The saga continues: Canadian legislative attempts to reform cannabis law in the twenty-first century.

In July 2003, an article in the Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice suggested that Canada's long "saga of promise, hesitation, and retreat" in cannabis law reform was finally ending (Fischer, Ala-Leppilampi, Single, and Robins 2003: 266). (2) This characterization was apt. Beginning with the groundbreaking Le Dain Commission in the early 1970s, many health, addictions, and criminal justice experts have criticized cannabis laws as incommensurate to the amount of social and personal harm created by the use of cannabis, and numerous unsuccessful attempts have been made to reform Canadian cannabis control mechanisms. In 2003, this chorus of voices grew louder, with the accumulation of several higher-level court decisions questioning the Charter deficiencies of current cannabis laws and with the release of two reports by Parliamentary committees recommending reform (Fischer et al. 2003). In response to the mounting political and social pressure, the federal government tabled legislation on 27 May 2003 to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis. This legislation and its two later reincarnations, however, never passed into law.

This research note picks up where Fischer et al. (2003) left off, updating and reviewing developments in Canadian cannabis policy between 2003 and 2008. It begins by briefly outlining the social and political context from which Bill C-38 emerged. It offers a review of the provisions proposed by Bill C-38 and its successors, and delineates the positions of key interest groups regarding marijuana decriminalization. It concludes by reflecting on the contemporary period of cannabis law reform, illustrating how the "saga of promise, hesitation, and retreat" continues today.

The social and pol...

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