Is It Time to Legalize Pot? (And if So, How Do We Do It Right?)

• Author: Yves Faguy
• Date: January 08, 2015

National magazine will host a debate on the first question at the Mid-Winter meeting of CBA Council in February. A panel of experts will outline the pros and cons to set the stage for a lively discussion about an issue that is far more complex than it seems. Is criminalizing marijuana only serving to clog the court system? What about the health risks of “normalizing” marijuana use? And would legalization really push the drug trade to the fringes by handing regulation of sales, quality and advertising to the government?

But beyond these core questions – and aside from the fact that Canadian public opinion is shifting in favour of legalization at an astonishing pace – there is another facet to the debate that tends to get lost in the noise: The challenge of setting up an entire regulatory framework for a brand new industry.

That task will merit proper consideration as the debate over legalizing the recreational use of marijuana progresses in the months and years ahead, as it surely will.

Case in point: Since 2001, when Canada first started regulating the medicinal use of pot, patients have been allowed to grow their own plants. But last year Ottawa introduced a new regime of federally licensed commercial producers, which no longer permits homegrown medical pot. The new regulatory framework is currently being challenged in court by patients, and for the time being there’s a temporary injunction in place extending the old system until the legal dispute is resolved. The Health Minister is also being challenged over a decision not to grant a licence to at least one company.

But regardless of how these cases are decided, it is clear that an emerging legal cannabis industry is already gearing up for what is expected to grow into a multi-billion dollar market, attracting investment from all quarters. Over at The Globe and Mail, Grant Robertson has done some great investigative reporting on the entrepreneurial rush to profit from legal weed:

With the lure of big profits hanging over these licence applications, Health Canada introduced a two-stage approval process. First, candidates had to design a secure operation, which would be subject to federal approval. Then they had to build that operation, risking the capital up front, without knowing if a licence would be granted.

Even with those unusual hurdles, the response was overwhelming. Health Canada, originally concerned that not enough companies would seek a licence, received more than 1,000 applications between...