America follows the neighboring Canada lead and legalizes marijuana state by state. As of today, 33 states have approved medical cannabis in some form. Of these 33 states, a third (11) also allow recreational consumption, with Illinois being the latest to legalize marijuana last month.
Although more than half of the population supports the legalization of cannabis, there are still a lot of negatively minded Americans. No wonder, as all that is unknown always scares. Today, supported by the team of experts, we will try to shed light on the process of marijuana legalization across the United States. We will talk about the "formula" of the ideal cannabis law, how does an experience of other countries affect the US legislation and what are the results of marijuana adoption.
Today legal cannabis evolves from an abstract concept to a fully fleshed-out policy. What are the issues any cannabis legalization bill must have?
What most are finding out with the greater part of bills calling for the legalization of cannabis to any degree is the disconnect between the intent and implementation. Something that often happens now is these pieces, including Proposition 64 have been written ambiguously making it's hard to completely interpret the definitions and regulations themselves but, furthermore have required more patchwork through the legislation. This means non-stop fixes and tweaks to the current law in order to "clean up" aspects the measure itself did not or made unclear. This has become obvious in the aspects of the smaller markets and their ability to thrive, and social justice which is what most of us look for legalization to address more deeply than it has to date.
What can the U.S. learn from weed legalization in Canada?
The "deal mania" as Price Waterhouse Cooper referred to it has shown that evaluations towards going public should not be the sole objective of companies that are increasingly scaling. After Canopy Growth, Tilray and several other of the top companies on the Canadian Stock Exchange all reported multimillion-dollar losses, with Canopy Growth reporting 323 million dollars in revenue lost in the 1st quarter of this year; Cronos Group was the only company proving profitable but, at the bare minimum margin of it compared to its competitors. With many coming to the reality that there is such a thing as a "Cannabis Bubble," it has come, it's here and that is why Canadians have once again turned their eyes to the states particularly California with some of the top investors citing, "they act like REAL operators in the industry." The lesson is don't pay attention to Canada because they have proven to be an example of everything not to do as the first country to go legal.
What is the social impact of marijuana legalization in the United States?
Unfortunately, to the contrary to what many believe, the social impact on an overall consensus has slightly changed in some aspects, while staying the same and worsening in some areas. The biggest example is the fact that less than 5% of operators are of African American, Hispanic, Asian or other ethnic backgrounds with a whooping 1.5% being just women. In addition, while drug arrest rates in relation to cannabis have dropped overall in states that have enacted some way of reform, they have actually increased in areas in which the residents are living below the federal poverty line or have already been known historically to be targeted in the War on Drugs. What many have come to call it specifically is the Drug War 2.0; given the egregiousness of the enforcement including the revamp of the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP), it is hard to disdain such a notion.
Today legal cannabis evolves from an abstract concept to a fully fleshed-out policy. What are the issues any cannabis legalization bill must have?
We need a policy that will ensure higher quality and safer products that are based on strong scientific data and support the market claims.
What can the U.S. learn from weed legalization in Canada?
Canada has done a good job of monitoring the process. However, we still need to ensure better quality controls to provide cleaner and healthier products.
What is the social impact of marijuana legalization in the United States?
Surprisingly, society has come to accept marijuana as a legitimate option for treating certain medical conditions and as an alternative “leisure” product. This is a positive development and if we look at the states that have adopted medical and recreational use I feel that all the credits assigned to the public have been handled remarkably responsible.
Today legal cannabis evolves from an abstract concept to a fully fleshed-out policy. What are the issues any cannabis legalization bill must have?
Any federal cannabis legalization bill must include proper traceability from seed to sale, all products must be lab-tested (ideally in raw plant form, and then processed manufactured product batches be tested). And all manufacturers should meet GMP certification as well as ASTM standards. Labels and packaging should meet similar standards as the food, wine, adult-beverage, and tobacco industry, requiring all ingredients be named on the packaging.
What can the U.S. learn from weed legalization in Canada?
Little can be learned from the Canadian industry as it is still so new and their policies have not been worked out. Right now it's all about consolidation of the industry, and the best thing to do is review state implementation policies from CO, OR, WA that have had policies in place for 4-6 years. Here the system has been worked through and kinks have been adjusted for.
What is the social impact of marijuana legalization in the United States?
We have already seen that states that legalize cannabis have lower rates of minors using cannabis, have fewer opioid prescriptions and overdose deaths, people use less alcohol which ultimately makes the population safer and healthier. Not to mention the economic impact on jobs and tax revenues and the reduction of black market products which are unregulated and untested.
Today legal cannabis evolves from an abstract concept to a fully fleshed-out policy. What are the issues any cannabis legalization bill must have?
Legalization is a very complex issue and must consider a wide range of inter-woven issues. If you look at each state that has a legal, regulated program, you will find a variety of solutions and problems. In Oregon, for instance, the state granted way too many cultivation licenses for the market, thus causing a glut of product that caused prices to tumble. While low prices are good for the consumer, it doesn't support a thriving industry and now the state is looking to try to export its surplus to other states — a move that is highly controversial and unlikely to succeed.
In California, the state hasn't put serious enforcement against illicit markets, so you have an enormous black market competing against legal players that have a much higher cost structure. Illegal dispensaries pop up all over because they are allowed to advertise. Until the state takes a serious look at some of these issues, it is difficult for many smaller, compliant companies to succeed.
Furthermore, there needs to be a set of robust child-resistant packaging regulations that are well-considered from the beginning. Some states have changed the packaging regulations well into legalization, causing manufacturers and retailers to destroy millions of dollars worth of inventory. California just recently changed the rules for labeling vapes. This alone is wreaking havoc on compliant companies.
The bottom line: No system is perfect, but it needs to be well considered before pressing go.
What can the U.S. learn from weed legalization in Canada?
I think there are advantages and disadvantages to the Canadian program. It takes careful deliberation and long-range thinking to develop a system that benefits and protects consumers as well as the industry.
What is the social impact of marijuana legalization in the United States?
The social impact is that cannabis is becoming accepted in everyday life. Everyone from executives to soccer moms use some form of cannabis, and the stigma is now gone. This has allowed brands to develop that cater to specific lifestyles and consumers. Cannabis is on its way to becoming an industry that is similar to the wine industry, with some controls, a wide variety of brands and price points, appellations, and occasionally a need to educate the consumer about the differences from one varietal to another.
To sum up, it may be said that any legislative changes traditionally have its supporters and critics, and when it comes to such a controversial topic as the adoption of marijuana, the pressures mount even more. Although the cannabis regulation in the US requires many corrections and additions, the country is on the right way. Taking advantage of Canada's experience, we can understand how to improve the process of legalization and what should be avoided at the same time. When we talk about the social consequences of cannabis adoption, there are always positive and negative sides. We can make a big assumption and say the more developed will be the legislation governing cannabis, the greater will be the positive impact of marijuana adoption.