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Canada is leading in personal freedoms and new markets with this move, ending cannabis prohibition that is long overdue and a step in ending the drug wars. The

Canada is leading in personal freedoms and new markets with this move, ending cannabis prohibition that is long overdue and a step in ending the drug wars. The policy change regarding viewing drugs not as criminal but decriminalized and a health issue where needed, is the safer thing to do in a regulated market that will improve safety for recreational use and harm reduction. The War on Drugs started as an attack on personal freedoms and made drugs more dangerous both in production and use, spawning all sorts of synthetics that are more dangerous and black market mafia forces spawning violence just like during alcohol prohibition. Maybe in 2019 the US can be next as a whole ending cannabis prohibition, about 50 years after the kickoff of Nixon's drug wars due to losing to Leary in the SCOTUS over the Marihuana Tax Act [1] > Leary v. United States, 395 U.S. 6 (1969), is a U.S. Supreme Court case dealing with the constitutionality of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Timothy Leary, a professor and activist, was arrested for the possession of marijuana in violation of the Marihuana Tax Act. Leary challenged the act on the ground that the act required self-incrimination, which violated the Fifth Amendment. The unanimous opinion of the court was penned by Justice John Marshall Harlan II and declared the Marihuana Tax Act unconstitutional. Thus, Leary's conviction was overturned. Congress responded shortly thereafter by replacing the Marihuana Tax Act with the newly written Controlled Substances Act while continuing the prohibition of certain drugs in the United States Unfortunately, it is too bad leading states like Colorado, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and more aren't able to capitalize on the markets until the US as a whole federally ends prohibition. US states that are forward looking are cut off from banking, interstate commerce, global investment and are being held back by the anti-market approach of the current prohibitions. Canada stepped up to first mover globally for cannabis which will lead to a chance at global cannabis companies being Canadian. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leary_v._United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leary_v._United_States

49para 8y ago
"Canada is leading in personal freedoms", perhaps in weed laws, not in free speech etc.
- dh-g 8y ago
  Any examples in regards to free speech?
  - bregma 8y ago
    Can't give any because there are Government Agents just waiting to pounce if I do.
  - dleslie 8y ago
    Canada does not have Free Speech, not like the Americans do. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech_in_Canada https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech_in_Canada
  - tonyarkles 8y ago
    A somewhat entertaining one is that a business in Quebec cannot have an English-only sign on their business; the sign must have French, and French must be more prominent than English[1]. Zooming out a little bit to the Canadian Charter, there's two significant pieces that are relevant: - the limitations clause: "The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society." - the notwithstanding clause: (too long to paste but here's Wikipeida's summary): "The Parliament of Canada, a provincial legislature or a territorial legislature may declare that one of its laws or part of a law applies temporarily ("notwithstanding") countermanding sections of the Charter, thereby nullifying any judicial review by overriding the Charter protections for a limited period of time"[2] Basically, we have "freedom of speech", but it's not an absolute right, it's limited by "reasonable limits" (as decided by the courts). Further, even if the courts decide that some kind of provincial law violates the charter, the province can invoke the Notwithstanding Clause and continue enforcing the law. I'd argue that, in general, this all works out pretty well, but it's not really that strong of protection relative to the American Constitution. [1] https://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/capsules/language-laws-and-doing-business-quebec https://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/capsules/language-laws-and-doi... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_33_of_the_Canadian_Charter_of_Rights_and_Freedoms https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_33_of_the_Canadian_Cha...
ovulator 8y ago
What markets? Canada can only sell to itself. California has a larger population than Canada does.
- gillette 8y ago
  Canada sells a _significant_ amount to the US for medical purposes and legal sales.
  - refurb 8y ago
    Source? I’m genuinely interested in the numbers.
    - Harvey-Specter 8y ago
      The Canadian government started publishing the production and export numbers for licences medical producers at the end of 2017 [0]. Looks like the total amount exported is a few hundred kilograms of dried canabis and a few dozen liters of cannabis oil per month. [0] https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-medication/cannabis/licensed-producers/market-data.html https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-medica...
      - refurb 8y ago
        That doesn’t seems like a huge amount to be honest. It’s not unusual for marijuana busts in the US to be measured in tons. I’d assume total US consumption is probably in the thousands of tons of marijuana?
  - buckminster 8y ago
    Bizarrely, the UK is the world's largest legal exporter. (Canada is second.) The managing director of the exporter, British Sugar, is married to the government's drugs minister. It's very cosy.
  - astrodust 8y ago
    It also exports an extraordinary amount illegally, so there's that too. For a while the #3 cash crop in BC, after fishing and logging, was weed. That can't all be for domestic consumption.
noarchy 8y ago
>Canada is leading in personal freedoms and new markets with this move, ending cannabis prohibition that is long overdue and a step in ending the drug wars. To an extent, yes. With regard to those new markets, though, most provinces are taking the monopoly route. So while production will be in private hands, distribution and in some cases even retail will be done by provincial government monopolies. To illustrate how the market has been strangled in this regard, there are no physical stores open within several hours' drive of where I am, despite it being a fairly large (for Canada) metro area. My province (Quebec) has a dozen stores open today, that's it. Online sales exist, but there is a legitimate discussion over whether or not anyone would want a digital trail of their pot purchases, with the SQDC's name set to show up on your credit card statement (potentially accessible by the US border agents, for instance) when you order.
- nrdgrl 8y ago
  Also because every city gets to set their own consumption bylaws, many people who rent have nowhere to legally smoke it. eg: Calgary - public smoking is banned. You're allowed to smoke it in your own house. Except most rental companies have banned smoking on rental property (inside or outside). So the only way to smoke legally could get you evicted.
  - biglenny 8y ago
    Good - the smell is nasty and a nuisance for both tenants and the general public.

49para 8y ago

"Canada is leading in personal freedoms", perhaps in weed laws, not in free speech etc.

dh-g 8y ago
Any examples in regards to free speech?
- bregma 8y ago
  Can't give any because there are Government Agents just waiting to pounce if I do.
- dleslie 8y ago
  Canada does not have Free Speech, not like the Americans do. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech_in_Canada https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech_in_Canada
- tonyarkles 8y ago
  A somewhat entertaining one is that a business in Quebec cannot have an English-only sign on their business; the sign must have French, and French must be more prominent than English[1]. Zooming out a little bit to the Canadian Charter, there's two significant pieces that are relevant: - the limitations clause: "The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society." - the notwithstanding clause: (too long to paste but here's Wikipeida's summary): "The Parliament of Canada, a provincial legislature or a territorial legislature may declare that one of its laws or part of a law applies temporarily ("notwithstanding") countermanding sections of the Charter, thereby nullifying any judicial review by overriding the Charter protections for a limited period of time"[2] Basically, we have "freedom of speech", but it's not an absolute right, it's limited by "reasonable limits" (as decided by the courts). Further, even if the courts decide that some kind of provincial law violates the charter, the province can invoke the Notwithstanding Clause and continue enforcing the law. I'd argue that, in general, this all works out pretty well, but it's not really that strong of protection relative to the American Constitution. [1] https://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/capsules/language-laws-and-doing-business-quebec https://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/capsules/language-laws-and-doi... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_33_of_the_Canadian_Charter_of_Rights_and_Freedoms https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_33_of_the_Canadian_Cha...

ovulator 8y ago

What markets? Canada can only sell to itself. California has a larger population than Canada does.

gillette 8y ago
Canada sells a _significant_ amount to the US for medical purposes and legal sales.
- refurb 8y ago
  Source? I’m genuinely interested in the numbers.
  - Harvey-Specter 8y ago
    The Canadian government started publishing the production and export numbers for licences medical producers at the end of 2017 [0]. Looks like the total amount exported is a few hundred kilograms of dried canabis and a few dozen liters of cannabis oil per month. [0] https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-medication/cannabis/licensed-producers/market-data.html https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-medica...
    - refurb 8y ago
      That doesn’t seems like a huge amount to be honest. It’s not unusual for marijuana busts in the US to be measured in tons. I’d assume total US consumption is probably in the thousands of tons of marijuana?
- buckminster 8y ago
  Bizarrely, the UK is the world's largest legal exporter. (Canada is second.) The managing director of the exporter, British Sugar, is married to the government's drugs minister. It's very cosy.
- astrodust 8y ago
  It also exports an extraordinary amount illegally, so there's that too. For a while the #3 cash crop in BC, after fishing and logging, was weed. That can't all be for domestic consumption.

noarchy 8y ago

>Canada is leading in personal freedoms and new markets with this move, ending cannabis prohibition that is long overdue and a step in ending the drug wars. To an extent, yes. With regard to those new markets, though, most provinces are taking the monopoly route. So while production will be in private hands, distribution and in some cases even retail will be done by provincial government monopolies. To illustrate how the market has been strangled in this regard, there are no physical stores open within several hours' drive of where I am, despite it being a fairly large (for Canada) metro area. My province (Quebec) has a dozen stores open today, that's it. Online sales exist, but there is a legitimate discussion over whether or not anyone would want a digital trail of their pot purchases, with the SQDC's name set to show up on your credit card statement (potentially accessible by the US border agents, for instance) when you order.

nrdgrl 8y ago
Also because every city gets to set their own consumption bylaws, many people who rent have nowhere to legally smoke it. eg: Calgary - public smoking is banned. You're allowed to smoke it in your own house. Except most rental companies have banned smoking on rental property (inside or outside). So the only way to smoke legally could get you evicted.
- biglenny 8y ago
  Good - the smell is nasty and a nuisance for both tenants and the general public.