social justice & public health
The mission of Drug Policy Alternatives is to contribute to the world-wide movement to change the historically unjust and ineffective approaches to drug policy. DPA uses evidence-informed analysis and principles of social justice to inform and encourage active public participation in this movement.
Buzz Kill: The Corporatization of Cannabis – What’s It All About?
Issue # 21 March 2023
Black Rose Books has announced that my book Buzz Kill: The Corporatization of Cannabis will be part of its spring release. I appreciate that those of you who pre-ordered it have been waiting patiently. As an expression of gratitude, I am using this issue of Drug Policy Alternatives to leak a sample of the book’s content.
Mike DeVillaer
Upcoming Presentations
“Surprising Stories of Cannabis Legalization in Canada”
Annual Joint Conference of Substance Abuse Librarians and Information Specialists
& The Association of Mental Health Librarians
Washington DC, May 2-4 2023
“Decriminalization does not meet any of our objectives.”
What Went Wrong with Cannabis Legalization in Canada
6th International Conference on Public Policy,
Toronto Metropolitan University June 27-29, 2023
Recent Media Coverage for DPA
“Four years after legalization, illegal cannabis market still thriving in Canada”
National Post, Oct 17, 2022. https://nationalpost.com/cannabis/four-years-after-legalization-illegal-cannabis-market-still-thriving
“Health Canada begins it’s long-awaited review of the Cannabis Act”.
Canada Tonight, CBC News Network, September 22, 2022. https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2076061763667.
Canadian Cannabis Industry Woes: The Bigger Picture
Issue #20 February 2023 Perhaps hoping for some lingering love from Valentine’s Day, the beleaguered cannabis industry once again took its case to a public forum. In a February 15th presser, its latest appeal focuses on the inability of the industry to make a...
Flight & Fight: Low Risk Alcohol Consumption & Product Warning Labels
Includes excerpts from
Buzz Kill: The Corporatization of Cannabis
Issue #19 January 2023
This issue of Drug Policy Alternatives addresses the currently heightened attention to the risks of alcohol consumption. The attention has arisen from the release of revised low risk drinking guidelines from the Canadian Centre for Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA).
Drugs: A Mosaic of Contradictions
Sample from
Buzz Kill: The Corporatization of Cannabis
Issue #18 December 2022
Legal industries for alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceutical products are older than any of us. We have known them only as mature, adult industries and must read about their birth and early development. The legalization of cannabis—the creation of a new legal drug industry—is an unprecedented experience for Canadians, and increasingly, for the people of other nations.