Marijuana legalization in Canada could have a variety of implications for the USA. In the USA, recreational marijuana is currently legal in 8 states with medical marijuana legal in 29. There has been a history of Canadian marijuana smokers being denied entry into the US, which has led to a number of international difficulties. Some Canadians have been permanently banned from entering the USA because they admitted to border officials that they smoked medical marijuana, even when they had a medical card. This may seem like a bizarre state of affairs, but there is no real end in sight with full legalization of marijuana in Canada. US officials have warned Canadians to be careful when entering the US as marijuana is an illegal drug.
What will Canadian Marijuana Legalization mean?
Canada is set to become the first large industrialized nation to fully legalize marijuana. Canada first legalized medical marijuana in 2001. The contrast could not be starker, with US Attorney General Jeff Session currently undertaking a war on marijuana in the USA and Canada prepared to open its arms to widespread marijuana legalization. Canada will be just the second country in the world to legalize recreational marijuana. It is bound to have an effect on its closest neighbor.
One effect will an influx of US citizens into Canada. This will be the opposite of what used to be the case, where Canadians went to US states where recreational marijuana was legal in the USA, such as Washington. A successful implementation of recreational marijuana could well force the hand of the US government to decriminalize marijuana as a class A drug. The current situation is that marijuana is a drug at the federal level while legal at the state level. Which is a strange set of circumstances.
In the event of a conflict between state and federal law, federal law will win out. And Donald Trump has reserved the right to prosecute those found “guilty” of smoking recreational marijuana. Which means that the government reserves the right to throw you in prison for doing something that is perfectly legal in your home state. While this does not seem possible it is the current US law. How it will be enforced remains to be seen, but the words and deeds of AG Sessions are not exactly encouraging for marijuana lovers.
Different Perspectives
Oregon representative Earl Blumenauer stated that:
“There are those who sometimes regard Canada as the 51st state. It would be an important signal about the movement coming of age. It would add to the critical mass”
Oregon is a state where recreational marijuana is legal. It is becoming more and more obvious that previous bans on marijuana war always ridiculous, and as more states and countries legalize marijuana there is going to be increasing pressure to legalize recreational marijuana in the USA. Then the much more interesting question will arise, which is why a plant producing a substance found in the body(THC) was ever banned in the first place.
Some have different perspectives on the inevitable recreational legalization. According to Cannabis business lawyer Hillary Bricken, the legalization of marijuana in Canada will have little effect on the US in terms of consumption habits. American citizens will be able to cross the border to go to Canada and sample some marijuana products, but it is still much easier to simply go to a state where it is legal instead of going to a different country. And like the USA, Canada has left it to each individual province to decide how the rules and regulations are to be implemented. In the US, even within states, these rules are delegated to local counties.
Marijuana Monopolies
Recreational marijuana legalization is often much healthier than medical marijuana legalization. In states such as Pennsylvania, it is incredibly expensive to set up an operation to grow medical marijuana. And many companies are fast moving to establish monopolies where they will sell their hugely overpriced marijuana products, and consumers will have no choice but to pay for the treatment. Parallels may be drawn with the pharmaceutical industry, with their notorious record of 5000% markups on certain prescribed items.
Marijuana monopolies are not something that ordinary people want, and this is the danger where only medical marijuana is legal and recreation marijuana is not. One sets the scene for monopolies and intervention and the other allows those who wish to do so to avail of a plant for their own reasons.
No real Change?
It is hard to say for certain what Canadian legalization means for the USA. But it could well be interpreted as a sign that tolerance for marijuana legalization is growing globally. And it cannot be argued that the public are by and large in favor of recreational marijuana. But so far, judging by the comments and actions of AG Sessions, it does not look like marijuana is going to be declassified at the federal level anytime soon.
