Decriminalization In Canada

Introduction Though it is illegal in most countries, Marijuana/Cannabis is one of the most used drugs worldwide. In recent years however, new medicinal findings, as well as a large group of recreational users have pushed for the legalization of the drug. By already legalizing the drug, Western Australia and a few American states have paved the way for other “western” countries to continue in their path. The introduction of medical marijuana as a significant pharmaceutical requirement for certain conditions has also helped normalize marijuana for many individuals. Currently in Canada the legalization of marijuana is up for debate, with two of the three major political parties in the current election, advocating for its legalization. This legislation

Fischer et al., (2015) as well as Cerda et al., (2012) focused primarily on social implications of decriminalization of marijuana for their articles (Fischer et al., 2015; Cerda et al., 2012). Contrary to complete legalization, decriminalization proposes that marijuana remain illegal, however the possession of the drug offers little consequence. Decriminalization is a good fit for regions where marijuana usage is not close to being a social norm, but where legal sentences for even minor usage have plagued members of society. In literature surrounding marijuana usage in Western Australia – one of the most similar marijuana consuming regions to Canada- the term used is depenalization, which is essentially the same as decriminalization (Hyska, 2009). Diverging from the other regulatory policies, this paper focuses on the complete legalization of marijuana. It considers consumption patterns and habits as if the drug were completely free of use for individuals over the age of

Canada has one of the highest marijuana user rates, even though only the extremely highly regulated medical marijuana is legal. In Canada, the medical marijuana industry alone is projected to make $1.3 billion in revenue by 2024, without even accounting for the much larger black market for marijuana sales (Fischer et al., 2015). The literature suggests that this high usage comes with elevated criminal offenses as well. For example, Clements and Daryal (2005) found that approximately 77% of drug crimes are surrounding marijuana, and 70% of the charges are simply for possession (Clements and Daryal, 2005). Moreover Clements and Daryal (2005) note that this suggests each year there are 60,000 marijuana-related offenses, and approximately 500,000 to 1.5 million people with related offenses currently on their criminal records (Clements and Daryal, 2005). That being said, Fischer et al., (2015) proposes that the existence of a strong relationship between public option and policy decisions will quite possibly lead to its legalization soon enough (Fischer et al.,