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Employees collect cuttings from cannabis plants at Hexo Corp's facility in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, on September 26th. (Chris Wattie / Reuters)
OTTAWA – Canada is the first major industrialized country to have fully decriminalized cannabis for recreational purposes on Wednesday, in line with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's 2015 election promise, in an extremely complex and uncertain process.
Concerns abound. There was already concern about the shortage of legal cannabis for sale in the first months of legalization and the lack of retail outlets, which could lead to a boom in the illegal marijuana trade that the new law is supposed to thwart. Canada's 12 provinces and territories are responsible for regulating the distribution and sale of cannabis and take a variety of approaches. And Canadians entering the United States could be banned from entering if they admit to having used cannabis.
Under the legislation passed by the Canadian Parliament in June, it will no longer be illegal for adults to purchase, possess or grow cannabis for recreational purposes starting Wednesday. This is a much larger legalization process than has been done so far in the United States, where nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized the recreational pot, but federal law still treats it. as an illegal substance in Annex 1. (Internationally, only Uruguay has embarked on such an extensive legalization process.)
[[[[1 in 7 Canadian cannabis users had a strong increase at least once in the past 3 months]
While the Canadian federal government has amended Canada's criminal law and is now responsible for licensing and licensing of commercial cannabis producers, the provinces are responsible for regulating distribution and retail sales. marijuana.
In Ontario and the western provinces, the sale of cannabis will largely be left to licensed private outlets, but in Quebec and most of eastern Canada, marijuana will only be sold in state-run stores, in the same way as alcohol. In most of the country, the legal age will be 18 or 19, as for alcohol, but Quebec has promised to raise the age of cannabis use to 21 years.
In Ontario, the most populous province, the only way to buy legal pots from Wednesday will be by mail order, as permits for private outlets are not expected to be issued until next spring after the Prime Minister recently elected, Doug Ford, decided to cancel previous plans. sell cannabis in government-owned stores.
Students Michal Marcinkiewicz and Carson Otto measure light at Niagara College's Commercial Cannabis Laboratory in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada on October 9th. (Carlos Osorio / Reuters)
In neighboring Quebec, a dozen outlets will be open, while in British Columbia, there will be only one provincial store, but it is expected that there will be cannabis is always available in private storefronts where sales have been tolerated for a long time.
The federal law will also allow adults to grow four plants for their personal use, thus extending the existing rule for legal users of marijuana for medical purposes, but Quebec and Manitoba intend to totally prohibit personal culture. In addition, foods containing cannabis, such as cookies and sweets, will remain illegal next year until the Canadian government develops its food regulatory regime. In the meantime, they are apparently readily available via illicit sources.
Several provinces have already complained that cannabis producers have shipped fewer products than expected, which could lead to a shortage of products.
Vic Neufeld, General Manager of Aprhia Inc., one of the leading producers, told investors last week that he expects a shortage of products for two or three months, until production increases and consumer demand is better understood.
"It's like trying to merge a five-lane highway into a one-lane country road," he said. "It's hard to get everything through the bottleneck as soon as possible."
According to Anindya Sen, professor of economics at the University of Waterloo, the anticipated scarcity of cannabis in formal outlets could be a major asset for black market providers. He notes that many of these providers already use websites, apps and even home delivery for their offerings.
"I'm afraid that in provinces like British Columbia or Ontario, where we do not have access to retail, it will be easy to find illegal suppliers online," he said. declared during an interview. "You enter your zip code and ride a legal vendor or guy in a truck."
Despite the failures, Sen said he believed Canada had an opportunity to play a leading role in an emerging industry. "Many European countries will watch what happens here," he said. "If Canada succeeds, it could become a world leader" in creating systems for the production and processing of commercial quantities of cannabis.
On September 26, a dump truck passes a greenhouse under construction at the Hexo Corp facility in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. (Chris Wattie / Reuters)
Already, the stock markets are generating renewed interest among Canadian cannabis producers who have issued shares. Despite the nascent nature of the sector, the value of stocks has risen sharply, with the market capitalization of the five largest producers reaching $ 40 billion, a situation considered by some as a bubble.
The legalization of cannabis is one of Trudeau's major problems, although its implementation has proved more complicated than expected. In the past, he admitted to having smoked "five or six times", but says he never liked doing it. A spokesman said that any consumption by the Prime Minister had occurred "many years ago" and that Trudeau had no intention of buying or using cannabis once. that it would be legalized.
For Canadians crossing the US border, the situation remains dangerous for anyone who uses cannabis, even after the law has been changed. "Whoever admits to breaking the Controlled Substances Act is inadmissible to the United States," according to US Customs and Border Protection.
Len Saunders, a lawyer specializing in cross-border international law in Blaine, Washington, said Canadians crossing the border were in a difficult position. If a US border official asks them if they have used cannabis and they admit they did, they may be banned from entering. If they deny having smoked marijuana and found out that they lied, they still have more problems.
What Saunders suggests to his customers who have smoked is not to answer a question about cannabis posed by a customs officer, which is a human right. But the Canadian should not try to cross the border that day.
US citizens are not at risk because US authorities can not legally bar a citizen from entering the country, Saunders said.
However, last week, Customs and Border Protection agreed to soften its stance on the work of Canadians in the cannabis production sector. Previously, they had to be banned from entering. Now they can enter the United States if they travel for reasons "independent of the marijuana industry".
Read more
When marijuana is legal in Canada, we expect the Americans to flock. But the American border and law are obstacles.
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