Canada launches a review of its legalization of cannabis

How does legalization work for Canadians?

On Thursday, the Canadian government launched a review of the legalization launched in october 2018. At a press briefing, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Carolyn Bennett discussed the next steps in the review, which coincides with the government's release of a commitment document entitled «Taking Stock of Progress: Legalizing and Regulating Cannabis in Canada».

The review, planned from the time of legalization, was due to begin three years after the start of legal sales, but has been delayed.

«Canada is the first major industrialized country to provide legal and regulated access to cannabis for non-medical purposes, signaling a move away from the use of prohibitive measures to deter cannabis use, and towards an evidence-based approach to public health and public safety,» the document begins.

When drafting the cannabis law, legislators and policymakers recognized that, for cannabis legalization to be successfully implemented, the framework «would require ongoing monitoring to assess early effects, as well as flexibility to adapt and respond to new policy needs,» the document states.

The document covers growing difficulties for the canadian cannabis industry.

«The cannabis market is still in its infancy and subject to ongoing market corrections. In response to downward pressure on wholesale prices, licensees are seeking new investors and restructuring to help them compete in an increasingly competitive market,» the document notes. «Some licensees are withdrawing from the sector altogether or reducing the number of sites they operate.».

The document includes data related to some of the objectives of the law, which include the prevention of drug use among young people, the prevention of drug abuse among young people, and the prevention of drug abuse among young people.’eliminating the illegal market and reducing cannabis-related arrests, for example.

It also poses discussion questions throughout, including «What are your thoughts on the legislative and regulatory restrictions currently in place to protect public health?» and «What alternative measures, if any, could the government consider to better meet the needs of racialized, underrepresented, or Indigenous communities under the cannabis licensing program?»

One of the document's central points concerns the way in which the legalization affects youth consumption.

«Young people are at increased risk of experiencing the harms of cannabis, such as mental health problems, including addictive disorders related to anxiety and depression. Public education and awareness activities have been, and continue to be, essential to this effort to increase young people's knowledge,» said Bennett on Thursday.

«Although much progress has been made in the implementation of the canadian cannabis law and its dual objective of protecting public health and maintaining public safety, we need to evaluate the work we've done, and learn how and where to adapt to achieve these goals,» she added.

With regard to the illicit market, the document notes that illegal cannabis sales are «a source of profit for many organized crime groups», and highlights the role of online sellers in complicating law enforcement efforts.

«Unlike the notable decline in unlicensed physical stores in Canada, disrupting illegal online cannabis sales is an ongoing challenge. Controlling online activity is complicated - a website can be created in one country, hosted in another, on a domain name registered in yet a third, while selling a product in multiple jurisdictions,» the document points out. «In addition, websites can be created easily and replace those that have been seized or shut down by law enforcement.».

The paper notes that some local leaders and law enforcement officials have shared concerns about home cultivation for medical purposes, which allows the four-plant limit in the adult-use program to be exceeded.

«Specifically, there is concern that some members of the medical access program may be using their licenses as cover for the production and detour of cannabis to the illegal market,» the document notes.

The scope of the review has been extended to include additional areas, including environmental impacts and social issues.

«It was far more important to get the scope of the review right than to keep to the timetable. If we had followed the law to the letter - both in terms of the three-year deadline and the considerations set out in the law - we would have missed an important opportunity to get it right,« said MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, who is also co-chair of the Cannabis Caucus.

The government is also committed to Canadians through an online questionnaire open until November 21.