COURTING DISASTER
Father weighs in on pot debate
As an employer and father, Benjamin Anson is alarmed.
As an employer and father to three young children, I am alarmed by the federal government’s plan to legalize marijuana.
There is already a deadly opioid crisis underway, but the government remains fixated on making marijuana freely available. The legalization of marijuana is a far more drastic, normalizing step than decriminalization would ever be.
Legalization will encourage marijuana use, thereby putting all Canadians at risk.
Marijuana is already being openly marketed in anticipation of legalization. If this statement sounds far-fetched, then look out for the billboards that already loom over Montreal streets advertising a website that indicates where marijuana can be bought.
Why does the government wish to legalize the use of a substance that is sure to cause untold suffering for countless families in the form of impaired driving accidents, workplace accidents and adverse health consequences?
Unfortunately, governments cannot resist the siren song of tax revenue, so health and success take a back seat and instead the populace (especially the more addiction-prone segment) is provided with every opportunity for setback through the enthusiastic adoption of lotteries, casinos and, soon, the legal sale of marijuana, a product that can interfere with motivation.
To state that legalizing marijuana will protect our children requires a ridiculous stretch of the imagination. The criminal element will not walk away from this massive and soon to be expanded business. If anything, we can expect pushers to increase their pressure on youth and enlarge their product offering once the adult share of the market switches to legal dispensaries. There is also the likelihood that some adults will use the legal dispensaries as a means of selling or providing the drug to those underage. Anti-drug and anti-tobacco efforts are about to be set back by light-years. Ironically,
It will not take long before the problems come knocking on all of our doors.
the media pictures of sterile, hydroponic greenhouses with white-suited technicians nurturing the pot plants leave the impression that this emerging industry is preparing a healthful, near-medical concoction.
The opioid crisis shows us that the illegal production and distribution of a drug is a roughshod process, with little regard for quality control or even the survival of the customer. This method does have an upside: it is cheap, giving illegal marijuana producers a strong competitive advantage. Illegal producers pay no sales or health taxes; have no storefront overheads in the form of rent, heat, property tax; and do not incur costs to comply with regulations about testing, handling and securing of the inventory. These savings will allow the illegal producers to undercut the legal product, as we see with illegal tobacco production. The youth market is particularly price sensitive and will be excellent customers for the illegal growers and pushers.
An aspect that is worrying the police departments is that there is currently no reliable test for cannabis impairment. A saliva test is available, but more work is needed.
Similarly, employers are nervous that their work environment will be rendered less safe. Many workers use forklifts, cranes, heavy equipment and dangerous power tools during their shifts. Human resource departments regularly screen certain vocations, such as pilots and truck drivers. Should the citizenry be concerned that workers in many fields could be under the influence of a legal, mind-altering drug?
The pot shops have been opening across the country, only to be promptly raided. In a few months, we may have the pleasure of welcoming these good corporate neighbours into all of our cities and communities on a permanent basis.
It will not take long before the problems come knocking on all of our doors. It is but an exponential expansion of the drug trade, to be followed by heartbreak and recriminations once the addictions, accidents, and worsening drop-out numbers become apparent.
Canadians who are worried by this plan should speak out now against this brewing national disaster before it is too late.
Benjamin Anson is vice-president of Superchute, a Montreal-based manufacturer of construction safety products.