criminology101(termpaper)

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Running head: EFFECTS OF CANNABIS LEGALIZATION 1 The Effects of Cannabis Legalization on Canadian Society Tajkamal Sandhar 301408245 Criminology 101 Professor Valerie Spicer July 10, 2020

EFFECTS OF CANNABIS LEGALIZATION 2 The Effects of Cannabis Legalization on Canadian Society Cannabis has been legalized in Canada as of October 17, 2018, to protect underage adults, have a regulated drug market and monitor its supply. This policy contributes to the right of 18-year-old adults to possess and distribute up to 30 grams of legal cannabis, cultivate up to four cannabis plants, and manufacture edible cannabis products at home, even when used to manufacture distilled drugs. This behavior or regulation poses several different issues and has caused debates among Canadians due to the psychoactive effects of the drug. Despite the many investigations and studies on the formation and implementation of the said legislation, there are still plenty of deficiencies. That's why I believe we should not take it lightly. The main justification to add priority to this topic is that it concerns not just the consumer but any citizen of Canada as well. That person has a role in the decision-making process because they are the ones most influenced. The said legalization would, holistically, have negative consequences and poor outcomes. Legalized marijuana defies its key goals through the application of the Cannabis Act, which will cause damage and inflict adverse effects on Canadian society; it will ultimately result in greater drug use, vulnerability to cancer and a jeopardized climate for young adults and future generations. The first issue that curtails the marijuana legalization public health goal is the relatively expensive nature of the legal weed. According to new estimates, even since legalization, 38 per cent of Canadian cannabis users still buy from the black market (Al-Hassoun, 2019). The street cannabis is over $3 less per gram relative to the legal supply marijuana. As with any other commodity, people are naturally drawn to the better deal because of limited finances and simply because they get the best price for a product. Hauser cites the reason for the lower prices as a retaliatory tactic for illegally competing pot dealers who responded to the legalization by selling

EFFECTS OF CANNABIS LEGALIZATION 3 their product below market value (Hauser, 2019). This action gives the dealers a competitive edge over the legal marijuana outlets and allows them to keep their old customers and draw new ones looking for cheaper plants. At a period when retail rates are equal, then, the black market can prevail because of the better offer. Relating to that, another issue facing the public health goal is the long-standing relationships that exist between pot users and their old vendors. Naturally, people are habit creatures, and will always prefer a familiar scenario to a new. Also, with the old relationships that marijuana users have formed with their dealers over the years, these marijuana users are more likely to stick to the same old, illicit dealers due to the loyalty they have towards them (Al- Hassoun, 2019). The lack of weeds and the legal shops for selling weeds after legalization have helped to drive buyers back to their original, better known outlets almost like a safety blanket. Marijuana reform would likely cause increased tax expenditure, possible friction between the illicit and legal market, inability to eradicate the criminal market and adverse effects by drug promotion and advertisement. These impacts will probably lead to increased cannabis use which will be dangerous and quite harmful to Canadian society. Via finance, further analysis will be made of how the legalization would adversely impact Canadian culture. Thanks to legalization, cannabis would be considered more advantageous than simply a recreational drug. Carnevale, Kagan, Murphy and Esrick (2017) claim that legalization does not fulfil the purpose of regulating supply and use policies because individuals are allowed to cultivate marijuana which is not in the surveillance network, is not advertised and branded, and drugs which could fall into the hands of grey markets (p. 77). Because these plants are not under government supervision, the goods can be used to gain income by selling it to the illegible ones and at a cheaper price. That will contradict the legalization policy 's primary intent. That will

EFFECTS OF CANNABIS LEGALIZATION 4 contradict the legalization policy 's primary intent. In fact, it will become more dangerous for Canadian culture as psychoactive substances fall into the hands of uneducated and naive about it. This would be used as a lucrative asset because marijuana is legalized. And that is more likely to be used to their benefit not only by the businesses but also by the people. The drug business, according to Subritzky, Pettigrew and Lenton (2016), is pushing businesses to earn income based on the youth's dependency on cannabis (p. 3). This means that the future of the market depends on their dependency, which would ultimately allow them to become long-term consumers (p. 3). Additionally, firms will use marketing and advertising to expose marijuana to gain more consumers. This is also crucial in order to increase consumption, not only of adults and users but also of the youth. Despite the modern technologies that Canada has, it is impossible for the government to prevent repercussions like this. Social media is one of the big channels that advertisers may use to get people to use marijuana, especially young adults and teenagers. Even though laws and regulations exist, companies will be able to find ways and strategies to advertise marijuana illegally and in public. In fact, it is also an option for people to take advantage of the grant to cultivate marijuana at home as mentioned earlier. By legalizing marijuana, the government expects it to diminish criminal activities and its responsibilities on its users. By doing so, they spend more tax revenue from government, which can be spent on other things, such as education and charity works, implementing regulatory policies on the efforts to exile illicit markets. Basically, anything that is in dire need of help and attention from the government. Implementing a policy structure to control consumption and hinder illegal markets will cost the country and the provinces more (Carnevale et al, 2017, p. 77). Additionally, the strict regulations and high legalization taxes will result in failure for the marijuana industry. Having already stated, removing the drug black market is still one of the

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