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How Canada interfaces with the rest of the world promises to be a bit screwy. For just one example, consider airline staff. Some Canadian airlines have alread
by beloch 8y ago
How Canada interfaces with the rest of the world promises to be a bit screwy.
For just one example, consider airline staff. Some Canadian airlines have already banned employees from using pot. Obviously, the general public doesn't want to fly with pilots that are high in more than one way. These airlines also have to operate in countries, like the U.S., where their employees could be detained or expelled for even admitting to have used pot in the past. Being able to look foreign gatekeepers in the face and deny having ever used a product that's legal in your native country is now a necessary job requirement for some.
On the bright side, we could finally get some quality data on the health impacts of pot, now that trials and surveys can be done without potentially incriminating anyone. Like practically every other fun thing in existence it's probably very bad for you. We just don't know how... yet.
Canada taxes alcohol at a rate of over 50% in most provinces. The initial tax rates for pot will be much lower, but should increase steadily year-over-year. Alcohol taxes continue to rise every year. This is going to be a huge cash cow for the Canadian government, and I can't imagine other countries not wanting to get in on the action once they see how much Canada will be raking in.
- lostgame 8y ago‘Obviously, the general public doesn't want to fly with pilots that are high in more than one way.’ I laughed way too hard at this for some reason.
- knightofmars 8y agoNot to derail the conversation. I agree, the delivery within the OP was spot on.
- tyfon 8y agoI'd much rather have a high pilot than a hung-over/drunk pilot though which seems to be quite common.
- tk75x 8y agoAnd then there's the stereotype that they're on stimulants a la Denzel Washington in "Flight"
- SeanBoocock 8y agoPilots being drunk in the cockpit is not “quite common” at least among major carriers. Pilots are randomly tested throughout the year against a stricter standard than what’s used for driving under the influence in the US. A positive test can be career ending.
- verelo 8y agoHow is the US travel situation with Canada any different to someone coming from say the Netherlands? Regarding pilots, Transport Canada, the governing body over federal aviation regulations has explicitly come out and said use of Canabis is valid grounds for a revoked medical certificate, which is required for any pilot to fly. While the airline rules are one thing, this is a very serious implication for pilots.
- clomond 8y agoOne major thing that comes to mind is that cannabis is still technically illegal in the Netherlands. Instead there is a distinction of "soft drugs" and "hard drugs" and authorities follow a policy of non-enforcement in many (but not all) cases. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_the_Netherlands#Non-enforcement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_the_Netherlands... In Canada cannabis has become legal in a manner similar to alcohol, making the difference.
- JPKab 8y agoInterestingly to me, it seems that the broader international audience on HN has absolutely no idea that individual states in the USA have fully legalized and regulated cannabis. Colorado (where I live) has done so for 4 years, and California, Nevada, to name a few, have followed suit.
- softawre 8y agoWe know, it's just that it is still illegal at the federal level. It's similar to the non-prosecution agreement mentioned in the Netherlands above.
- jerrysievert 8y ago> It's similar to the non-prosecution agreement mentioned in the Netherlands above not necessarily. in Oregon, it is tracked, taxed, and regulated. one can still grow their own and remove themselves from the tracking, but this is for personal consumption not for sale. there is still enforcement, and cooperation with the federal levels, specifically to help curb the black market and the problems that arise due to the black market. one example of a difference would be the airport - you can fly in Oregon with cannabis, as long as you are under the legal limit to carry and are flying within the state (not crossing any borders). if the TSA (federal employees) are concerned about how much you are carrying or that you are not old enough, they will detain you long enough for local authorities to check, then release you and whatever legal amount you have with you to fly (if you are over the limit, you are asked to dispose of it, much like having too much liquid in your carry-on). this differs quite a bit to pre-legalization, where non-prosecution was more likely if you were white and in a larger city such as Portland. the limits are for federal property, which falls under federal law, crossing borders, which again falls under federal law, and black market activities, which are illegal under state laws, and likely include crossing of borders or federal land (quite a lot of forests in the United States are federally owned).
- tokyodude 8y ago> On the bright side, we could finally get some quality data on the health impacts of pot Doesn't this already exist from other countries where it's been legal for decades?
- StavrosK 8y agoWhere has it been legal for decades? I'm not aware of any.
- dagw 8y agoDoesn't this already exist from other countries where it's been legal for decades? As far as I know Canada is only the second country in the world (after Uruguay) to actually fully legalize recreational cannabis.
- romwell 8y agoFWIW, the population of California (where recreational cannabis has been legal since winter) is larger than the entire population of Canada.
- Sharlin 8y agoI don't think there are any. Not in the West, anyway. Even in the Netherlands it's only "tolerated", not legalized or even decriminalized.
- vvillena 8y agoPortugal decriminalized all drugs a few years ago, with tremendous success from a health and crime perspective. Decriminalization and state-sponsored addiction programs were key in controlling a drug epidemic there. It would be a solution for the current American opioid crisis, but implementing such measures there would be political suicide.
- Sharlin 8y agoYes, true. I didn't mention Portugal because it didn't pass the "decades of experience" condition.
- shittyadmin 8y ago> The initial tax rates for pot will be much lower, but should increase steadily year-over-year. Alcohol taxes continue to rise every year. The problem is they've got to play this game very carefully right now as the black market is still well established and providing to many people. They need to both drop prices (which should happen once more supply spins up) and start raiding illegal dispensaries and mail order shops if they want to convince people to stay in the legal system. From what I've seen on reddit - we need to see a significant price drop and potentially quality improvement before many existing regular users will be convinced to switch.
- wafflesraccoon 8y agoPersonal anecdote, I was a heavy cannabis user in Colorado when it became legal. In the beginning most people still would purchase green from their dealer to avoid the the high tax. Over time, most people simply switched to using dispensaries for the convenience and selection. I no longer live in CO but of my cannabis friends there, almost everyone I know uses a dispensary now.
- graybolt 8y agoAre there still people who buy/sell illegally? What's the price difference, if you have any idea?
- wafflesraccoon 8y agoI no longer live in CO, at this point I assume most people who buy off the black market just have a friend with a lot of plants who can grow it at a cheaper price.
- pilom 8y agoAre you and your cannabis using friends white? Colorado actually tracks these numbers and has found for years since legalization that about 50% of "street" level sales are illegal and 50% go through dispensaries. Minorities are significantly more likely to purchase it illegally and whites are significantly more likely to purchase it legally.
- Symbiote 8y ago> Being able to look foreign gatekeepers in the face and deny having ever used a product that's legal in your native country is now a necessary job requirement for some. This is not so different from being arrested for having drunk alcohol at the UAE border. (In this case, alcohol supplied by the Dubai airline.) https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/aug/11/woman-arrested-with-daughter-in-dubai-over-drinking-wine-is-released https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/aug/11/woman-arrest... https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/united-arab-emirates/local-laws-and-customs https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/united-arab-emirate...
- mediocrejoker 8y agoExcept in this case the consumption could have happened years prior, as opposed to being actively intoxicated. edit: not saying I agree with Dubai's policies.
- benbristow 8y agoFrom every headline there's a backstory. I've been to Dubai Airport and had a pint. No problem. There's bars all over the place. Even an official Heineken bar. Just don't act like an ass and you'll be fine.
- romwell 8y ago>From every headline there's a backstory. The backstory being "Don't be a woman in UAE"? >I've been to Dubai Airport and had a pint. No problem. O, selective enforcement, the glorious ideal all other countries' legal systems should aspire to!
- TomMarius 8y agoIt won't change overnight. Selective enforcement is one step towards freedom.
- eqdw 8y ago> Obviously, the general public doesn't want to fly with pilots that are high in more than one way. To hear my uncle tell it, I've got some _really_ bad news for Canadians about the prevalence of alcoholism amongst pilots. According to him, something like 1/8th of them are some level of drunk while flying.
- electricslpnsld 8y agoWill it be terribly different than how US states that have legalized marijuana interface with federal governmental entities? Plenty of folks in Colorado, Oregon, Washington, some of the New England States, and California work for the federal government and have to tell them that they do not use marijuana. Similar with airline pilots, etc based out of these States.
- number_six 8y agoIt will be different because the US can bar Canadians for life from ever entering the country. Whereas they can't bar a US Citizen from re-entering the country.
- acct1771 8y agoWays it's bad: 1) Helps being okay with being bored 2) Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, and, by my estimation, varying levels thereof 3) Cancer, and lung/heart disease, if you're dumb enough to light it on fire =] 4) Adrenal fatigue Still an incredibly useful substance.
- derefr 8y agoAnd none of those happen if you have a chemical imbalance resulting in low endocannabinoid levels, because THC/CBD would just bring those levels back up to a baseline reference value, rather than pushing them into excess. (I.e., the same reason that people who have ADHD don't become manic when taking stimulant-class ADHD meds; while people who don't have ADHD, do.)
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]