Reform in Canada Pretense & Perils

If justice perishes, human life on earth has lost its meaning.
Immanuel Kant
Cannabis Law Reform in Canada: Pretense and Perils examines the Canadian
government’s campaign to legalize cannabis for recreational use. The government’s
stated case is that the contraband trade poses a serious threat to cannabis users
(including ‘kids’), and that a legal, regulated industry will provide protection. This report
draws upon research on the contraband trade, our established legal drug industries
(alcohol, tobacco, pharmaceutical), and government efforts to regulate these industries.
This investigation concludes that the government’s case, on all counts, is weak. It’s
depiction of the contraband cannabis trade amounts to little more than unsubstantiated,
vestigial reefer madness. Our legal drug industries engage in a relentless,
indiscriminate, and sometimes illegal, pursuit of revenue with substantial harm to the
public’s health and to the Canadian economy. Early indications warn that an ambitious
cannabis industry is on a similar trajectory. These industries are enabled by permissive
and ineffective regulatory oversight by government.
Cannabis Law Reform in Canada: Pretense and Perils recommends immediate
decriminalization of minor cannabis-related offences to curtail the criminalization of
large numbers of mostly young Canadians. It also supports the legalization of cannabis
for recreational use, but strongly asserts that the prevailing profit-driven, poorlyregulated
paradigm is a dangerous one. The legalization of cannabis in Canada
provides an opportunity to try a different approach – a not-for-profit cannabis authority –
functioning with a genuine public health priority.
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