Pot legalization: Canada doesn’t need another profit-seeking drug industry
Cannabis law reform provides an opportunity to introduce an approach that truly places the priority on social justice and public health over revenue
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
When Canadians have expressed concerns about upcoming cannabis legalization, the government has assured them that the legal cannabis industry will be strictly regulated to protect public health. This promise raises important questions: Has legalization of our other drug industries – alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals – prevented harm from their misuse? Have these drug industries effectively balanced the pursuit of revenue with protection of public health? Has government regulation of drug industries been effective? Canadians have far more to fear from a revenue-obsessed, poorly regulated cannabis industry than they do from cannabis itself. (See also: Marijuana stocks ‘a bubble ready to burst’ | The wild west of weed: will legalisation work for Canada?)
