FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Oct 9

Is National Legalization of Cannabis on the Horizon in the U.S.?

by bcurry

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.

Canada Marijuana Usage Marijuana Use US War on Drugs

Leave a comment »
Aug 26

What If An Employer Asks You To Pee In A Cup?

by bcurry

Recently, a study in the U.S. found that positive workplace drug tests hit a two-decade high, fuelled largely by the legalization of marijuana across a variety of states.  Cannabis, also known as marijuana (among countless other names), was banned in Canada from 1923 until medical cannabis became legal in 2001.  In 2018 Canada became the second country in the world after Uruguay to legalize marijuana for recreational adult use, and the first G7 country to do so.  Studies have shown that as more young people enter the labour market, their attitudes about using recreational marijuana are much more liberal and open than older generations.

This brings us to the issue of drug testing in the workplace.  In Canada, for some time now, the courts have objected to random drug testing.  Only in the period after a workplace accident where it is suspected that drugs or alcohol may have been involved, did Canadian employers get the green light to do limited employee testing as part of any investigation.  By comparison in the U.S., some federal regulations actually require employers in the aviation and other in safety-sensitive industries to conduct random testing, specifying the minimum percentage of employees who must be covered each year.  However, American laws on drug testing are complex and vary from state to state.  The Supreme Court of Canada’s “Irving” decision in 2013, which set out guidelines for when random, unannounced tests can be justified, said that random testing had been “overwhelmingly” rejected by arbitrators as “an unjustified affront to the dignity and privacy” of employees in safety-sensitive jobs, except when there was reasonable cause.”  On the other hand, some two decades ago, the U.S. Supreme Court first upheld the right to test for drugs in the workplace.

Testing for substance use is in itself a problem, especially when it comes to cannabis.  Most important variable is frequency of use.  Unlike alcohol use, for a first time cannabis user a trace of cannabis use could last for 3 days.  For a daily user, it could last 30 days or more.  In addition, the higher the Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) level, which is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis, the longer it takes to metabolize in body.  Edibles take longer than smoking.  Weight and body fat also affect trace amounts due to THC binding to fat tissue.  More importantly, often capacity for detection and time to get results can depend on kind of tests given, such as urine, blood, saliva and hair tests.  Each testing method has a different ability to accurately determine the level of THC.  Normally, traces of cannabis use will disappear in about 30 days.  However, THC can be detectable for weeks, even months depending on one’s use, potency and frequency.

One of the privacy concerns with random testing is the matter of prescription medication and medical marijuana use which could disclose an underlying health issue that the employee may not want the employer to know about.  It could also disclose someone who is in addiction treatment.  Interestingly, there appears to a dearth of data from independent groups in the U.S. regarding impairment from prescription drugs in the workplace, partly because the issue has not drawn broad scrutiny.  However, Quest Diagnostics, an American clinical laboratory that operates in the U.S. and Canada and a prominent provider of workplace drug tests, said that the rate of employees testing positive for prescription opiates rose by more than 40 percent from 2005 to 2009, and by 18 percent in 2009 alone.  Increasingly, with an aging workforce, one can imagine that the use of prescription medication will increase, a concern for many industries in light of potential insurance liabilities.

As of now, Canadian case law severely restricts random drug testing of employees, even in safety-sensitive occupations.  For example, an Ontario court most recently struck down the Ottawa airport’s plan to conduct unannounced, random drug tests on its firefighters, citing a lack of evidence the group has a substance-abuse problem that would justify such a “highly intrusive” invasion of privacy.  The ability of an employer to require a random drug test appears to be much more difficult in Canada than in the U.S.  Some would say that there are pros and cons under certain situations, but much depends on previous case law in both jurisdictions.

Canada Marijuana Usage Marijuana Use US

Leave a comment »
Apr 14

Don’t Drink Too Much Alcohol, Although Drinking In Moderation Can Have Some Benefits?

by bcurry

Studies about risks or benefits to our health flow weekly from research about what we eat, drink or even inhale. In many cases, these studies tend to often contradict other studies, causing no shortage of confusion and inevitable concern.  Research on the consumption of alcohol is no different.  In 2011, the World Health Organization warned that alcohol causes nearly 4 percent of deaths worldwide, more than AIDS, tuberculosis or violence. On the other hand, University of California researchers found that moderate beer consumption may help fight osteoporosis, a disease of the skeletal system characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue. However, the same researchers also found that even one glass of wine with dinner, if you’re 55 or older, may hit you hard enough to make you a dangerous driver. A 2010 study by British researchers concluded that heavy alcohol consumption is more harmful than illegal drugs like heroin and crack cocaine. Yet, other medical researchers have found that moderate consumption of red wine can actually improve heart health, although it may also put older adults with heart disease or diabetes at risk of developing a common form of arrhythmia.  However, it has been discovered that heavier drinkers were less likely to have a heart attack. Go figure!

Let’s face it, despite all the warnings about drinking too much alcohol, governments continue to make money on its distribution — much like tobacco. Indeed, today the U.S. government recommends no more than 14 drinks weekly for men and 7 drinks weekly for women. In Canada, it’s 15 drinks weekly for men and 10 drinks weekly for women. Some other European countries set even higher upper limits for men.  Considering myself to be a moderate drinker, I found these recommended limits to be somewhat high.  One might even suggest that at these rates of consumption there is a real danger of developing the condition referred to as alcoholic liver cirrhosis.  According to the American Liver Foundation, between 10 and 20 percent of heavy drinkers will develop such liver cirrhosis.

Now, North Americans have been drinking some form of alcoholic beverage for centuries. It’s a perfectly legal and acceptable pastime activity.  While there are legal restrictions and age limits, there is little doubt that people are introduced to alcohol in their early teens.  It’s only in the last few decades that societies have begun to actually examine the potential health and safety risks associated with drinking alcohol.  It’s only in recent years that legislators and law enforcement have tackled the self-evident dangers linked to drinking and driving.  Numerous campaigns — some fairly successful — have emerged addressing these dangers and their tragic consequences on our highways.

Given the history surrounding alcohol consumption and abuse in North American, I predict that we will see a similar pattern in how we treat recreational marijuana use. I’ve seen estimates that up to ninety percent of North American adults consume some form of alcohol, moderately or heavily.  While recreational marijuana use may not reach the same levels of usage, we will see more research emerging as to what are the benefits and the risks.  I also predict that, just as in case of alcohol studies, there will be results reflecting both the potential benefits and risks of marijuana use.  One can only hope that they are not as confusing as the past contradictory findings of studies on alcohol consumption.  Somehow, I’m not very optimistic.  Even with negative results, I suspect that alcohol and marijuana use will never be banned.  Instead, each individual will continue to have to weigh the benefits and risks for themselves.  As a result, do we really need any more studies?

Canada Marijuana Usage Marijuana Use US

Leave a comment »
Blog at WordPress.com.