Hydrolife Magazine April/May 2017 (Canada Edition)

from the publisher
To know where you’re going, you
have to know where you’ve been.
The adage rings true for the modern cannabis
industry, which is why this issue of Hydrolife
takes a look back at the roots of marijuana and how
the plant has travelled through history in North
America ("History of Cannabis Part II", page 52).
A century ago, marijuana was widely accepted
because of its ability to ease or cure a variety of
ailments. After being unjustly tied to immigration
and health woes in the US and Canada for decades,
the plant became vilified in society. It is only now,
with the help of modern science, emerging as a
potential game changer in the health world due to
its medicinal benefits.
Of course, old habits die hard. Just as it appeared
the air was clearing over the acceptance of
cannabis, newly appointed US Attorney General
Jeff Sessions has made it clear cannabis will not
be tolerated by the Trump administration—Obama
considered marijuana enforcement a low priority—
and that it is still illegal under federal law. Unless
congress changes its position, says Sessions, it is his
responsibility to uphold the law.
It’s not just the Trump administration. A United
Nations panel responsible for enforcing antidrug
treaties just gave Canada and the US a
strong warning on legalizing marijuana. Under
conventions signed in 1961, 1971, and 1988, countries
are prohibited from legalizing cannabis. The UN’s
International Narcotics Control Board is working hard
to prevent cannabis legalization in all countries.
It will be interesting to see how these external
pressures affect the legalization framework in
Canada this summer.
For the marijuana industry to not only survive, but
thrive, in the future, it will need to have a virtually
perfect record moving forward. Every dispensary,
festival, licensed producer, and individual user that
does not follow regulations to a tee will only give
anti-marijuana campaigners a reason to tighten the
noose. If medicinal marijuana wants to be a first line
option, it is going to have to earn it.
Marijuana’s past has been a rocky one to be sure.
We should expect no less for its future.
10
grow. heal. live. enjoy.