This past week, President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of Americans convicted of simple possession of marijuana. What’s more interesting, Biden announced that he has instructed Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and Attorney General Merrick Garland to begin reviewing how marijuana is classified under federal drug laws. Marijuana, also referred to as pot or weed, is currently a Schedule 1 substance under federal drug sentencing guidelines, the same as heroin and LSD.
The President’s move could be a first step in moving toward the federal government’s legalization of marijuana use for recreational and other purposes. The issue leads us back to the legalization of marijuana by the Canada’s federal government in October 2018. At the time, the new law made Canada the second country in the world after Uruguay to legalize cannabis. In addition, on the day cannabis became legal, the Canadian government announced that it would introduce new legislation allowing people charged in the past with “simple possession” to apply for a pardon with no fee or waiting period. By 2018, recreational cannabis was also legal for adults in nine U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and 30 states had government-sanctioned medical cannabis programs. Today,19 states have passed recreational cannabis laws.
In both countries, there have been far too many persons who have ended up in prison for the simple possession of pot. According to one study, as many as 500,000 Canadians may possess a criminal record for cannabis possession. Their convictions hamper their ability to travel (most notably to the U.S), apply for jobs and volunteer with charities. By some reported estimates in the U.S., there are nearly 5,000 laws on the books which bar people with past convictions from most of the necessities of life like housing, loans, work, and access to government services. In both countries, arrests for cannabis possession particularly affected marginalized groups, disproportionately impacting people of color and low-income communities.
Measuring whether the legalization of pot increased its consumption in Canada is difficult to ascertain. Prior to 2018, most recreational pot users would not have declared their illegal possession and use, except in cases of medical cannabis use. However, a Statistics Canada study based on data from the National Cannabis Survey showed that the prevalence of cannabis use has been increasing since its legalization in October 2018. In fact, cannabis use in the year before the survey increased among Canadians aged 15 and older, from 15% in 2017 to 21% in 2019, for both men (from 19% to 23%) and women (from 11% to 19%). It is believed that increased social acceptance of cannabis, and the increased number of outlets and range of products available were among the factors thought to have led to increased consumption. In addition, cannabis can now be added to foods and drinks. There is also some speculation that the COVID pandemic may have contributed to increased cannabis consumption due to the associated social and economic upheavals it caused over the past two years.
With the legalization of cannabis, Canada also introduced numerous regulations concerning its sale, production and distribution. The Cannabis Act created new criminal offences for the sale of cannabis to youth — with penalties of up to 14 years in prison. It also prohibits “illicit” cannabis of unlicensed producers, sellers and distributors. Much like tobacco and alcohol, government regulations for growing and selling cannabis include standards for labelling and packaging. Every package must be plain, without additional imagery besides brand name and logo. Packages must also include a standardized cannabis symbol, a health warning and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration levels. The government also established the tax rate for cannabis, to be split by the federal and provincial governments. Of course, the government wanted a cut of the lucrative legalized cannabis action. So far, the regulated cannabis industry appears to be working well, ensuring the control, quality and safety of the product sold.
It may be useful for the U.S. to examine the impact of Canada’s legalization of cannabis as part of its planned review of marijuana’s classification under federal drug laws. The federal government may also want to get into alignment with legalization actions already taken by 19 of its states.
FROLITICKS 
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