Why marijuana prohibition failed, and how legalization can succeed

Globe editorial
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Sunday, September 24, 2017

Why is Canada legalizing marijuana, and why does the move – if done right – make sense? It's all about harm reduction. Smoking marijuana has real health risks, particularly for young people. But the long-standing ban on the sale of pot isn't addressing them. The drug is widely available and widely used; according to the OECD, Canada has the developed world's highest rate of youth pot use. Prohibition's only real accomplishment is as an unintended industrial strategy, fostering a multibillion-dollar black market. The federal government is ending the criminal ban on pot, but almost everything that happens after that is up to the provinces.