Canada’s CANnabis, or CAN’Tabis ?

In our new Emerging Voices series by students, this is the fourth of five articles by students at the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University.

Nandini Paliwal

June 18, 2022

Canada’s cannabis legalization review was due in October 2021. It has  yet to commence. In 2018, Canada became the second country in the world after Uruguay to legalize possession and use of recreational cannabis. There was a general consensus that this was the best way to protect public health (especially of the young), to control the illegal drug market and to keep otherwise law-abiding Canadians out of the criminal justice system. More than three years later, the people and Parliament still know little about the public health, economic and social impacts of legalization.

Cannabis use is most common among individuals aged 18 to 24 years (36 percent) and 25 to 44 years (30 percent), followed by those who are 15 to 17 years (19 percent) and 45 and older (11 percent). The jury is still out on whether  the Canadian model of  “harm reduction” is actually achieving harm reduction for young Canadians – the most prolific users of the drug. Evidence suggests that most cannabis use happens in the first quarter of one’s life. However, restriction on the legal age of consumption seems to be leading to a situation where adults have access to highly regulated cannabis, while adolescents and young adults continue to buy from illegal dealers, whose product is riskier and comes with far less information. This implies that a significant proportion of our youth keep consuming marijuana in conditions far more dangerous than those of their senior age groups. It is also feared that the “social sanction” granted by legalization may be luring even  non-users to cannabis consumption. There is an urgent need to better assess the impact of cannabis use on public health and safety, especially for youth demographics.

Prior to legalization, the marijuana and hashish penalties and prosecutions were disproportionately higher for marginalized communities, particularly Black and Indigenous Canadians. Decriminalization appears to have addressed the inequalities in the criminal justice system. Legalization seems to have ended what University of Toronto Sociology  Professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, called the “heavily racialized” arrests for marijuana possession. The new law has drastically reduced possession charges. According to Statistics Canada, in 2018 the police recorded 26,402 possession cases. In 2019, that number dropped to 46. It remains to be seen if this has also dented the systemic racism prevailing within police forces. Further, despite promises of redress, many charged under the old law are still finding it difficult to erase criminal records for possession. The process is both complicated and underpublicized, making it more of a privilege for the few than a widely available solution.

The intent in legalizing and regulating the cannabis market was that criminal organizations and street gangs wouldn’t make billions, and that Canadians would consume safe marijuana without toxins. The “business of pot”, however, still thrives outside the legal system. Recent evidence from the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and Addiction suggests that sales outside the legal system may be shrinking, but have not totally disappeared. In its latest survey, Statistics Canada found that while a dominant majority shopped for marijuana exclusively at official stores and websites, a sizable chunk still accessed a mix of legal and illegal sources. Almost four years after legalization, some customers still prefer the illegal channel for two main reasons: price and selection. Youth are more prone to access it from the illegal sources, indicating the need for a stricter enforcement regime.

As apparent in increased sales, creation of new jobs and increased tax revenues, legalization seems to have stimulated the economy. Lured by the tremendous business opportunities, private players have invested significantly in the industry. However, the benefits of legalization have been skewed. The executives of these companies are overwhelmingly white. As noted by Prof. Owusu-Bempah: “We had this situation where Black and Indigenous people were being overly criminalized. Now they’re being left out of what is a multibillion-dollar industry.” Only two percent of the companies’ leadership is Indigenous people and 1 percent is Black Canadians.

Canada’s Cannabis Act of 2018 was the consequence of a rare alignment of political will, public opinion, policy research and the wisdom of the courts. In deciding to legalize (and not just decriminalize) cannabis, Canada chose to be an outlier on the policy spectrum of regulation. However, more research and disaggregated data  will be needed to better understand the impacts of cannabis legalization on public health and safety, to identify the emerging policy and administrative challenges, and to course-correct policy and practice. There is also a need to involve Indigenous communities in this research to better understand their situation and needs regarding illicit cannabis, and institute ways to support them. Addressing these gaps will help inform decision making and shape the future of cannabis policy in Canada.

Nandini Paliwal is a Master’s student at Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University and is a civil servant from India, currently on sabbatical.