Inside the rise in Canadian cannabis culture

A topic currently raging debates across Europe and North America, the cannabis economy is fiercely driving conversation. From those keen to make recreational usage a key part of western life to conservative minds looking to push back and stop the roll out as a key part of society, the controlled substance has become an important talking point in elections and policy debates across the western world. Though one nation settled the argument long ago, Canada.

The substance is now legalised in Canada and is under the authority of the Cannabis Act. It provides a detailed and thorough framework for the production, distribution, sale, possession, and taxation across Canada. As many other nations still go through back-and-forth debates over economics versus morality, Canada has pushed on and put in place a world-class system.

Today, residents of Canada just need to visit an online dispensary to see just how vast the market is. Buyers can also walk into the dispensaries in person and make a purchase. The figures, too, show a powerful industry that is only going to get bigger.

Indeed, retail sales of the controlled substance in Canada grew to an impressive CA$318.7m in June 2021 alone. This broke the previous record, which was set in the month before. Canada has developed an industry that is extremely well regulated, managed by strict governance, and comes with transparency at the forefront of what they do.

For that reason, then, Canada has become the perfect example of how a nation can maturely work around the debate. When managed in a way that makes it as secure and safe as it arguably can be, many of the debates become moot.

Will other nations follow the Canadian system?

The Cannabis Act was formed with a three-fold goal – to stop youth partaking in the use, to keep the profits in the countries purse, and to protect the health of the public by allowing access to safe, well-maintained substance.

Since October 2018, then, adults have been allowed to own as much as 30 grams at any given time. Clear limits were set in place for how much of it some could hold at any one time, with as much as 150 grams of fresh substance allowed to be held by anyone aged 18 and above.

However, strict penalties were put in place for selling it to anyone under the legal age of purchase. The nation also put a strong mark in place when it came to things like marketing slogans and product placement, ensuring that the substance is not seen as being marketed or promoted to youth.

With strict violation codes – from large fines to numerous years in prison – paired with tremendous regulation, it is easy to see why Canada has become the poster nation for legalisation. The rules are clear, as are the benefits to the nation.

From having a clear plan in place to acting on it, Canada has become a leading nation in production, consumption and sales for the controlled substance. This has been driven by a clearly written policy, a desire from government officials to make it safe to consume, and a desire to get the drug out of the hands of the youth and the funds out of the banks of criminals.

As it stands, it would be fair to say that Canada has tackled the question better than any other nation on the planet.

The editorial unit