase in heart-rate associated with THC - CBD tends to decrease heart rate.
As you were saying about blood vessel damage. People should know what they are talking about before babbling on. There is this new thing called the internet, it overflows with fact based information, you should try it.
2
A serious question. Can someone explain why edibles are not going to be legalized for another year?
1
@mikecody
Here's an article in the Toronto Star that discusses some of the issues surrounding edibles: https://www.thestar.com/news/cannabis/2018/08/28/why-it-will-be-another-...
I suspect that apart from food safety concerns, there are concerns about dosage and form of edibles; it's likely that forms that are appealing to children, such as candies and gummy bears, will be outlawed. And, I'm fine with that. Sure, gummy bears might seem like a reasonable camouflage if you're trying to hide the fact that you're consuming something illegal, but if it's legal, there's no reason for it. It's a drug that is now legal for adult use, so it makes sense to ensure it comes in the proper forms for adult use.
1
@mikecody
Probably because vendors would have to have their Foodsafe certificates in order to go into business. Seriously, there will be no reason why one couldn’t buy one’s own supply of cannabis ingredients and make one’s own edibles.
@D. Epp I have no problem with banning child friendly edibles, but as someone who hates the very idea of inhaling burning plant life, if I were to use pot (which, as it is illegal here I of course do not) I would be much more interested in weed chocolate or baked goods to get baked.
On the surface, it seems that the motives for legalizing cannabis are decriminalization and regulation. This makes sense because it saves the Canadian government resources from the criminal justice system and law enforcement.
However, one cannot help but notice the financial profits that follow this legalization decision. Granted, the subsequent additional resources and profits can be channeled to policies, programs, and initiatives to benefit society. But amidst the guise of "freedom" and "open-minded", are we overlooking the fact that the government is acting as the gatekeeper? Would the same proponents call them out if the government gatekeep alcohol or cigarettes?
One of the main arguments in many circles for the legalization of cannabis is that it "grows naturally" or that it is "only a plant". By the same token, opium poppy, coca leaves, and psilocybin mushrooms occur naturally too. Should every country then legalize heroin, cocaine, and LSD?
Even though cannabis users love to introduce anecdotes of how safe cannabis is, many mental health professionals can furnish even more scientific research on the detrimental and insidious effects of cannabis on one's psychological, physical, and brain functioning.
Most importantly, it is terribly short-sighted to introduce a nation-wide law without considering and implementing counter-measures. What would be the ramifications? Only time will tell.
2
@AT
What would you recommend for counter measures against people who will be complying with the law.
When prohibition ended, the mob went into narcotics- the ones that were willing to take the plunge-and hard drugs may have spread through cities. It's not clear whether legalizing pot will drive dealers into harder stuff or not. There may still be a black market for weed if it is still tightly regulated, especially against teenagers, since they do a lot of the toking. THC stays in your blood for weeks and employers can still test for it, even for someone applying as a cashier at a five-and-dime.
@Mark Browning
I work in Healthcare, in fact, your mistaken, a week at the most, most people about 3 days.
In terms of a black market, why would there be one, when all you have to do is walk to the store and get better quality, more choices. Studies that have been done show a drop in use for the teenage demographic, in fact in both Washington and Colorado, there has been no surge in teenagers smoking weed.
Sure, I guess if you want anything bad enough you can find it, it becomes a question of why, go to the streets, when you can buy it legally. My weed old dealer, doesn't even deal it anymore, as he said, there's no money in it anymore.
Now if only we could get ICE border guards to light up and lighten up. The threats and warnings on their website about crossing the border after having been high (not in actual possession of pot, mind you, just having been high in the past) is rather sulky.
2
I'm going to let you all in on a little "secret." If someone wants to smoke pot, they already are (it's incredibly easy to get). Legalizing it just makes it less shady to purchase (and generates tax revenue).
11
Totally stupid. It’s called DOPE for a reason.
1
There is no possible way that any of this can ever go wrong.
The biggest winner in this will hopefully be the USA. The Canadians can live with what happens and US federal policy can be derived from what is observed after several years. This will likely be superior to the various forms of fence-sitting that is the status quo here, but only if our future elected leaders are humble enough to leverage the lessons learned.
2
I guess we don’t have much drama in Canada so this is big news.
Personally, I wonder why so many people need to sedate themselves so regularly, but I get that criminalizing this personal choice was wrong.
I hope that we can move the discussion of all drug use to one of health consequences and strategies for addressing mental health challenges that crop up in life for all people. Currently if you visit a doctor, you cannot get a full, scientific discussion on the use of drugs. Healthcare workers cannot engage in recommendations and advice on the topic because of drug criminalization.
For example, a lot of great health advisory work has been done on tobacco smoking and we have seen rates of lung cancer drop.
Hopefully we can look at all the things people smoke, drink, eat, inject etc and really share information on how dependancy/ addiction happens and how to manage physical and emotional well being.
1
"...beginning a national experiment that will alter the country’s social, cultural and economic fabric, and present the nation with its biggest public policy challenge in decades."
My prediction...none of the above comes to pass.
5
It was a bone-headed decision and an easy campaign promise to fulfill. Canadians entering the US may find themselves rejected by the officer at the border. The police may find it difficult to enforce driving high legislation. As an employer will you be able to fire a forever stoned employee. These were issues never considered, let alone a hundred other ones.
1
It's all good but.....
If you crash into me on the highway and you are driving buzzed, I expect the full weight of the law to apply as hard as it would if you were drunk.
If you are my employee and get hurt while stoned, I want your compensation to consider your thc levels.
Look, I've been high. And no way I should have been driving a vehicle, operating a table saw, dispensing drugs or caring for someone's infant. Canada is way out over their skis on this.
2
@Let the Dog Drive
It's only be legalized, we're not forcing everyone to smoke it all day, every day. The penalties for driving under the influence of marijuana will be equal to, if not stiffer, than driver under the influence of alcohol. My company sent out an updated drug and alcohol policy today, I still cannot come to work under the influence of anything. Nothing is changing except that you cannot go to jail for having under 30 grams on your person.
9
There are laws and rules covering all this.
5
This is what happens when a country's future is run on the basis of fashionable fantasies, rather than respect for reality. Remind me never to visit Canada.
2
You won't be missed. Enjoy Brexit!
17
@Deborah
Hi Deborah. Sorry you feel that way, but we understand. Our awesomeness is hard to handle for some. Hope you do visit one day, if not for the pot, then for the poutine!
10
@Deborah
London? And that out of touch with reality?
Wow. I do know the legal, deadly, potentially addictive hard drug alcohol, is big in London,
and perhaps you are in that legal drug industry and fear competition. You would be right about that - pot is safer, non deadly, non addictive, and far more enjoyable. Or you have been in a massive social cocoon - far from reality.
2
Reminds me a bit of a couple of GOP SCOTUS nominees, one who made it to the bench. This is the one who did not:
Ginsburg was nominated by Reagan to fill a U.S. Supreme Court vacancy after the retirement of Lewis F. Powell in October 1987, but soon withdrew from consideration after his earlier marijuana use created a controversy. [from Wikipedia]
I'll take Ginsburg a hundred times over the beer guzzling obnoxious drunk -- even if that was only from his more youthful days -- who just got put on the bench. (The latter had a lot of other issues, but we'll save them for other comments.)
11
“It took decades for the public to understand the risks of cigarettes, and the legalization of cannabis has taken place only over a few years.”
Unmentioned is the undisputed fact that the tobacco industry lied for decades about any health risks associated with smoking.
See also alcohol infused beverages, sugar laden foods, vaping, etc.
2
Is this some kind of Trudeau economic stimulus plan for restaurants that deliver food? A well-known side effect of smoking pot is getting "the munchies".
1
This law has been a long, long time coming and was certainly not an impulsive move. The Canadian government commissioned a study (the Le Dain Commission) in 1969. The Commission recommended repeal of prohibition of possession and cultivation of cannabis for personal use, and recommended controlled distribution, among other things.
Then-PM Pierre Trudeau neglected to do anything with the report -- it was probably seen as too radical and he had other things to focus on. I think he would be proud of his son Justin for finally following through.
18
legalization was long overdue, as it is in most of the world. canada did its due diligence - credit to colorado, california, and the other american states that helped lead the way.
40
In general, I am an advocate of legalized cannabis. However:
While all of the potential problems with cannabis legalization are envisioned and discussed, there is one glaring conflict---almost one of civil rights---that some legalization laws have. Prohibiting home growing for personal amounts.
In other words, you HAVE to buy and you HAVE to be taxed. This is grossly manipulative given the thousands and thousands of years that cannabis has been grown, whether hemp for fiber or seed or medicinal/pleasurable benefits.
I cannot imagine being a rural person in Quebec, or California or Carolina and not being able to grow several plants for personal and family and friends use. Big Canna doesn't like that. Such people will never ever buy from them. In fact, such people laugh at them and their pretension.
The reason a home growing prohibition is desired by the industry is very simple; Cannabis, of exceedingly high quality, is easily grown at home out with the Pumpkins, Dahlias and Tomatoes.
Whiskey isn't easy to make well. Homebrewing beer or apple jack is fun and engaging, but quite a bit of work. A fine bottle of wine is mostly beyond the home grower.
But dried cannabis flowers of the high quality are easily and cheaply grown at home, and particularly outdoors. With only cursory knowledge, Cannabis is an exceedingly undemanding garden plant.
This will increasingly work against Big Canna unless they can impose restrictions. Keep an eye out.
1
@Nelly - Home growing only appears to be prohibited in Quebec and Manitoba. Everywhere else one can grow 4 plants, which should provide plenty for personal use.
Not to mention, with the general stigma lifted, the moral mandate to bust personal-sized grow-ops is going to be effective zero. For that matter, that was pretty much already the case.
People who expect a big cash grab on the assumption that they will be able to maintain pre-legalization prices forever are going to be sorely disappointed, I predict.
7
@Nelly You obviously didn't read the article. It says right in it that citizens can grow up to 4 plants per household
5
@Tom
Thanks Tom, I agree with much you say. As far as cannabis goes, I am an advocate and certainly with the realization this particular drug is far far less dangerous than others. Folks want drugs and they always have.
But I am also an advocate of home growing, not only for benefits one may get from cannabis, but also the simple goodness of growing something so cherished by so many people and growing it yourself.
I wish that cannabis was simply legalized and a limit of 20 plants was put on everybody, and it you wanted to sell some, you would do so at the Farmers Market with proper testing, taxing, and vetting.
I doubt they will ever entirely eliminate the black market, or as is the case in many places, eliminate simply giving cannabis away, as has been done for a very long time.
Many people love cannabis and are relieved of pain and distress. Yet the "miracle or gift' of cannabis is that it achieves that status by being so easy to cultivate yourself. It should cost very little, and it time it will.
This isn't an experiment, so let's leave off with the hyperbole. Other countries, like Portugal and the Netherlands, have legalized pot. It's a novelty right now, but that will pass soon enough.
14
Those singing the praises of how progressive Canada is can save it because the government has introduced stiff penalties, now, for anyone who makes or sells edibles -- arguably the staple of the medical cannabis user diet -- of a MINIMUM 14 YEAR JAIL SENTENCE that did not exist before. As a medical cannabis user myself, my supply has now been cut off, and I have no idea what I'm going to do. Thanks Trudeau for your "progressiveness" in hurting the people who need cannabis the most, for solid medical reasons and backed by their doctors, in order to offer it recreationally. Great job.
2
1) You can make your own edibles. 2) Edibles will likely be available for sale next year.
6
@Jessica Mendes Commercial edible Marijuana products aren't available, but It is legal to make your own edibles.
I have no idea where you got the 14 year minimum sentence from, I can't find anything about sentencing.
8
Colorado, Washington and California have not gone down in flames due to their legalization efforts, to imagine anything disastrous happening to Canada is ludicrous at best. It is about time that we stopped arresting people and ruining their lives for engaging in behavior that is no different than you driving home from the grocery store with a six pack of beer in your trunk. Millions of wasted lives and billions of wasted dollars, much of it stemming from one poorly produced movie. “Reefer Madness” inaccurately associated casual marijuana use with an inevitable and total psychological breakdown and the public totally bought it. We have all been fools.
35
@AndyW, These states economies are on fire! Most moved to states by young people too. Hmmm?
Your headline belies the content of the story: the new legislation is no more an “experiment” than was the end of Prohibition. There is no test period, no promise or foreseeable plan to reconsider, and, despite the recurrent plaint of the Canadian Medical Association and others, no turning back.
7
Not only would it lessen the jail population, it would lessen the criminal activity involved in selling cannabis.
17
Prohibitionists are gnashing their teeth, pounding the table.
These denizens of evil, the true merchants of misery, who satisfy their urges as each poor soul is thrown into a prison cage.
Seeing their power to ruin lives slipping away, prohibitionists look for new lies to spread, someway else to feed their insatiable addiction to cruelly punish other humans, fill gluttonous prisons and reward the brutality of certain "guards" .
Even now they look to make criminals out of the innocent.
Millions of folks enjoy the natural tonic from the "Kratom" plant.
But prohibitionists are looking to make "Kratom" the new Reefer Madness lie. Keeping the corruption, the crime families, the turf wars in business.
https://americankratom.org/
It's time that prohibitionists go cold turkey.
People have a right to feel Well. A right to all the plants and herbs that can heal them an do it,... naturally
12
Prohibition was a terrible idea. Alcohol is still a terrible problem for our society.
I'm glad people will not be jailed or have criminal records for recreational marijuana use. That's the benefit. The question is what is the cost...
8
Yet another reason to relocate to Canada!
32
@Linda, If only they would happily take us all in. Easier said than done. They have a much higher bar, unlike us.
Congratulations Canada!
26
Canada has fewer people than California.
5
@David I like soup.
3
Smoking is bad for everyone's lungs & airways.
All forms of smoking are bad for the environment. Smoking contributes to air pollution.
Smoking indoors around young children -- whatever you smoke -- can be detrimental to their health. For pregnant women, especially, inhaling air that contains any kind of smoke can be particularly harmful.
Sound scientific research needs to be conducted, by unbiased researchers, into the links (if any) between significant cannabis use over a number of years, and developmental challenges in offspring. I specifically suspect there is a connection between some cases of ASD & cannabis dependency in the DNA contributors of that child.
When something is oversold as some kind of panacea for life's rough patches, there is usually a pecuniary motive. Cannabis is no panacea. It is a habit-forming intoxicant that is not without risks.
The younger the human body being exposed to it, the greater the risks.
6
@Maria Ashot That's why we should be switching to wind and solar as fast as possible. Burning coal and oil has terrible ramifications for humans and the planet. I don't believe that weed is anywhere nearly as bad as those. Also, growing weed pulls CO2 out of the air so it's carbon neutral, unlike fossil fuels.
11
@Gene Cass
I wholeheartedly concur with the proposition that we should be rapidly integrating alternative (non-nuclear) clean sources of energy.
As for cannabis, I once again respectfully remind all those who are buoyed by Canada's move to legalize adult recreational use of cannabis products that 100 years ago most people believed tobacco was good for their health. It isn't.
There will be people who desperately need money who will make more of it. I can sincerely applaud their optimism.
Please make sure you keep it out of the hands of the young, and away from people with vulnerable minds. Cannabis has played a part in taking away the inhibitions of a number of sociopaths whose amplified paranoia led them to commit grave crimes.
just smoke after work guys. fridays are going to be a blast.
4
We have been in a war of values with Saudi Arabia for three months and the USA has sided with the Saudis so even in the newspaper of record it is difficult to be civil. When our Foreign Minister asked the Saudis about the jailing, torture and murder of journalists I was reminded of Martin Niemoller's First They Came for the Socialists and realized First They Came for the Journalists.
In Saudi Arabia alcohol is illegal but if your name is ibn Saud or Bin Laden chances are you have the world's finest Scotches and Malts waiting to entertain visitors.
For Canada the legalization of pot will be relatively insignificant but it will be important as your conservatives make Canada and its values more an enemy and ultra conservative Saudi Arabia and Russia (Yes Russia is an Ultra Conservative almost theocratic society) your most important allies.
We will find legalization has very little influence on consumption and guest bedrooms now become useful as people sleep over rather than drive and people hand over their car keys with delight rather than argue they are fit to drive.
Cannabis is not a panacea just as the anger and vehemence with which the conservatives destroyed your country did not lead to joy but more anger and more vehemence.
Cannabis legalization will change little Canadians will become more Canadian, and Americans will become redder and bluer.
I am sorry, I apologize , please forgive me this comment.
17
@Montreal Moe
I am looking forward to kosher cannabis with an appropriate hechsher. I know it should not matter as it's a plant but the Orthodox community has been concerned about any processing that has been done to the plant.
BC is only 170 km from here so it's an easy road or bus trip once there's certified kosher stuff.
Well it is true that, technically speaking, marijuana is not legal in The Netherlands. But come on! One can walk into a "coffee shop" in Holland and purchase marijuana, hashish and cannabis-laced edibles. One can consume it right there in the coffeeshop. Smoking on the street is frowned on, maybe the police would confiscate it if they saw you.
5
Alcohol and Tobacco are more widely used and abused and has even more damaging health implications than of cannabis, and while I don’t personally partake, I think it’s great that a national country has the courage and initiative to try out something potentially groundbreaking.
It is important to remember that legal pot, such as in Amsterdam, are regularly screened with all the ‘nasties’ taken out.
Of course there are going to be hurdles with regards to policy making, but that is the same with any other legislation that comes into force.
14
I oppose the legalization of marijuana. Thank you.
5
Then don't use it. That simple.
32
I oppose the 2nd amendment. Thank you.
14
As far as the US is concerned, I'm less interested in recreational, far more interested in states with medical cannabis dispensaries establishing reciprocity. This exists to a limited extent between NM and CO, but only because of proximity, and because individual recreational dispensaries in CO recognize NM medical patients and slightly discount prices. If, for example, MA and NM both recognize the medical benefits, then as a medical patient in one state, I should be able to travel to the other and purchase at its dispensaries, so that I can get the same benefit during travel away from home.
4
This is really terrific and bound to blunt the aniexty levels of a generation who can no longer afford to live in Vancouver. #politicalpriorities.
10
Ha! Well said. I’m a Vancouverite and I can appreciate this jab.
9
It’s strange to read such breathless reporting when the reality is here, on the west coast of the country, there’s almost zero fanfare. That said, it makes me proud as a resident and hopeful future Canadian citizen that the government has taken this step.
The dispensaries here are very clean and professional, some of them could be mistaken for fine jewelry shops. The knowledge and helpfulness of staff is incredible.
Though I have known people back in the states to abuse cannabis, no addiction occurs in a vacuuum. The narrative that it’s a gateway drug or automatic pathway to abuse/addiction is laughable and shows how much of the population doesn’t understand how substance abuse/addiction work.
Canada is more progressive, but we’re not perfect either. I think the success in passing measures like these has to do with a smaller population and a stronger suspension of “moral values” (moralizing, religiously informed personal identity politics) in politics. Our political centre lies to the left of the USA’s. Relatively rarely will you see someone use identity for publicity (of course, conservatives being the exception).
15
One word: brilliant! The prohibition was ridiculous and based more on a prejudice than a pragmatism. It was AOK to distil a grain and get fist-swinging plastered, but it was not ok to consume another plant that had a suspiciously 'ethnic' name. This generations-old bias has ended in recognition of reality.
Liberal governments have long introduced significant social modernizations in Canada. Universal healthcare, same-sex marriage, multiculturalism, a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, refugee resettlement, legal weed etc. etc. well before most other countries. In every instance, conservatives screamed fear of terrorists, immigration, the end of marriage, children smoking joints, etc. etc. We're still standing and there's no turning back.
American neighbours, stand against the fear, there's nothing to fear but fear itself (as, I believe, an American president once said long ago.)
Love,
Canada
44
@Michael
I'm looking forward to Montreal kosher cannabis with labels in French and Hebrew :)
I usually take a winter trip to Canada but have not booked it yet for this reason. I hate to be around smokers and hate the smell of pot even more. If it is out on every street corner, in every restaurant, I'd rather just stay home.
And there are indeed health risks. My close friend's brother was a big pot head and he died a terrible death a few years ago - face cancer. Took a huge chunk of his cheek out and he died a miserable death. Just say no!
2
@Anita A winter trip to Canada? As a Canadian myself
living in 90292 in the winter, no one that we know of go
north.Resolute Bay or Maui/Papeete? The health risks is
freezing to death.Bon vent.
3
Nobody smokes in restaurants and I doubt if the streets are going to be filled with pot smokers.
6
Face cancer...caused by HPV...there is a vaccine...and ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO. I have never read about marijua. Cigarettes...one usually smoke many more cigarettes than joints in a day. Many cities just about have banned smoking anywhere.
2
This article’s style, written as a news report, misleads. One could easily assume that marijuana, derived from the cannabis plant, and known to mankind for at least 10,000 years, was always illegal. Canada and Uruguay being the only two countries in which it is now legal. Cannabis had been legal in Canada until it was put under the Narcotics Drug Act Amendment Bill April 23, 1923.US federal regulation of cannabis began with the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Cannabis had been regulated in States before that. Marijuana,”j”or”h,” is a “drug.” Just as ANY active chemical substance which affects, temporarily or more permanently, the structure, or functioning, of a living organism is a “drug.” The oft time asked question raised by both pro and con stakeholders, each with their own agendas, ”Is it a “dangerous drug”? is an example of semantic surrealism. ALL documentable drug actions, known, adequately understand, as well as not, are also associated with a unpredictable outcomes. There are no “safe drugs” because reality’s outcomes are the result of ever-present interactions between uncertainties, unpredictabilities and non –existent total control; whatever our efforts over time. Facts fictions and fantasies about all “drugs,” continue to be “goulashed!” Facts don’t explain mankind’s socio-religio-political-legal drug- history trajectory: For whom is it permitted? For whom is it forbidden? For whom is it a choice? For whom is it a need? For whom is “drug”-use an obligation?
6
Aside from the techno-babble, there are many things doing damage to our society, alcohol, gambling, extreme religion and certainly drugs. Should we make opium legal, it's been around for thousands of years as well? We seem to have a carbon measure for everything we consume and have associated ecological damage, should we have a medical measure, where you are taxed more for risky behavior?
1
"techno-babble," All I used was ordinary words. I was simply raising that what is decided about who uses a specific "drug," for a particular function has to do with known and hidden powerful stakeholders and not with a posited "drug's" dangerous actions. The same German pharmaceutical that gave us heroin also developed aspirin which has many, many toxic effects. It is not a controlled substance in the USA. One needs a prescription for it in other parts of the world. As for "many things doing damage to our society, " perhaps the most dangerous active "drug" known to humankind are humans! "Should we make opium legal..." Opium and its derivatives have been "legal" for most of man's history. The key issue is not what "drugs" DO, directly or indirectly, but what each of us enables to be done to, with and about selected substances, their diverse users, and a range of functions which they serve.
Great news. All hail Canada!
Long overdue. The war on pot in America is biggest miscarriage of justice since slavery - millions of innocent people have been needless criminalized by mass stupidity based on lies.
THANK YOU CANADA!
31
Canada is not making Marijuana legal for the first time. Marijuana was legal in Canada until the 1920s. Canada may indeed be the first major economy to undo prohibition (the Dutch might disagree on the meaning of major economy), but the Times shouldn't undo history in reporting that
8
Well, Canada ranks among the ten biggest economies in the world.
5
I say good for Canada as well as our own states which legalize Marijuana. If anything, it has proven to be safer than alcohol. And to the age-old argument that it will lead to more lethal substance abuse, I say, "Not so fast." As an RN and even as a friend or relative, I have seen what alcohol addiction has led to...cirrhosis, esophageal hemorrhaging, stomach and breast cancers, paralysis of the lower limbs, destruction of brain cells and the ability to reason. And of course the ultimate...death of the afflicted and heartache to the family unit.
That being said like any other substance that we ingest...or inhale..caution, care, and moderation must be heeded. Just as with cigarettes, marijuana can cause COPD and/or lung cancer and addiction. Nevertheless, it is our choice, not a government's. We should be well-past the absurdity of another Prohibition Era.
14
Too bad the Cuomos have been so consistently anti-marijuana.
4
Much ado about nothing. The number of people I know who have been using pot for over 40 or 50 years is astonishing.
I am a city councillor and talking to my constituents over age 70 the universal reaction is "bring it on". They want it for medicine and because in many cases they used to smoke pot but no longer have a source to purchase (whereas others buy it from their kids or their friends).
Sidenote: My mother age 96, uses high CBD and moderate THC and is no longer on Tylenol for arthritis pain. Her appetite and her mood are much better as her nurses attest - this might save her liver and she has developed her appreciation for Bob Marley and the Grateful Dead .
So, no wild orgies in the street; no overt evidence of bad tie dye and ragged jeans amongst the population; no playing the Woodstock Soundtrack over and over.
In fact, I would say the day is quite normal likely with some people smoking a joint or two, maybe eating a brownie but most people doing what they normally do - working, complaining about Trump and our Trump like politicians and worrying about Global Warmine and Climate change deniers. Pass the mushrooms please; I need an alternate reality.
48
Ho hum. California went legal. Do you see much for change? Population-wise, economy-wise, California is bigger than Canada.
4
@ondelette I don't think that argument will fly in one of those bible thumping southern red states. Don't you find it amusing those states and their electoral college can dictate to a state with a larger population, size, and GDP like California?
11
@ondelette A key difference is Canadians can travel across provincial lines and not worry. California it may be fine, but federally it's still a crime.
1
O Canada. How is recreational cannabis use going to help Canadians be happier than what we thought they have been? Hope Canadians don't drive after potty or pilot planes or ships after pot. Whats the punishment for crossing the border to the South of Canada?
2
These days, the punishment is crossing the border itself.
7
"The first major world economy to legalize recreational marijuana" was California though (gdp: 2.4 trillion USD; Canada: 1.5 trillion USD).
7
1. Not it's own country
2. Not truly legalized as California is subservient to US federal law which still bans pot
9
@Josh But we can buy it in retail stores.
I highly respect Canada and Canadians in general. Look at who is running their country as opposed to ours. They have WAY more common sense. We can't even hold a Bic lighter to them.
51
Lots of conservatives here who may like Trump criticize him relentlessly, unfortunately. Trudeau always takes the high road, unlike his backward opponents.
7
Anyone worried about the repeal of Cannabis prohibition gaining many new adherents to the use is silly. Teens are all aware of smoking pot, how relatively benign it is and know where to get it.
They are probably laughing at all the conservative pearl-clutching about the awful results on the horizon.
18
Experience in U.S. states that have legalized marihuana show that there is almost no increase in use other than a short-lived initial bump. What this means is that whatever medical ramifications there may be to smoking pot, they are already in play and no increase in medical problems is likely to show up. On the other hand, the policing costs, court costs, prison costs and the cost to individuals with a criminal conviction that follows them throughout their lives for what is, in the final analysis, a trivial activity will now be eliminated. Lower prices that undercut criminal purveyors will finally start to cut them down to size as will the fact that, over time, legal commercial producers are going to insist that outlaw bootleg production of marihuana be curtailed. Money talks. And, the police will get the satisfaction of arresting people who actually deserve to go to jail. Life isn't perfect. Marihuana isn't problem free. But prohibition makes things much worse and forces people who use marihuana to go to criminals to get it. Criminals sell worse drugs. This is a smart move on Canada's part but, as with alcohol, society is going to have to also deal with the consequences. Like I said, life isn't perfect.
18
Bravo Canada, this new law, as usual for all laws, will probably need some tweaking but is a really good and wise first step. Much as the ACA , until the Republicans decided to kill it.
In reality, Cannabis is probably no more dangerous than alcohol, cigarettes are many pharmaceuticals already on the market. The United States, as par for our norm, is moving backwards.
19
When will the USA follow suit? It's not legal here because it's "bad" for us it's because Big Pharma doesn't want the competition. Big Pharma would rather sell their opioids and create new addicts and the politicians in DC want their money from Big Pharma to keep flowing into their coffers.
26
@susan, Nor does 'Big Alcohol'.
2
And Canada also short-circuits the murderous Mexican drug cartels. What a forward-looking country as opposed to “lock ‘en up” America.
47
My main objection to marijuana is that people smoke it. Smoking is a horrible, rude, disgusting habit. It only takes 3-4 smokers to make an entire city block toxic. It’s even worse on a hill since the incline makes it hard to hold one’s breath.
88
@Eric And yet edibles have to wait a year to become legal. Go figure.
4
@Eric wrote "My main objection to marijuana is that people smoke it."
Eric, education is the answer. Did you know that vape (vaporization) pipes are common, cheap and readily available? The user can enjoy cannabis without combustion, thus preventing any smoke from entering his or her lungs.
4
@Eric
You're partly right, partly because edible alternatives abound. Personally, as a Medical Cannabis patient, I have switched, over the past year from 100% smoking to about 90% edibles/10% smoking (and never indoors in the presence of non-smokers). It's as good or better for my brain-injury-derived chronic pain and saves my lungs and bronchi from irritation. Canadians: EAT your cannabinoids.
8
"Canada on Wednesday became the first major world economy to legalize recreational marijuana use"
GDP of Canada: $1.53 trillion
GDP of California: $2.75 trillion
5
Fewer health issues with pot than alcohol, and more health benefits for many.
The Canadians are well know for their fondness of beer and for Canadian whiskey.
Choose your poison?
2
Clearly, this will end civilization as we know it.
And not a moment too soon.
14
@MJB
A nation of dope, not Hope. Marvelous!
2
This is the comment we all needed after reading about the horror of the murder of the Washinton Post journalist.
1
Marijuana should have the same effect on Canadian health and the Canadian economy as alcoholic beverages. BIG DEAL!
2
Canada is so much more progressive socially than the U.S.
I think Canada should do right by citizens who have been incarcerated for possessing small amounts of marijuana for recreational use. There should be a blanket amnesty for them immediately. It's morally right and the government saves money by releasing them.
17
@Paul Cohen We're ahead of you, Paul. The federal government is giving free pardons to anyone convicted of possessing small quantities of marijuana and doing so on an expedited basis. Yes, you read that right: free pardons on an expedited basis. Yeah, it's that good living here where reason and sanity largely prevails :)
6
congratulations to Canada for putting aside silly laws
“You are here for but an instant, and you mustn't take yourself too seriously” - Edgar Rice Burroughs
16
I know where I am booking my next vacation to.
28
@MS
Oregon or Washington? No border crossings and similar benefits :)
"will alter the country’s social, cultural and economic fabric"
No, it no more alters so much than it altered all that in the nine US states and DC that have already done it here.
This over reaction suggests more of Reefer Madness thinking than reality of our own experience of the same. Notice the quote, “Cannabis is not a benign substance,” which is questionable factually and straight out of the scare theory.
“Legalization of cannabis is the largest public policy shift this country has experienced in the past five decades”
They've got nationalized heath care that works well. They have less than half the GDP we devote to "defense." They have moved to Trudeau while we have Trump. So yeah, maybe this is the biggest thing they have not done yet, but they were already so far ahead that phrase means less. Would that we'd already handled all the rest of that.
33
I have worked in the court system in Canada for 5 years now. I have also never been shy with colleagues about my occasional cannabis use. The concerns are really, really overblown. Nothing will change. The same people who will use cannabis now that it's legal are the same people who have always used it. And as for the concerns about driving high and the concern about having a roadside test? Plenty of Canadians legally use opioid painkillers, and we don't have a roadside screening device for those either. Same goes for illicit drugs where the charge of driving under the influence has always come down to the officer's observations. That part of legalization has been made out to be a much, much bigger issue than it really is. And one final point: the government position on underage use has been absolutely correct. It's much, much harder for a youth to get cigarettes and alcohol than cannabis. The legal route will get money out of the pockets of organized crime and keep cannabis out of the hands of children. Speculation about potential downsides are just that: speculation, and they are largely unfounded.
34
Just an interesting factoid for those wondering why Canada leapt ahead on this.
Justin Trudeau, having an attitude at least partly aligned with his name, could not have countenanced his own hypocrisy if he had not done something about cannabis laws. Not only was he widely known to have imbibed in his youth, the most famous cannabis smoker in Canadian history was......his mother.
With the majority of Canadians immediately in support of legalization, the momentum to change things became irresistible.
10
@Tony Peterson
“the most famous cannabis smoker in Canadian history was......his mother. “
Maybe in the fevered dreams of the Ottawa citizenry, but certainly not for the rest of Canadians
So much for our sane refuge up North - this experiment will likely not end well.
While I strongly support marijuana for medical uses and do not oppose use by adults over 25, younger people will gain access. No one under 25 should have access for recreational purposes, where there is substantial evidence that it harms brain development.
The long-term impacts are not clear although I wonder if there will be an increase in car accidents from impaired drivers.
3
@BMD - "Young people will get access."
Young people already have all the access the want on the black market, and you never know if the weed is cut with some other drug, possibly harmful. The worst danger of all? Marijuana can get you very, very arrested. But not anymore, thankfully. So much more harm was done by dragging young people through the ."criminal justice system" and giving them a criminal record for life...
20
@BMD
"The long-term impacts are not clear although I wonder if there will be an increase in car accidents from impaired drivers."
I agree. The accident rate will skyrocket as all the drunk drivers going twice the speed limit start rear-ending the cars driven by pot smokers driving at half the speed limit.
7
Listen to me. If your taking Atavin or Klonopin, try cannabis, it may be a better alternative in treating your anxieties.
22
Possibly one of the dumbest moves a country can make. Instead of encouraging things such as education, hard work, savings, self improvement, helping others, the government encourages it citizens to get high and indulge in dope. And the pot they have today is not like the pot of old. Much of it is highly engineered to cause addiction and a higher high. And it certainly leads to more powerful drugs like opioids. The gateway drug of marijuana will lead to a demise of the Canadian population. I personally don’t drink, smoke or use drugs. Never quite have understood why someone would want to lose control of their faculties and life. Regardless, I would rather build a life of hope rather than dope. So sad!
11
“The government encourages its citizens to get high and indulge in dope.” Where, exactly, does it say that either in the article or in the legislation? Adding hyperbole to the discussion does nothing to further the matter.
7
Have your seen Canada's record on education, personal savings, and helping others? This is a country that understands these priorities and leads on many fronts. Most notably, its government is offering a new source of individual freedom to its citizens while eliminating a cause of petty crime.
16
@Andre Hoogeveen
It does not need to to be in writing. Actions speak 100X louder than words. “You will know them by their deeds, not their words”. Wake up Andre!
CA legal
No outward changes noticeable. Google CA Marijuana DUI arrests and no news on dangers. There is no comparison to DUI marijuana to Alcohol.
I've used since '75 on and off. It's not addictive for me.
Being able to go into a dispensary and try different strains and feeling the different effects is amazing. Before we just bought buds/weed and got stoned. lol
The Feds have to De-classify & DOT needs to drop prohibitions.
9
@Opie, we have had one major cannabis influence caused accident in our area. Several people were killed. I have no problem with legalization, but please don't go telling people it's okay to drive under the influence. It's illegal in CA, and it is for good reasons.
2
Only issue is any smoke in the lungs ain’t a good thing.
3
Its' Wednesday so as usual I got up early this morning to go to the gym but unlike every other Wednesday one of the first things I did was go on-line to Ontario Cannabis Store (https://ocs.ca/age-gate#/verify-age) to order 15 grams of Shishkaberry @ $136.80 Cdn. It should be here in 1 to 3 business days, although if Canada Post goes on rotating strikes on Monday, as advertised, there might be a few days delay in getting this order to me.
Nice article, but a little over the top to suggest legalized weed "will alter the country’s social, cultural and economic fabric, and present the nation with its biggest public policy challenge in decades." I think you need to give the people more credit than that.. I'm not going to smoke and drive or smoke and work now that I can buy weed legally just as I didn't when I had to buy it illegally. No one I know will behave any differently.
The only difference is now I can roll up a fattie and relax in my backyard without having to worry about getting busted.
24
What's gonna happen to my favorite growers from Nova Scotia, Ricki, Bubbles, and Julian? What will they do now?
1
get rich?
4
An earlier article said that Canadians already use weed at the highest rate is any modern country. No wonder they are all so mellow. So the law is just catching up with reality.
I wish we in the USA could smoke the same weed they're already smoking. It must be very good. It makes them want to give everyone health care and want to pardon people convicted of minor offenses. In the US that means that a lot of Black and brown folk would get to vote again.
No wonder American reactionaries are afraid of weed.
32
So exactly how does one immigrate to Canada? Because if 2018 is like 2016 I'm not sure I can handle it. And Canada is looking better and better....
12
Look it up. Mostly free medicare is nice.
1
The American Medical Association (AMA) fought against the US's criminalization of marijuana in 1937 because of its known medical benefits, but a Southern Conservative made it his mission to punish Blacks and Hispanics for their use of weed. Any of this pattern sound familiar?
14
After the mid-terms, there may now be two reasons to move to Canada.
14
I think it may be time to change the leaf on the Canadian flag.
11
A hyped up story concerning the legalization of a plant used since beginning of time without much of the disaster alcohol has caused. It’s bad rap was given to it by racists who used it to incarcerate innocent ethnic groups that used it more than alcohol.
So let go of the silliness brought to us by racists and into a future where cannabis research might even come up with more uses than already identified from this plant that grows almost anyplace for free.
Really it’s legalization does little but free people from arrest for an innocuous plant that might even be a cure for all sorts of maladies that afflicts us. It really is way past the time for this universally and not just Canada. Wake up America we need to legalize and experiment with cannabis for a healthier life.
9
Were already there in CA.
Just need the Feds to drop the ridiculous class 1 rating.
DOT prohibition on using weed & ect. It'll come money talks.
I've used on and off since '75 (more on than off) and I don't think it's addictive, just pleasant.
Now you can try so many varieties and experience the different effects. Before you just bought weed and got stoned. lol
2
I don't know how this will turn out, but I'm definitely investing in poutine franchises.
18
I'm Canadian, and I have had my Medical Cannabis License for over a year. Cannabis has been extremely effective for my rheumatoid arthritis, as good or better than any NSAID I've tried. I use cannabis carefully and I treat it with respect. I don't use it every day and I'm careful with my dosages.
That being said, I'm a little concerned about legalization. Why am I not celebrating? As many have previously mentioned, driving while high is going to be a major safety issue. My wife is a Crown Prosecutor (what you would call a D.A. in the American judicial system) and she specializes in impaired driving. She said the police forces are woefully unprepared for "buzzed driving".
The main issue is testing for roadside impairment by THC is vastly different than testing for alcohol. The technology being adopted by the RCMP (our national police, like your FBI) and regional forces is crude and relatively untested. The Feds have set an arbitrary limit of 5 nanograms of THC per liter of blood. As anyone with knowledge of cannabis knows, THC stays in your system much longer than other drugs -- weeks can go by, and you will still test positive for THC even though you feel normal and haven't imbibed for many days.
Anyway, I tell my friends to "hold on" -- we're in for a wild ride here in the Great White (and Green?) North.
8
@RobertDT: I have some suspicions about the testing threshold you referenced. Here in the US our standard threshold for opiods used to be 300 ng/mL in urine, though once it was established it could be breached by eating an everything or poppy seed bagel, our dept. of Health and Human Service raised it to 2000 ng/mL. A number of institutions wound up paying out serious financial settlements to people whose lives they'd damaged. The VA still uses the old numbers, but advises it's not to be used for legal purposes (just internally, being a parochial and punitive organization). I think at 5 ng/L one could test positive by breathing tertiary smoke or simply looking at pot.
@EricR: totally agree with you. We have the inverse problem here in Canada compared to the USA. In the United States, your decentralized federal system gives more authority to the individual states to authorize de facto legalization, even though the DEA still considers marijuana a Schedule I drug. Up here, the Feds have now legalized cannabis at the national level, but told the different regions and municipalities "you figure out the rest". As a consequence, there are wildly different rules in each city in Canada about cannabis. It's going to cause chaos in the court system. And I agree with you: standing next to someone with MJ could put you at the 5ng/L level. It's a real problem.
Single-payer national health care and now this. The Canadians are leading the way, as usual.
69
@Doug Hill You don't want our single payer, trust me. You wouldn't put up with surgical techniques that are decades old for e.g. used because they are cheaper. In my province it's also illegal to pay for private care. You can pay for your cat or dog but not yourself.
1
honestly ...universal health care is really the only way. Never ever worrying about health coverage, bills or bankruptcy... ever!. This is the real naked truth on the subject.
43
You don't want what we have in the states, trust me. My father and his wife moved north to Quebec after he retired. She had dual citizenship. Long story short, he came down with Alzheimer's. The last two and a half years of his life he needed round the clock care. Their portion was not cheap, but it was affordable. If he had to do the same thing in the states it would have drained their savings account and his wife would have had to declare bankruptcy more than likely.
I know the health and safety people are covering their own hides. They don't want to get blamed for not warning everyone. However, I feel like their concerns are overblown.
Only about 13 percent of Canadians smoke marijuana. That number is unlikely to grow much. The vast majority of Americans, Canadian and otherwise, have already tried pot at some point in their life. Few become lifelong habitual smokers and even fewer could be called anything resembling an addict. I've never seen anyone on the street offering sexual favors in exchange for marijuana.
I feel like most people experiment for a while but eventually put the drug down when life gets in the way. I can't see going to work burnt as anymore fun than going to work hungover. Maybe it happens occasionally but its not an everyday thing. I think most adults simply age-out of regular cannabis use. Better to let the impulse run its course than to give users prison sentences over it.
As for driving, I'm not really worried about your typical stoned driver. They seem pretty harmless. I'm mostly worried about inexperienced users who don't know how their body will react. Even more dangerous though are the people who mix substances. A beer or two could be harmless. A joint might be harmless. A couple of beers and a joint though? That might be the wrong combination for some drivers. Same thing with prescription drugs.
17
I live in Colorado where it's legal both recreationally and medically. 13% seems extremely low but that's still a pretty high number. I don't smoke or use marijuana at all but it's about time we decriminalized it made it legal. such silliness
5
Nothing will change materially except the government will be collecting tax revenues and the courts will be less busy. Cannabis has been readily available in Canada for years for anyone who wanted it, through quasi-legal medicinal and illegal channels, to the point where 20% of the population admit to the government they have used it in the past year - actual usage is probably much higher.
This is big a win for liberal democracy, freedom of choice and plain old common sense.
I do hope it stays out of the hands of kids/teenagers, people drive responsibly though and the nannies of the world don’t blame cannabis for everything that ails society. Aldous Huxley might be rolling in his grave though...
24
@Chris - it is already in the hands of kids/teenagers, at least those interested in it. Perhaps there will be fewer people driving high than before since they can now light up at home, legally. As long as they keep it out of bars, it won't become bigger problem than it already is. Booze will remain the road killer.
5
About 9% of people who drink become alcoholics. There are some studies that suggest that 9% already had a pre-disposition to addiction.
You see the same statistic for pot use.
Long term pot use, especially used before age 27 when the pre-frontal cortex is still ‘developing’, causes irreversible memory loss, dysfunctional coping skills, and quite possibly mental disorders in some people later in life.
So, party on people, but protect your developing brain and seek help if you suspect you’re in that 9%.
8
@Dorothy Well Obama didn't seem to have too many issues as a result of his early enjoyment of "Maui Wowie."
4
@Dorothy
Yup, re: your point about that 9% already being pre-disposed to addiction, I watched some fool the other day try to suggest that pot causes schizophrenia.
No, but persons with schizophrenic brains (it can be seen in cans) do tend to reach for pot and other drugs for relief from it.
3
@Dorothy: Your comment equates cannabis 'addiction with alcohol addiction. That's false. Alcohol addiction produces very real physical symptoms of withdrawal. Cannabis 'addiction' if it exists at all, produces no such symptoms.
Your other comments about deleterious effects cannabis are straight out of the old movie "Reefer Madness" and have been disproven years ago.
4
The article speculates at length about the potential negative effects of legalization but says precious little about the enormous suffering brought about by criminalization. There will always be unknown consequences to our actions, but I dare say that Canada's current lawmakers made a better educated decision than the ones who banned marijuana in the first place.
The "Experiment" was prohibition and it failed.
30
The public health and public safety risks of marijuana, legal or not, aren't remotely in the same ballpark as tobacco (by far the biggest killer), opioids, or alcohol - yet this article reads as if MJ supporters are ready to create a plague of addiction, are only interested in profits, and the entire nation of Canada may suffer as a result. Supporters of the law are characterized as parties and profiteers. No mention is made of medical research, health benefits, or the benign societal effects of this drug in juxtaposition to its close cousin, alcohol. Very poorly balanced reporting which co-opts a long-held establishment viewpoint that MJ is used mainly by outlaws.
23
In CO it's kind of faded into the background. Just like buying beer or wine. But I'm still not sure all the tax money is being spent as promised.
5
Finally Canada gets out from under the hegemony of liquor and pharmaceutical manufacturers, who lobbied to vilify its profit competition marijuana. Marijuana had been used for centuries to safely alleviate various medical conditions, as well as to induce mild euphoria. I didn’t invent this. You could look it up.
I’m waiting for more acceptance here in the US.
22
Congratulations Canada! You have done something that many nations want to do but can't because the repressive puritans that run the US Govt. (the country that causes more misery ane heartbreak to the rest of the world, then all others combined) says no.
Smoke a fatty for me. I'll be doing the same here in California.
41
The USA likes to spread the use of alcohol, and is rapidly moving into creating major drug cartels designed to distribute lethal drugs via monopoly access to Americans.
4
@Sequel
Interesting that one of our counter tariffs was on Kentucky Bourbon. Shows the place of the booze lobby in the US.
Basically they are legalizing something people are already doing. Drug use should be legal, with the caveat that the public is flooded with an ocean of anti-drug messages. Drugs are mind altering and bad for your body but there is no way to stop people from getting and using them. Keeping drugs illegal leads to crime and criminality, drug wars, shoot-outs and the escalation of human misery. Tax drugs and use that money for treatment and public service announcements. The anti-drug is sports, use that tax money to fund sports leagues for children. With time, by taking the forbidden sexy element away, through education and proper role models drug use will dwindle. Or we can keep doing what we've been doing for the last 50 years , keep fighting the same battles over and over in the same fashion even though that war was lost a long time ago
7
@artfuldodger
Profits, my dear dodger. Profits. That’s why.
1
Legalized it here in WA, nothing happened. No madness. A couple pot shops sprung up around town--similar to tobacco/convenience stores in location and feel. Didn't change fabric of anything. No bars, no lounges, no tourists, no surge in use. ERs not filled with cannabis related injuries or DUIs. A total non-event.
If people have differing personal beliefs, its a non-issue at the community level. Feels like a commodity product, with an established user base--the end result of legalization, at least from the front-end-- is convenience to them. Just as hard liquor now sold at grocers.
88
Yep, same thing here in CA. Biggest change is a big billboard advertising a dispensary.
3
@Skeet It seems that the non story is the main takeaway. The article starts with a bit of hyperbole, but the greatest societal impact is likely to be removing yet another discretionary law enforcement issue. In some places (e.g. NYC) marijuana laws give police the option of nailing only those they dislike. Jeff Sessions may find it hard to find any horrors in the Canadian legalization.
10
@Skeet, Please tell the state of Mass this pertinent information. They are so scared of the weed. Although it has been legalized for both medical and recreational use it is still practically unavailable and it's been YEARS.
It's ALL about the alcohol and the powerful medical lobby on Beacon Hill. Drink yourself or take prescription pills to death but stay off of the cannabis. Hypocrites.
3
Dan - good work here. The hyperbole at the beginning was unnecessary though. "will alter the country’s social, cultural and economic fabric". I don't think a $5.6 billion industry on a $2 Trillion economy will 'alter' anything.
Thanks for linking the Doctor's perspective.
Cheers
14
Are they going to keep the maple leaf on their flag?
29
@Jack
:)
(Some of the Japanese maples have leaves that could pass for cannabis)
As a Minnesotan, I look forward to the jet stream carrying more than just frigid arctic air to us from Manitoba. One hopes that these pungent headwinds, infused with the smell of rationality, compassion, and FREEDOM, are are just too overpowering for We puritanical southerly neighbors to ignore.
I won't hold my breath.
51
@Tony Just as long as you remember to inhale.
4
@Tony brilliant
5
@Tony: Don't Bogart that breeze, my friend....
Until there are marijuana bars, I doubt that driving while high will even begin to touch the level of DUI's associated with alcohol. While Joe six pack is tying one on at the local pub, most marijuana users are at home, grateful to be enjoying their own brand of altered reality without fear of arrest.
34
I have a question for AG Jeff Sessions. I am 70 years old and retired now. I smoked a fair amount of weed between 1967 and the early '70s: maybe five or ten shoe boxes full. When do the bad effects you warn us about start to kick in?
Also, I started drinking alcohol in 1965. Was alcohol the gateway drug to marihuana? I always wondered about that.
38
The rationale for legalization is not being properly acknowledged or credited. Marijuana was legalized in Canada due to sustained public pressure because people simply wanted it to be legalized and were tired of the hypocrisy of ubiquitous consumption while the product remained technically illegal. We know about the health consequences and acknowledgment them - the CMA is way off base thinking that public health is a primary driver in this debate - it is the democratic will of the people.
33
The main problem with free public drug use is that in smoked form, bystanders who may have medical contraindications, need to drive imminently, or simply don't appreciate the sensation of being high get to enjoy everyone's fumes without recourse. I already can't enjoy many sorts of concerts because I get a severe, unpleasant reaction to pot smoke. Wish they'd limit it to non-airborn forms.
6
It's been quasi-legal for years. There are dispensaries every few blocks, and to procure weed, you tell the person working behind the counter that you have anxiety or trouble sleeping.
Today, nothing changes except the government can collect revenue from the sale of marijuana, the proceeds of which can be used to expand and improve health care, the school system, and so on. And the police and courts can focus on actual crime.
39
It is rather funny that we outlaw a plant that grows naturally. We really don't know what goes into all the medicine we consume on a daily basis.
The hypocrisy of alcohol and tobacco sponsorship always made me laugh.
Push beer and football and camel joe to kids, but heaven forbid--avoid weed.
283
@Newt In The 6 Poppy plants grow naturally, so I don't think your example works.
I agree about the hypocrisy and I am glad weed is legal.
2
@Newt In The 6 A lot of potent chemicals in medicines are naturally occurring. In fact, everything we consume is made right here on Earth using the raw materials that were here long before us.
On the other hand, there's an endless list of naturally occurring plants and compounds that are lethal or toxic to us. Natural has nothing to do with it—the idea that things in nature are just always good for us is a marketing ploy that many people have foolishly bought into. Paleo diets and natural, organic, gluten-free, non-GMO foods are sale tactics just like any other, or just plain misinformed.
This doesn't mean I don't think weed should be legal. I don't think it's any worse than alcohol in terms of the effects it causes in recreational use, and in some ways it's safer. The argument that it's natural is just irrelevant.
3
@Newt In The 6 yes, and those disgusting JUUL devices marketed to teenagers are a hot item at every gas station in the country.
1
I see the big risk as driving under the influence. I hope they are doing rigorous testing of the roadside test.
47
Absolutely. Rigorous testing for anyone under the influence. Especially after the bars close.
1
@Doug k There is not test for smoking Marijuana like there is for alcohol. Since week makes you better coordinated unlike drinking, passing field sobriety tests will be a breeze. People smoke weed and drive all the time. It's not like alcohol at all, where the more you drink the more stupid you get.
Driving on Marijuana is not a problem for anyone who is not a total rookie.
2
@Doug k Seems like far less of a risk than alcohol use while driving, but I think you are correct. The problem is that like with alcohol, a little won't seriously impair your ability to drive, but a lot certainly will. How to account for that is certainly the question.
Can’t imagine too many pot tourists, since pot is now recreationally legal in many states. Thankfully I don’t have to cross the border, I just have to cross town.
As long as there are stiff fines and penalties for driving high, and they do a better job of keeping kids off of it than cigarettes, Canada is on the right path.
81
@NYLAkid Montreal is already packed with tourists from New Jersey, New York and other northeastern U.S. states who go for its year-round music festivals, great restaurants and other attractions. So, I'm sure many of them will take advantage of legal pot. Two summers ago, during the International Jazz Festival, Montrealers already were smoking pot in public, confident that police wouldn't arrest them, as our 19-year-old son reported after sharing a joint or two.
4
@NYLAkid Canada is grappling with how to test drivers for pot impairment. Some jurisdictions are testing new technology but until they can prove impairment there won’t be enforcement.
@NYLAkid, This will greatly enhance tourism. Especially international visitors. Recreational cannabis was legalized two years ago in MA and is still not available to the public. Matter of fact medical shops have barely opened up at all and that's been legal for over 5 years. Not all states are like California and WA/OR.
MA is paranoid of cannabis. Alcohol consumption though is OK and heavily promoted.
4
In terms of money, the canadians win twice, once by collecting tax revenue, and again by saving on the cost of prisons. Let's see how things turn out.
242
@Gene Cass Make it a three way win. Buyers can be assured that the product they are using is certified by the government, not something possibly contaminated by unscrupulous sellers.
5
3. Getting a massive jump on the market. Coca-Cola has signed a deal with a Canadian company for the development of a CBD-based drink. Think about the functional sports beverage market.
We're still struggling with simple, won't get you high, proven (through FDA involved studies) life saving CBD. While American companies are far ahead on this front, a company like Coca-Cola can't, or won't, do business with them in the U.S.
Some backwards states and cities have, or are trying to, outlaw CBD.
Good for Canada, but from an innovation and opportunity perspective...I'm furious.
1
@Gene Cass But they lose on the cost of health related costs.
Yeah Canada's looking better and better for us newly retired.
35
@thcatt
And with the current $$ exchange rate, your dollar will go far - weed costs CDN$7-10 per gram.
6
@thcatt
Be forewarned...unless you already have family that are Canadian citizens it is very hard to move there unless you are rich.
“It took decades for the public to understand the risks of cigarettes, and the legalization of cannabis has taken place only over a few years.”
So 1970's to 2018 is "only a few years"? Because it sure seems to me like legalization has taken place over decades.
4
@Tony - I was just thinking th same thing an hour ago while I was running. It was Reagan who stopped any of th progression that was made in th late 70's, and then HE and HIS turned th clock backwards for years and years.
HE and HIS are responsible for this nation's lack of progression relative to th rest of th world.
4
The most dangerous thing about cannabis is that it's illegal, but the principal argument for legalization is that it would cut out the Mob hasn't happened in the States. Price fixing must be rampant to keep the cost of legal cannabis the same as the black market, a black market that will continue to thrive until some savvy entrepreneurs decide they'd rather make an honest living with prices that reflect the actual cost of production, distribution, and profit.
3
As a hockey fan, I hope the NHL becomes more open to marijuana, as it's a better option for players dealing with pain. There have been many players whose careers were shattered because they were put on opioids after a serious injury, and could not break the addiction.
24
@Sandeep
Doesn't the NHL treat concussions on site with CBD?
What a nice country. Bravo !
28
Maybe I am dating myself, but...
A nation with weed
Is a nation indeed!
14
I can’t wait to see the commercials, a bunch of attractive young adults watching a sunset, smiling and laughing. The hysteria of prohibitionists is hysterical, violence and adverse health effects? Been to an ER ever? Opioids, alcohol and tobacco are killing daily, where’s your concern? The world will keep spinning, nothing will change.
11
@hb
Sounds lovely, but I'm sure that like alcohol and tobacco, MJ advertising in Canada will be severely restricted.
5
Congratulations, Canada. I'm hardly worried that legalization of weed will be the end of civilization as we know it.
26
Congratulations to Canada for this enlightened move. Anything that gives Attorney General, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, the “heebie jeebies” can only be a good thing.
37
Canada, dealing with the reality of marijuana usage and consumption then stepping into the future.
Congratulations and many thanks for your leadership of the free world.
89
@Glenn Irizarry
We were happy to have America leading the way in the past, but we see what's going in on your country: we'll take it from here.
3
Throughout my 39 year teaching career, I did not smoke marijuana. Upon retirement it was offered to me by a friend and I began to use it, not recreationally, but in:
writing SCHOOLBOY a rock’n’rap opera;
in developing Ivolution Theory
in creating new words like Ivolution, Isight, IRevolution, Iwarrior, and Ewarrior; and much more.
Marijuana is not for everyone – and certainly not for young developing brains – but for the creative mind it can be a powerful ally.
Love to all Canadians and people everywhere
who use marijuana to make the world a better place.
10
Wish it had been legal while I was watching the Kavanaugh spectacle. Probably would have chilled me out.
26
@REF
I don’t think anything short of a lobotomy would have chilled me out watching that despicable travesty.
11
Good on Canada, a sane informed intelligent choice.
38
I hope the New York Times doesn't let this discussion get out of hand. Comments should be closed after 420 people chime in.
24
There are billions of dollars to be made from legalized pot. Let's hope it goes to the citizens of Canada to restore our once great health care system and help the poor, the unemployed and aged, and not just line the pockets of the new class of big business honchos that is about to sprout up.
50
Can't wait to visit my buddy in Toronto!
Carl, get the guestroom ready!
19
Alter Canada's "social, cultural and economic fabric"? Take it from California, it's really no big deal.
63
Addictive? Nonsense. I've been smoking for 30 years and I am still not addicted.
36
@Neocynic
You gonna be here all week?
1
Canadians just got a LOT friendlier!
15
A flower that has been evolving alongside our species for millennia is finally legal [in Canada] again, after the United States dictated international drug policy to the world less than a century ago.
Smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.
24
Marijuana is a blessing. An honest investigation in to the health effects would reveal that for every marijuana "addict" whatever that is, there is a person for whom marijuana helped to kick alcohol, or opioids, or spinal stenosis to the curb.
54
Calling this a "national experiment" makes it sound like some crazy, risky thing.
The only crazy things were the number of lives ruined by prosecution and incarceration while cannabis was illegal, and the resources wasted on quixotic prohibition efforts.
Canada: sensible drug policy and comprehensive health coverage. That sounds pretty good.
273
@Pat
My thoughts exactly.
The experiment was the US’s use of cannabis and other drugs as a tool of oppression against blacks in the phony “war on drugs”.
12
@Pat I agree about the number of lives ruined by prosecution. On the other hand, I see where the health organizations are coming from. This is going to lead to a lot more deaths (cancer, impairment) and mental health issues. Maybe the government shouldn't have been regulating it in the first place, but it's hard to ignore the direct consequences of this decision.
1
@Pat not to mention they legalized a drug that increases the appetite. The restaurant industry in Canada may see an increase in the delivery business. My dad who went to college in the '70's said the vending machines in the dorms would frequently run out because pot smoking students got the munchies.
5
Compared to alcohol cannabis is a far superior drug. Users don't get stoned and start fights. The majority of people get mellow and eat. I have great respect for Canadians and always found them to be decent and caring people. The legalization only furthers that opinion and frankly it's a smart idea. We spend billions of dollars here on law-enforcement and prohibition which frankly doesn't really work. Why not legalize and properly regulate a substance more benign than alcohol or tobacco? The billions of dollars in revenue certainly is a bonus. Eventually, it will happen because the potential income is too great. Let's hope it is soon.
77
I can't begin to tell you the toll that alcohol has taken on members of my immediate family, extended family, and families of many friends and acquaintences. Most folks could voice this within their own families. While pot has its drawbacks, I don't see the level of destruction as with alcohol.
79
Actually prohibition was the experiment and it failed miserably as it did with alcohol. People get wound up over cannabis but alcohol, an addictive carcinogen, causes more personal and societal harm than cannabis ever will.
We learned to manage alcohol's risks reasonable well and we will do the same with cannabis. Actually we already have. Over 50% of Canadians have at least tried weed. I have yet to see cannabis-fueled fights or assaults but have certainly seen alcohol-fueled ones.
124
The notion that a weed "will alter the country’s social, cultural and economic fabric, and present the nation with its biggest public policy challenge in decades" is just complete nonsense - journalistic hyperbole.
It will do three things: (1) put marijuana on roughly the same basis as cigarettes and alcohol; (2) eliminate a major unnecessary source of criminalization, and (3) open up a potentially large and lucrative industry to Canadian entrepreneurs.
It will take a while to sort out the regulatory aspects for assuring public safety and that are specific to this product. Otherwise, life will carry on as usual in Canada, which has far more important public policy challenges to deal with than this.
95
@Mark I agree with everything you wrote with the exception of number (2). The criminal element will not go away and will even thrive under the legalization. A large portion of people who smoke weed are under the age of 18 and will continue to go to underground buyers for their weed.
3
@DGL47 Re point (2), yes OK, it's correct for everyone over age 18.
Many laws that have age restrictions are flouted routinely, so again, nothing exceptional here about weed as well.
2
@Mark. I also agree with all you said but like to add that the medical benefits of cannabis are only now becoming well known. It’s potential to liberate people from the harmful and addictive affects of pain killers such as opiates and also to relieve stress, anxiety and other ailments may be revolutionary.
The article mentions a worry that legalization of pot might influence vulnerable teenagers to try the stuff. News: those "vulnerable" teenagers are probably already smoking illegally, and legalization might cut the use of the drug by taking away the glamor of breaking the law.
116
@John
"Who will save the children" is the oldest trick in the book of those who wish to control what others can do.
41
@John... the vulnerable teens are those with a pre-disposition for psychosis. Pot use can significantly increase their risk level for severe mental health issues. This is not a reason for making pot illegal but a public awareness of this concern certainly warranted.
1
@Pat, I agree. The 'but what about the children' lament is lame.
They will have more fatal car crashes violent stoned people walking their streets and the whole country will be unsafe and dangerous. Opiods last year killed more people than were killed in the Vietnam war and I see the grim totals rising for this toxic brain shrinking drug to do the same.
3
D.j.j.k.
Your paranoid and misinformed view of marijuana ingestion is actually much more harmful and disturbing than the legalization of marijuana.
Your brain appears to be stoned from Reefer Madness, a 1936 American right-wing propaganda film intended to frighten people like you about the 'evils' of cannabis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reefer_Madness
The real violent and drunk-driving drug is alcohol.
Good luck in your alternative, paranoid universe.
Counseling and marijuana are now available to treat your chronic condition.
102
@D.j.j.k. With all due respect, there is absolutely no science to support your statement. A very small number of pot users become DEPENDENT on the drug, but not ADDICTED. There is a very large difference. Pot is NOT fentanyl.
61
@D.j.j.k. In over fifty years of enjoying cannabis with a wide circle of friends, I've never met a "violent stoned" person. Just shared a lot of laughter and gained powerful insights into the workings of the human mind, insights whose validity endures long after the high wears off.
Lucky, I guess.
30
Free health care, no Trump or dirty republicans and now this...starting to look pretty good.
157
@J Clark
Yet CANADA remains a “national security threat” according to Trump.
7
@J Clark
The health care is not "free." Far from it. It is taxpayer subsidized public health care for all. Our version of Medicare for All. Something I totally support.
But it's not free.
16
@Canadian Watching the USA in Disbelief
Of course Canada is a national threat to trump’s America! Better health system, more humane government, fairer tax laws—everything trump fears.
What will be greater? The penalty for smuggling pot from Canada or Cuban cigars?
16
@JDSept
Immigrate to Canada and you may enjoy both at your leisure. Legally.
19
What's all the fuss about? The only difference is that yesterday weed was illegal and today it isn't. What's missing? An 8 track, oversize headphones and the blaring of Led Zeppelin shooting thru your head.
33
Good for them. Live and let live. Criminalize harm to others, but let adults risk harm to themselves if they choose. Else we’d criminalize rock climbing.
47
Oh to be Canadian..... I wish and for many reasons. Trump's America is rocketing backward into an abyss of darkness, while Canada moves forward on its own enlightenment.
11/6/2018 - Vote. Turn the lights back on.
268
@Deb Yes and yes. Thanks Deb.
4
@Deb Trump can very easily change or remove it from Scheduling paving the way for States to make their own choice to regulate and tax.
I stand with Trump, vote Red and support legalized Cannabis.
@Deb
Washington and Oregon have legalized it already. Come visit an of us and get high from the beautiful mountains, woods, lakes and the Pacific. And you can take the bus or train from Seattle to Vancouver (BC) and experience what they have to offer too.
Just don't cross the international or state borders with cannabis on your person or in your luggage. But why bother? You can buy it legally in all three places.
HIGH TIMES AHEAD NORTH OF THE BORDER! Wow! I can imagine the influx of tourists from all over the world who will enjoy places and experiences such as the Rocky Mountain Canada High! Or a pot high in any other region of Canada. Including gourmet cooking tours featuring marijuana. Alice B. Toklas's hash brownies, here we come! Yum yum!
38
@John Jones Just a reality check, legal pot is more of a commodity like tobacco than a luxury item like fine wine. Tours and pot tourism on any real scale just not the reality here in legal WA. A few "across the border!!" type places. Pot shops are decidedly downscale outlets, think bodega/convenience store/smoke shop. Customers are price conscious. i see the track more like cigarette sales (will soon be available everywhere behind counter). No one really does much cigarette tourism. yes over time maybe small niche of upscale pot brands, organic farm tours etc. but drop in bucket compared to over-the-counter sales of a commoditized product.
2
If the Canadians are as hardy smokers as they are hardy folks, drinkers, workers, players, athletes, this Canadian weed boom is sure to explode. Lead the way, eh?!
39
It is important not to confuse the right to do something with advocacy of doing it. I defend your right to tattoo "Idiot" on your forehead but I don't encourage you to do it. While I completely support the decriminalization of Marijuana, neither corporations nor government should profit from its use. In no way should government advocate or facilitate advocacy, Hopefully if this decriminalization is a success, it will be replicated with the decriminalization of opioids, cocaine and other drugs. The war on drugs has never been a war on drugs but rather a war on people. All it has done is make drug use attractive to segments of society while allowing organized crime and the criminal justice community to prosper. Government should treat drug use the way they treat religion, neither advocating nor prohibiting. If you oppose drug use, use reason to convince people not to use them.
29
I agree.
I see this as a victory for people in the way that lotteries and casinos are now coast to coast. Has this been good for people? Not particularly. And it has been very bad for some. But it’s certainly been very good for those who own casinos and lotteries.
Tax cuts paved the way for the search for alternative sources of revenue at the expense of citizens’ health. Sales tax revenue on the front end, while the back end, society’s health, is not being considered.
Though I certainly smoked my share in youth, I’m old enough to know that it did not do my life’s path any good.
The name of the game is conserving brain cells! If pot improved memory and ‘made me smarter’ I’d be the first in line. But folks this is just self-medication, which, cancer sufferers aside, just isn’t a good brain plan for the rest of us.
15
@Mike Corps and government can make money from beer and booze? I expect my beer and Blanton's bourbon to go down in price this year. Government has been trying through ads and reasoning to convince people not to do drugs and watch alcohol intake. How much more you want them to spend and what has been the results?
2
@Mike Some drugs must never be legalized because they are lethal, many on first use - meth, heroin, cocaine, etc.
Yippee!!
What a great day!
55
Ok, let's go over it again, what history has taught us about a vice, dangerous object.
The policy should be legality, regulation, responsibility and non promotion.
In this country we were most successful with it re drunk driving and cigarette smoking.
We were least successful with gun violence.
Canada should make it legal but heavily regulate it, PS announcements against it and putting the onus on the pot smokers , ie paint them into a corner where they can only smoke it on their roof tops, ie confiscate it anyplace else instead of putting them in jail.
It accomplished two main goals. It drastically cuts out organized crime but also limits the popularity of it and widespread use.
7
@Paul Right people only smoke on roof tops etc. One can stop it in private businesses by punishing owners who allow it but that don't stop it elsewhere. People still smoke on the street( many time because pushed out of businesses), in cars and so many other places. The failure of prohibition should tell you something. people will alwasy do what they want to somewhere and somebody will always offer whatever if there is a market for it.
3
@JDSept- thank you for you reply...If you read my post again I am basically agreeing with you. KEEP IT LEGAL...that is a key point unlike what they did with prohibition but put the onus on the pot smoker to smoke it in private not to smoke it in front of other people and if not don't arrest them but confiscate the pot.
This accomplishes two key goals....cut down on organize crime and jailed inmates but keeping the number of smokers low so they don't stink up the whole place.
Legally, it makes sense. Medically, not so sure. Important to educate the public about its effects. They might need a new slow-slow lane on their highways.
13
@AACNY While it may not be the new Aspirin (also plant based), there is incontrovertible evidence of the health benefits, though in my opinion that is only one of several very good reasons to take this step.
9
Congrats to Canada for showing sanity! Legalize it, tax it, and regulate it. I'm a former public defender, and unlike crimes associated with alcohol use, I never represented a client who engaged in a violent act because they were under the influence of THC. Given, one should not drive or operate machinery under the influence of THC and smoking a joint is about as unhealthy as smoking an unfiltered cigarette. However, these negatives don't go beyond those of legal mind-altering products. While impossible under the current regime, I hope one day the United States will follow Canada's example.
370
@Eric F
The biggest public health risk in Canada is stress-related: Canadians going to bed every night knowing that the US president is blowing up the world. Cannabis Is prescribed until the US ends this nightmare.
13
It won't happen in the USA nation wide until the GOP dinosaurs become extinct.
2
@Eric F "Regulate it" -- ah, the devil is in the details.
I keep telling people here in L.A. that legal weed is NOT really weed -- it's been altered in some devious way, its previous narcotic components somehow dampened down or removed. Today's legal pot produces a profound "sleep" effect -- there is no sustained "high". And yet millions of people pay good money for this "sleep medication" style cannabis -- as if it's Melatonin -- and no one seems to be demanding an investigation into the mysterious absence of marijuana's former unique psychological properties.
Congrats Canada, for taking a bold step towards a saner world. I smoked dope for years and now you couldn't pay me to touch the stuff, but keeping drugs illegal is the wish of the politically and ethically misguided and corrupt. Grown ups, acting responsibly, should be able to use a plant that grew naturally long before there were humans, when and where they wish. Smart people will do their homework and make an informed decision. Hope fully the rest of the world will follow suit asap.
31
He added, “It took decades for the public to understand the risks of cigarettes, and the legalization of cannabis has taken place only over a few years.”
What about alcohol? It didn't take that long to see how bad it is for a person, and yet, it's been legal for years despite the known facts of its devastating harmful effects. Cannabis has been enjoyed for centuries with no devastating effects. That's plenty of proof it's not that harmful.
90
Alcohol does a lot of the same things, and it's legal in pretty much every country. It can be addictive, and it can ruin people's lives. But if I said that we should outlaw alcohol, you would look at me like I'm crazy.
Regulation is the key.
153
@Sean
In fact, alcohol is MUCH more damaging to society than pot.
We've been engaged in reefer madness for far too long.
4
@Sean
Regulation IS NOT easy. Here in the Sacramento area, despite numerous legal "shops" which sell cannabis products, there have been drug busts of major illegal "grow" houses, for producing and probably selling cannabis on a black market. Those individuals who broke the law like that are going to do jail time. We have a brand of new criminals.
So, despite the fact that California has a housing crisis and no housing commission at all, it has a CANNABIS COMMISSION.
Issues. Here's one. All the cannabis shops which started out as providers of "medical cannabis" have converted to recreational. The medical products have nearly disappeared and they are not kept in inventory, and the people needing such medical products are out of luck.
The shift is from the medical to recreational. And frankly the business does not care.
The arguments against cannabis legalisation (which are arguments against civil rights, let us be perfectly clear) are so horrendously disingenuous. Saying that it took decades for the dangers of tobacco to become apparent and implying that the same might be true do cannabis is simply mental. It is a complete non sequitur with no respect for timelines and historical contexts. The worries about Canadians’ health are all wildly overblown, and are in no way juxtaposed against the alternative: robbing people of their freedom and their future by imprisoning them for consuming cannabis. Honestly, which of those two risks are greater? Which is the greater crime against humanity?
Drug warriors, the ignorant, the ideologues and the paid advocates of alcohol, pharmaceuticals and tobacco will continue to fear monger, but don’t listen to them. They are simply aghast that their respective gravy trains of reduced competition with a simply superior intoxicant and the budgets and importance that comes from penalising otherwise lawful individuals is coming to a close. Good riddance!
180
@KW
Right? Cannabis has been around and used for centuries. We have a pretty good idea what the risks are. And they're nowhere near as bad as those for alcohol, tobacco, meth, opiates, or cocaine.
3
@KW
Gee I don't think we can say that the concern for a scientific and pharmacological understanding of all of cannabis's components, if ingested, is "overblown".
We don't know if taking a certain amount of concentrated THC from cannabis, interacts with other medications, is blocked or increased when taking with alcohol, and if addiction can result from small exposures to concentrated amounts of THC.
The story on the facts that Canada is NOT ALLOWING edible forms of cannabis everywhere, and NOT YET, is missing from this report. They are proceeding with caution, and they intend according to the reports, to test and evaluate the THC edibles.
Again, Canada is NOT overblowing the adverse effects of cannabis, it is proceeding with caution.
Frankly, I wish the US would do the same.