We did joke back in March that the worldwide pandemic would be tough, but at least Canada had legal marijuana.
Today is the second anniversary of Canada making marijuana legal.
While U.S. states made edibles legal when they made marijuana legal, Canadians had to wait to get legal edibles in the marketplace in mid-December 2019. As late as that was, the timing was good before the pandemic started.
Edibles were crucial for renters since they can't generally smoke in their apartments. Going outside and smoking wasn't a handy option in the pandemic, plus smoking makes mask wearing difficult.
Edibles are more convenient but Canadians had to be aware of consuming them in public, which is illegal. Being encouraged to stay at home may have increased sales.
Retail marijuana sales had good numbers this summer in Canada.
Opening Day (finally) for marijuana edibles in Canada
Marijuana in Canada on 4/20/20
Opening Day for legal recreational marijuana in Canada
The avalanche of horrible stories that many feared about legalizing marijuana in a country as large as Canada never materialized. This isn't to say everything went perfect. This is a reminder that the absence of bad news is actually good news that most journalists don't report.
The potential for horrible stories as a result of legal marijuana was certainly thrown out there. The speculation that the U.S. would recoil that its next-door neighbour could get high any time (being of legal age). Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, like Helen Lovejoy on The Simpsons, wanted us to think of the children in terms of marketing marijuana products to young people.
There are plenty of issues and concerns with the legalisation of marijuana. A still thriving black market. Quebec having such a huge contrast between the drinking age (18) and marijuana age (21). Are Quebecers in Gatineau crossing over into Ottawa for marijuana access? Ontario relying on private sales as opposed to province-run shoppes. The business community focuses on federal and provincial mistakes.
There are fewer Canadians in jail on drug charges. Canada gets tax money from legal sales. The police aren't making marijuana arrests simply for possession. Defund the Police is a real thing in Canada as we've seen stories about the need to reallocate police funding.
Prime Minister Trudeau can be criticised for moving too slow and cautious on marijuana in Canada but gets points for not running into major issues or concerns.
Canadian film review: Canadian Strain
The U.S. gets credit for more and better stoner films than Canada. We do need to point out that Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong is Canadian and they met in Canada.
Canadian Strain isn't really about stoners but a look at what happens when a illegal product suddenly becomes legal. Jess Salgueiro is really good as the lead in the film. The Canadian film is insightful and entertaining.
CanadianCrossing.com marijuana coverage
We went through the archives to categorise our extensive marijuana coverage at Canadian Crossing. We have a few "are we there yet" stories telling the history leading up to legalization in Canada. We also talk marijuana tourism, something that would have really kicked in for 2020 had there not been a pandemic.
photo credit: CBC News
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