Issue #43 January 2025
In past issues, I have covered the extensive harm to Canadians and the excessive costs to the economy from our legal recreational drug industries, alcohol, and tobacco. That has prompted some people to question the wisdom of legalizing yet another drug industry, and a recreational one at that. My frequent criticism of the legalization of cannabis might lead you to believe that I am one of them. I am not. I believe that the research evidence and a social justice perspective support drug law reform. More specifically, I favour a hybrid model of decriminalization and non-commercial legalization. I expand on what that means in Chapters 4, 9, and 10 of my book, “Buzz Kill: The Corporatization of Cannabis”. In this issue of DPA, I will focus on some general considerations for drug policy reform that also apply to cannabis.
I make three arguments in support of reform.
- Prohibition and criminalization have not reduced drug use. From the onset of prohibition, prevalence of use and indicators of harm have not decreased. Some indicators have increased to their highest ever levels. The criminalization that goes with prohibition is also causing harm by giving many (mostly young) people life-long criminal records for what is typically a victimless crime. Prohibition and criminalization appear to have done more harm than good. It has also meant the allocation of enormous amounts of money in enforcement, court, and incarceration systems. We should end the criminalization of drug possession everywhere as soon as possible and allocate the billions of dollars elsewhere. More meaningful ways to hold the Canadian banking industry accountable for laundering illegal drug cartel money would be a great place to start. Does anyone really believe the explanation of banking executives that they did not know it was happening? I’m inclined to believe that we need a war on drugs – not against people who use illegal drugs – but against the corporate criminals who enable the harm caused by drugs.
- For drug users, we should replace a criminal enforcement approach with a public health approach. Some elements of a public health approach can be seen in the prevailing approach to alcohol policy. Alcohol misuse is associated with substantial levels of harm – far more than other drugs. Yet, in contemporary times, few nations have banned the drug and criminalized its possession or safe use by adults. Rather, policy efforts have been focused on encouraging lower risk conditions of supply and responsible use by individuals. But our current approach to alcohol should not be proclaimed as an entirely successful model to be cloned for other drugs. There remains much to improve in a public health approach to alcohol – such as curtailing its widespread promotion and introducing warning labels about the health risks. We already have those measures for tobacco products.
An example of a public health approach that will be familiar to those of you who are health care practitioners is the use of The Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialities. The Compendium describes all pharmaceutical products available in Canada along with guidelines for their effective and safe use. One would be hard-pressed to find many entries in the Compendium that did not include contraindications: circumstances in which the product should not be used due to potential adverse (even lethal) impacts on patients. The chosen policy approach was not to use these contraindications as a rationale to ban the products and criminalize their use. Rather, the Compendium provides prescribers with the information they require to prescribe safely and to educate their patients in the safe use of the products. Managing the potential harms of cannabis use could be viewed through a similarly non-criminal, public health-oriented lens.
- There is also a pertinent philosophical consideration that cannot be resolved by a clinical trial, or a couple dozen trials combined in a meta-analysis. Here it is: in what kind of a society do we wish to live? If we believe that anything that poses risk to our health and safety should be prohibited, then maybe cannabis and other currently illegal drugs should be illegal. But then we would also have to prohibit cigarettes, alcohol (again), gambling, video games, cell phones, artificial intelligence, automobiles, most contact sports, and a substantial portion of the products sold at our food stores. I do not believe that is the world in which most people want to live. The public health approach would have cannabis and other recreational drugs be available as consumer choices for adults. Their use would be subject to non-criminal strategies to prevent, contain and ultimately reduce the associated harm. In the March issue of DPA, I will begin a series of posts that address a part of such an approach. We will look at the persuasion and influence of marketing, advertising, and other forms of pop culture promotion of drug use. But before that, the February issue will be something completely different. Let’s leave it at that.
Mike DeVillaer
Hamilton Ontario Canada
January 26 2025
This issue is a modified and updated excerpt from “Buzz Kill: The Corporatization of Cannabis”. You can order it from:
Black Rose Books: https://blackrosebooks.com/products/buzz-kill-michael-r-devillaer
Distributors: Canada / USA: University of Toronto Press utpbooks@utpress.utoronto.ca
UK / International: Central Books contactus@centralbooks.com
Or your local bookstore. They will appreciate your support.