Canada may be getting a little smokier in the next few weeks, and for once it won鈥檛 be because of a forest fire somewhere in B.C.
Legalized cannabis will soon be rolled out across the country, and it will be interesting to see what the public reception is.
It鈥檚 no secret that the so-called 鈥渨ar on drugs鈥� is a failure, and has been for quite some time. It鈥檚 almost as if telling people they aren鈥檛 allowed to do something makes them want to do it that much more.
I have no issues with legalized cannabis, what I do take issue with is the government not understanding how to not ruin a good thing.
Different laws pertaining to legalized cannabis have been announced throughout the country. Some provinces have taken rather mild approaches to their restrictions, but others have gone entirely off the deep end, creating laws that seem to entirely miss the mark when it comes to legalization.
Take Qu茅bec for example. In Quebec marijuana will be sold only through government run shops, doesn鈥檛 sound too bad yet right? But according to the province鈥檚 new Cannabis Regulation Act cannabis leaves and other logos or images that are associated with cannabis won鈥檛 be allowed to be used on products that aren鈥檛 legal cannabis.
鈥淣o name, logo, distinguishing guise, design, image or slogan that is not directly associated with cannabis, a brand of cannabis, the SQDC or a cannabis producer may be used on a facility, vehicle, poster or an object that is not cannabis but that could imply an indirect link. In Qu茅bec, it will not be permitted, for example, to sell T-shirts with the printed picture of a cannabis leaf,鈥� the regulation outlines.
Now I鈥檓 going to let this sink in with you for a second. As of Oct. 10, in Quebec you will be able to stroll down to your friendly neighbourhood government owned and operated pot store and pick up a bag of your favourite strain, and it will be perfectly legal. But if you decided you wanted to celebrate your new favourite leaf and sell a T-shirt with the leaf printed on it you could be looking at a fine ranging from $2,500 - $62,500 for your first offence, and up to $125,000 for repeat offenders. If that isn鈥檛 a perfect example of the government ruining a good thing then I don鈥檛 know what is.
British Columbia has long been known as the stoner province, so you would expect the provincial government to make smart, educated and purposeful laws when it comes to the new cannabis legalization. But let me be the first to tell you that you would be wrong.
Under the new federal law, every person in the country who is legally old enough to smoke marijuana will also be allowed to grow his or her own plants. However this law comes with a bit of a caveat. Residents in B.C. will be allowed to grow their own plants, but the plants must not be visible from any public space off the property.
Now I know what the government was trying to do here, they don鈥檛 want kids walking by someone鈥檚 front lawn and admiring their new 鈥� 鈥渇oliage鈥�, but this regulation is just absurd. Marijuana is a plant, and plants require sunlight to grow. Sure this law is fine for people with enclosed backyards, but what about everyone else? Add that in with a $5,000 fine and a maximum of three months in jail for first-time offenders, and double that for repeat offenders, and I would say you鈥檝e got yourself a stupid law.
If you thought B.C.鈥檚 restrictions on growing the newly legalized plant were a little weird, then you鈥檙e going to be slightly shocked by Manitoba, and once again Qu茅bec.
Despite the new federal government allowing Canadians to grow up to four plants per household, Manitoba and Qu茅bec have both completely banned growing plants in their province.
In Qu茅bec, if you鈥檙e caught growing a plant, you face fines of $250 - $750 for first offence, and up to $1,500 for repeat offences. In Manitoba, you鈥檒l be fined $2,542.
The government鈥檚 of these provinces have completely missed the mark when it comes to legalization. How can a person completely legally smoke marijuana, and purchase their supply from a government shop, and then get a $1,500 fine for growing a supply of your own? Anyone else seeing a bit of a cash grab, or is that just me?
Now one of my personal favourite new laws to come from legalization. In Ontario, B.C., PEI, and Manitoba it will be illegal to consume any cannabis on a boat.
Now I understand why you wouldn鈥檛 want the person operating a boat to be consuming cannabis, it鈥檚 the same as any other vehicle. But what I don鈥檛 understand is that no one on the boat can smoke up at all. Booze cruises are a thing, so why not a canna-boat. This seems like another case of the government overly regulating cannabis just because they don鈥檛 really know what to expect.
Maybe before cannabis becomes fully legalized we should get all the lawmakers together into one big room to all partake in a 鈥� 鈥済reen meeting鈥� if you catch my drift. After all, if you鈥檙e writing laws into place about something, shouldn鈥檛 you understand the effects of that thing? And at the very least if we televised the event I鈥檓 confident that it would make for some of the best television you鈥檝e ever seen. The prime minister asking the opposition leader to pass him the bag of Cheetos, now that sounds like something I would pay to watch.
If nothing else maybe it would serve to make all the members of our government a little friendlier with each other. After all, its hard to tell the P.M. you disagree with his ideals when you鈥檝e got a case of the giggles and some wicked munchies.
