Media high on pot puns as legalization rolls out
“Dad jokes” abound, following the leak of a planned timeline for legalizing marijuana. Late Sunday, CBC reported the Liberals are gearing up to deliver on a key campaign promise to regulate recreational marijuana sales by July 1, 2018.
Headline writers, always fond of a pithy pun, are having a good time.
“Clear the haze soon around marijuana,” demanded an editorial in the Ottawa Citizen, one of many outlets to invoke the psychedelic heyday of Jimi Hendrix.
Regional coverage across the country was seasoned with herb. A headline in the Windsor Star asked: “A green Canada Day in 2018?” while the Calgary Herald reported “Alberta still hashing out pot policy as feds aim for 2018 marijuana legalization.” A
Metro interview ran under the evocative headline, “Take a deep breath Halifax: Local recreational pot user applauds forthcoming marijuana legalization.”
Some analyses focused on the legislative patchwork that will arise with each province sorting out distribution, pricing and whether to set the minimum age above 18. CBC Manitoba pulled no punches on the laissez-faire approach: “Canada’s slacker pot legislation could create interprovincial haze.”
And an initiative to regulate sales within Canada’s indigenous territories was profiled in the
Montreal Gazette: “Not a pipe dream: Aboriginals set sights on selling marijuana.”
The effect of looming legislation on markets also sparked a few puns. Business pages entered the realm of sass normally occupied by film reviews and jokey headlines about the weather. The Financial Post announced, “Marijuana stocks on fire after report that Canada’s legalization bill is in the works for 2018,” while
Toronto Star financial reporters quipped, “Canadian marijuana legalization reports send pot stocks higher.”
It’s not just traditional newsrooms having fun with the latest development. Twitter also lit up (so to speak) with punny hashtags such as #wakeandbake and #weedstock. By mid-week, the Globe and Mail’s
Report on Business reported on an Environics poll, which concluded “Canadians’ trust in marijuana industry going up in smoke.” It appears confidence in Health Canada’s oversight of cannabis production has taken a hit (ahem) over the discovery of product tainted with banned pesticides.
Normally pun-seekers can count on the British tabloids for some wicked wordplay. But Canada did catch the eye of the Daily Mail, which announced, “High times north of the border!” The tab then moved on to a cover photo of Theresa May and Nicola Sturgeon seated in skirts with the singularly ill-conceived headline, “Never mind Brexit, who won Legs-it!”
No doubt we can look forward to greater buzz in international headlines in the weeks ahead. It’s expected legislation will be introduced in the next few weeks, meeting a target announced April 20, 2016. (4/20 is a popular day for marijuana enthusiasts to partake.)
While puns are amusing, readers have more than a budding interest in the practicalities of how legalization will be rolled out. The prime minister campaigned on keeping pot out of the hands of minors. And not a moment too soon, with marijuana joining the ranks of street drugs potentially laced with deadly opioids.
A federal cannabis task force chaired by Anne McLellan recommended plain packaging and strict rules for how marijuana may be labelled and advertised. Licensed producers argue branding can differentiate their product from illicit weed.
Canadians are eager for details of a thoughtful blueprint for moving forward. They won’t settle for a halfbaked plan.