Canada may be getting a little smokier in the next few weeks, and for once it won’t 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’s no secret that the so-called “war on drugs” is a failure, and has been for quite some time. It’s almost as if telling people they aren’t 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 Québec for example. In Quebec marijuana will be sold only through government run shops, doesn’t sound too bad yet right? But according to the province’s new Cannabis Regulation Act cannabis leaves and other logos or images that are associated with cannabis won’t be allowed to be used on products that aren’t legal cannabis.
“No 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 Québec, it will not be permitted, for example, to sell T-shirts with the printed picture of a cannabis leaf,” the regulation outlines.
Now I’m 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’t a perfect example of the government ruining a good thing then I don’t 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’t want kids walking by someone’s front lawn and admiring their new … “foliage”, 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’ve got yourself a stupid law.
If you thought B.C.’s restrictions on growing the newly legalized plant were a little weird, then you’re going to be slightly shocked by Manitoba, and once again Québec.
Despite the new federal government allowing Canadians to grow up to four plants per household, Manitoba and Québec have both completely banned growing plants in their province.
In Québec, if you’re caught growing a plant, you face fines of $250 - $750 for first offence, and up to $1,500 for repeat offences. In Manitoba, you’ll be fined $2,542.
The government’s 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’t want the person operating a boat to be consuming cannabis, it’s the same as any other vehicle. But what I don’t 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’t 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 … “green meeting” if you catch my drift. After all, if you’re writing laws into place about something, shouldn’t you understand the effects of that thing? And at the very least if we televised the event I’m confident that it would make for some of the best television you’ve 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’ve got a case of the giggles and some wicked munchies.
