Legalization could make stoner cult disappear

Stoner subculture will likely take a hit with the incoming legalization of pot in Canada because as the cause vanishes, so will celebration of the drug, experts say.

The declaration comes as the federal government announced a spring 2017 deadline for introducing new marijuana laws.

Protesting against cannabis prohibition has become a social movement with its own ideology and symbols, but that will likely change with the repeal of criminalization, said Benedikt Fischer, a senior scientist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. “Once marijuana becomes legalized, normalized, mainstream, the cause disappears,” said Fischer. “I suspect these things will kind of fizzle away.”

Lynne Belle-Isle, co-founder of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, agreed that with legalization the appeal of smoking up in rebellion could disappear. She also said society could benefit as messaging is developed around using the drug more safely.

Meanwhile, firms developing breathalyzers to detect THC among suspected cannabis-impaired drivers appear to be entering a crowded field as Canada prepares to legalize pot.

A University of B.C. engineering professor is the latest to create a breathalyzer she says can detect the level of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in pot, to help police nab stoned drivers.

Mina Hoorfar says the device can detect the presence of THC in a person’s breath within seconds. She says she’s looking for investors to mass-produce and market the breathalyzer, which would cost about $15 to manufacture and is bluetooth-enabled, so people can monitor their own THC levels with a cellphone.

Vancouver-based Cannabix Technologies president Kal Malhi says his firm has raised millions of dollars to bring its pot breathalyzer to market.