GRSJ224/Legalization of Medical Marijuana in Canada

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On July 30 2001, the Supreme Court of Canada officially made medical marijuana legal for patients with chronic illness or conditions such as patients with HIV/AIDS and other serious illness and conditions outlined in the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations. Canada was the first country, besides America, to allow the legalization of marijuana use as a treatment for medical conditions. The practice of marijuana for medical purposes was deemed appropriate and was further authenticated by Health Canada, which allowed and regulated access for patients to apply for licenses to either cultivate their own or hire licensed producers to cultivate marijuana for their medicinal use. For many years, a number of Canadians fought to introduce the decriminalization of cannabis as some thought it was unconstitutional that cannabis prohibition did not make an exemption for medical use. Ultimately, on October 17 2018, marijuana was legalized in Canada, making it the second country in the world to legalize cannabis. Currently, marijuana in Canada is legal for both medicinal and recreational purposes.

Medical marijuana used for medical conditions including:

• nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy for cancer
• weight loss and low appetite for AIDS patients
• Chronic nerve pain or pain at the end of life
• Spinal cord injury patients who suffer muscle stiffness

History

1990s

Marijuana was deemed illegal in Canada in 1932

In the early 1990s, Cannabis was deemed illegal in Canada after the Narcotics Drug ACT Amendment Bill introduced the Act to Prohibit the Improper Use of Opium and Other Drugs. Cannabis was added to the list of banned substances in addition to morphine, cocaine and opium. A few years later, the Canadian law enforcement decided to action a marijuana seizure in 1937. However, despite this reinforcement, Cannabis continued to gain popularity throughout the years, particularly amongst hippies and college students, and the numbers of cannabis convictions soon escalated from 20 cases in 1962 to 2,300 convictions in 1968. As a result, the Canadian government established the Royal Commission of Inquiry in the Non-Medical Use of Drugs in order to evaluate and examine the non-medical use of marijuana in 1969. The commission further released a report suggesting that the federal government remove any criminal penalties for those in possession of and use marijuana. However, no actions were taken to decriminalize marijuana, infuriating a number of Canadians.

2000s

Prime Minister Stephen Harper introduced a nation anti-drug commission that imposed mandatory sentence to prison for cannabis dealers

In the year of 2000, cannabis prohibition was announced unconstitutional as the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that the prohibition of marijuana use violated individuals right to life, liberty and security. This event resulted from an reported appeal to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom by an individual, by the name of Terrance Parker, who was arrested in the late 1990s for possession and cultivation of marijuana used to control his epileptic seizures. In the following year, the Canadian government sanctioned the country's first medical marijuana law, the Marihuana for Medical Access Regulations (MMRA), authorizing patients to apply for licenses to cultivate their own marijuana or access marijuana from other licensed producers. Soon after, the government proposed a federal marijuana decriminalization measure, which reduced the possession of marijuana up to 15 grams to a civil fine instead of a sentence and jail time. However, the bill did not last long and was soon disregarded. A few years later in 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper introduced a new national anti-drug strategy which established a mandatory prison sentence, up to a maximum of 14 years, on marijuana dealers and anyone who grows more than 500 marijuana plants. Over the next fews years, many fought against the strategy implemented by Harper by ordering the government to fix and change the strategy program. Ultimately in 2017, the Liberal government of Canada, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, proposed the Cannabis Act, which aimed to legalize the use, possession, and cultivation of marijuana for adults of 18 years and older. In 2018, the act was officially put into effect and legalized marijuana nationwide.

Controversies

Clinical Perspectives

Adolescence Risks

Use of marijuana during adolescence is shown to have negative health outcomes and serious cognitive impairments

There has been evidence shown in multiple studies suggesting that the legalization of medical marijuana is associated with an increase of up to 30% in adolescent marijuana use. In a study conducted by Hall, it was found that marijuana is correlated with increased negative health outcomes. Significant scientific evidence further suggests that repeated and continuous use of marijuana during adolescence, especially early in adolescence, can result in long-lasting cognitive impairments as well as an increase risk of severe mental illness, such as mood disorders, schizophrenia, and psychosis. Moreover, a study conducted by Wall et al using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health show that marijuana usage among 12-17 year old minors is 8.7% higher in states where medical marijuana is legal compared to states where medical marijuana is not legal. Other studies, such as one conducted by Friese and Grube also states that nearly half of the youths in treatment participating in the study obtained marijuana from individuals with medical marijuana license after the legalization of medical marijuana. This finding suggests that the increased accessibility to marijuana for youths may have been caused by the increased availability of medical marijuana, which may also increase the likelihood of increase usage of marijuana resulting in multiple negative health risks.

Medical Marijuana Since Legalization of Recreational Marijuana

Challenges

Since the legalization of recreational marijuana, various challenges and problems involving health professionals, patients and marijuana itself have been made prevalent, specifically how there are now two markets (medical and recreational markets) available for marijuana in Canada. Many patients have been accessing medical marijuana through various recreational markets, including websites and retail stores, without registering with a licensed producer and providing medical documentations. This has cause many patients to bypass consulting with a professional health practitioner beforehand, which could be extremely harmful and problematic to patients as recreational marijuana have different varying levels of chemical contamination that the patients are unaware of. Despite all the confounding challenges present after the legalization of marijuana nationwide, there has been a visible prominent shift towards a greater and more positive acceptance regarding marijuana.

Economic Impacts

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The legalization of marijuana allowed the Canadian government to generate more funds by taxing marijuana as they do for alcohol and other goods

The argument that most intrigued for those in favour of legalizing marijuana was the increased tax revenue that legalizing marijuana would generate to the Canadian economy, as it has to other countries including the United States. Like other intoxicants such as alcohol and tobacco, the legalization of marijuana allowed the government to increase the taxes on marijuana while keeping the prices competitive. These profits could in turn be invested in health programs and public education. In addition, legalization also brought in more employment for workers to package and cultivate marijuana, as well as increased job opportunities to work in the health care industry and educational sessions to support and promote safe marijuana use.