Legalize all cannabis the example of canada
Canada is the second largest country on Earth, but it has only 30 million inhabitants. One of the reasons for what appears to be a very low population density is that not all of the surface is actually habitable for humans: some areas are excessively cold, especially those bordering Alaska and the Arctic Ocean; and a good part of the surface is occupied by immense lakes such as Lake Superior, which is the largest freshwater lake in the world. The country's economy is one of the most important in the world and is based on the extraction of minerals and fuels, the exploitation of natural resources such as wood, livestock farming and agriculture.
The legalization of cannabis was yet another winning choice for a country that is, in terms of gross domestic product, among the top 12 on the planet. Legalization did not come about for purely “economic” reasons: as happened in the most progressive American states, what allowed legalization in Canada was the pressure exerted by patients and doctors . Since 2001, the therapeutic use of cannabis has been recognized and the State, after having surrendered to scientific evidence, in order to cope with the ever-increasing demand for the drug, has issued several licenses for the production and sale of therapeutic cannabis over the years. To date, ninety companies have been authorized for the production and sale of cannabis, the main ones being: 7ACRES Supreme Cannabis, Aurora Cannabis, Aphria, BOAZ Pharmaceuticals Inc., CanniMed, OrganiGram, Tantalus Labs, TerrAscend, Tilray, VIVO Cannabis and Zenabis.
Some growers then began to open dispensaries , also called Cannabis Shops, taking advantage of the inability to satisfy all the requests of patients. Many of these dispensaries, which had been born clandestinely and were tolerated, were closed when the State actually began to issue specific licenses for retail sales. The assignment of licenses was done by drawing lots. The number of dispensaries was greatly reduced: now in the Ontario region twenty-five dispensaries have been authorized in total (before, in the city of Toronto alone, there were one hundred and seventy cannabis shops). Prescriptions increased so much that it became necessary to issue authorizations for cultivation for self-production for therapeutic purposes, directly to patients. This aspect, however, was not regulated well enough, and a business was born that is not prosecutable, but which in fact allows the survival of a thriving illegal market.
Specifically: authorizations for the self-production of cannabis for therapeutic purposes are issued by the State to private individuals who have obtained a medical prescription. The prescription is renewed annually and, based on the daily grams for therapy, the state authorization is obtained to grow "x number" of cannabis plants, without limitations on genetics. So far everything is perfect but, investigating the prescribed quantities, something doesn't add up: you can obtain prescriptions for 100g of cannabis per day, which allow you to be authorized to grow 487 plants indoors, or 190 outdoors. In the same location, up to four people who have had the authorization can grow. Therefore, a maximum of 1948 plants can be grown, all together. Crops of this size can produce over 1000 kg of cannabis. The quantity is clearly excessive for real "personal use", even for those people affected by pathologies for which very concentrated extracts and therefore lots of flowers are needed.
Such large productions require significant investments, specialized workers and facilities; it is clear that this is a business. This can also be seen from the doctors' price list: to obtain a prescription for 5g per day, which allows you to obtain the authorization to grow 25 plants indoors or 10 outdoors, you need 200 Canadian dollars (136 euros). To obtain a prescription for 100 grams/day you need to pay 2,500 dollars (1,700 euros).
Over two thousand people have requested and obtained this type of authorization. Their productions are absorbed by all those who do not like, due to the quality, the cannabis sold in authorized dispensaries or want to spend less. The State, unable to limit the problem and noting that there have been no negative consequences for public health, has then decided to also legalize recreational cannabis : since October 2018 in Canada, anyone over the age of 19 has been free to possess and consume cannabis. Furthermore, it is legal, in almost all provinces (in Quebec it remains prohibited), to grow a maximum of four cannabis plants and keep the harvest. This has further reduced the demand for illegal product and the income for criminal organizations. Furthermore, taxing licenses for self-production still brings money into the state coffers even if, due to the way the law is structured, it cannot block the sale of flowers produced by private individuals, which occurs without authorization.
Despite this flaw, Canada's legalization system is one of the most efficient in the world. Revenues from legal production and various taxes are high, and are partly successfully reinvested in educational programs for young people, in order to dissuade them from consuming drugs and for the rehabilitation of drug addicts. Thanks to all this, drug consumption (including cannabis) among minors has actually decreased and the number of crimes related to drug trafficking has logically decreased.
