Canada’s gone to pot!
Queues at cannabis stores as the first Western country legalises marijuana
‘Reduce organised crime profits’
CANADIANS brought a new meaning to the phrase ‘High Street’ as they queued outside shops to buy cannabis legally for the first time. Hundreds braved biting cold and blustery winds to buy the drug as the country became the first in the West to lift a ban on recreational use.
It became the second country after Uruguay to legalise possession and use of cannabis for anything other than medicinal purposes – ending nearly a century of marijuana prohibition.
Queues of pot-smokers built up at midnight local time on the eastern island of Newfoundland to make the first purchase.
Ian Power was first in line to buy a packet at a store in provincial capital St John’s after queuing for four hours to ‘make history’.
He said: ‘I am going to frame it and hang it on my wall. I’m not even going to smoke it. I’m just going to save it forever. It’s been my dream to be the first person to buy the first legal gram of cannabis in Canada, and here I am.’ Despite the celebrations, concerns remained about the decision to make it legal for adults over 18 to purchase, possess or grow recreational cannabis. Prime Minis- ter Justin Trudeau, who made ending the ban part of his 2015 election campaign, faced sharp questions by health professionals and politicians.
Diane Kelsall, editor-in- chief of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, branded legalisation ‘a national, uncontrolled experiment in which the profits of cannabis producers and tax revenues are squarely pitched against the health of Canadians’.
Meanwhile, police are bracing for a surge in drug-impaired driving – as motorists get behind the wheel after smoking marijuana. Information has been sent to 15million Canadian households about the new laws and there are public awareness campaigns. However, Home Secretary Sajid Javid has ruled out legalising recreational use of cannabis in Britain. Last week he said UK doctors would be allowed to prescribe medicinal cannabis for conditions including epilepsy and multiple sclerosis from November 1 – but insisted he would go no further.
Under a bill passed in Canada in June, over-18s will be allowed to carry and share up to 30 grams of the drug and cultivate up to four plants at home for personal use.
Depending on which of the 13 provinces or territories the drug is purchased, consumers will pay $5, $13 or $15 per cent tax.
The Canadian government projects it will raise $400million (£235million) a year in tax revenues on sales of cannabis. Officials say 5.4million Canadians will buy cannabis from around 300 legal stores by the end of the year – about 15 per cent of the population.
Penalties for breaking the law will be severe – someone caught selling the drug to a child could be jailed for up to 14 years.
Canada follows Uruguay, which in 2013 became the first country in the world to legalise the sale of cannabis for recreational use. Nine US states and Washington DC have also legalised its recreational use.
Mr Trudeau said: ‘We’re not legalising cannabis because we think it’s good for our health.
‘We’re doing it because we know it’s not good for our children.
‘We know we need to do a better job to protect our children and to eliminate or massively reduce the profits that go to organised crime.’
CAMPAIGNERS have long argued that legalising cannabis would cut crime and bring in tax, while doing little harm to users. The facts tell a very different story.
Wherever the drug has been licensed for recreational use, crime and the black market have flourished, while narcotic-related mental disorders have risen sharply.
This paper therefore fears Canada will pay a heavy price for its decision to follow countries such as Uruguay and some US states in decriminalising the drug.
Meanwhile in Britain, spurred on by the Mail, the National Crime Agency is at last making progress in tackling ‘county lines’ drug gangs, with mass arrests and the seizure of weapons and narcotics.
This is how to beat those who trade in misery. We will follow Canada at our peril.