It’s been four years since the Canadian government passed the Cannabis Act, and here are four reasons why Canadian cannabis legalization sucks.
Now, you may think I’m just nitpicking here. But people are still receiving criminal records for cannabis. There still exists a peaceful “black market” of cannabis farmers. Even the large, licensed producers don’t like the current setup.
And thanks to the “public health” approach, Canadian cannabis consumers can’t even get their hands on affordable, potent edibles.
It’s been four years, and these are four reasons why legalization sucks.
4th Reason Why Canadian Legalization Sucks – Prison for Pot is Still a Thing
Police are still busting grow operations falling outside Health Canada‘s realm. This was expected, as Justin Trudeau said the police would have more funding and powers to combat the “illicit market.”
But when was the last time you heard about a moonshine bust in someone’s basement? You could argue that, in time, illicit markets will diminish as more consumers move over to the legal regime.
But why would they do that? Legacy cannabis markets provide cheaper cannabis, and despite claims of mould or other toxins, a lot of homegrown bud is high-quality. Especially if you’re buying in B.C.
This leads us to the third reason why Canadian legalization sucks.
3rd Reason – BC Bud Integration
The “illicit market” only exists because of how bureaucratic and centralized Canada’s legalization scheme is.
For example, before getting approval to grow, you must invest around $100,000 into your operation. And then there’s no guarantee you’ll actually get licensed.
$100,000 down the drain just so some bureaucrat in Ottawa can potentially deny your application. It’s true that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”
BC Bud integration would never be part of Justin Trudeau’s legalization scam. I predicted this back in 2015. I even suggested a Harper government would be better for the culture since it pitted us against Ottawa with the public on our side.
Trudeau’s legalization co-opted the narrative. It painted peaceful BC Bud farmers as organized crime trying to get your children hooked on “marihuana” so they could push harder drugs.
It was a story made from whole cloth. And the nation’s presstitutes didn’t bother challenging it until four years later. And now they’re sitting around scratching their heads, wondering why the “illicit market” is still a thing.
2nd Reason – Excise Taxes & Regulations
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
You can be a small-time BC Bud farmer unable to afford the costs of legal production. Or you can be a large licensed producer producing so much cannabis you have to destroy a lot of it.
You can be a licensed micro-producer struggling to stay afloat. Or a large corporation that’s never reported any profits, continues to be cash-flow negative, and taps into equity markets.
Both sides agree – cannabis taxes and regulations are killing the industry.
Excise taxes, for example, take $1 per gram off the wholesale flower. This is regardless of production costs or retail price. The result is more efficient producers pay higher taxes. (You can see why many BC Bud farmers want nothing to do with this.)
And, of course, large licensed producers can absorb excise taxes and navigate the regulatory bureaucracy more effectively than smaller producers.
All the big L.P.s have to do is sell cannabis at a loss and wait for their smaller competitors to go bankrupt. And with the Cannabis Act Review expected to take at least 18 months, the probability of this occurring is massively high.
1st Reason Why Canadian Legalization Sucks – Public Health vs. Your Right to Consume
While excise taxes and regulations may be an ample reason why Canadian legalization sucks, ultimately, these are all symptoms of a fundamental problem: public health.
After a couple of years of lockdowns and vaccine passports, it’s apparent we have a public health problem.
It’s one thing for a health bureaucrat to suggest public policy to the government. It’s quite another thing to act as if your suggestion is scientific and any criticism or disagreement is “misinformation.”
Many people woke up to this scam when “two weeks to flatten the curve” became two and a half years of authoritarian bullshit.
But this problem has been in the cannabis industry since Justin Trudeau ran on the legalization ticket in 2015. After all, what can’t be justified by public health?
Excise taxes and regulations are justified by “public health.” Eliminating the peaceful BC Bud market is justified by “public health.” Prison for pot is justified by “public health.” THC limits on edibles are justified by “public health.”
Taking a “public health” approach to cannabis is the number one reason why Canadian legalization sucks.
It is not the business of public health lobbyists what adults do with their bodies on their own time. All the harms associated with cannabis are based on pseudoscience.
Cannabis is habit-forming but not addictive. Nor does cannabis cause schizophrenia, psychosis, or other mental health problems.
There is no lethal overdose of cannabis.
Cannabis is not a scourge that must be carefully regulated and restricted. The only risks to people regarding cannabis are the destructive narratives that public health propagates.
Four Years Later: Will Anything Change?
As Germany moves to legalize cannabis, they’re looking at American legal states like California. When German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Canada, they didn’t discuss cannabis legalization.
They didn’t even discuss hemp, which would solve many of Germany’s energy issues.
Simply put, Canadian legalization is not the model for the world to follow. And the world knows it.
Unfortunately, unless future prime minister Pierre Poilievre has a change of heart about drugs (or is concealing his libertarian view until he’s sitting in the PMO), Canada’s cannabis legalization will continue to suck.
That is, unless you like spending $300+ an ounce on irradiated, corporate cannabis.
