The report outlines many issues surrounding cannabis after legalization in Canada. (Photo 51998377 © Promesaartstudio | Dreamstime.com)

By Derek Cornet

Legislative review

Report outlines many issues five years after cannabis legalization

Oct 16, 2023 | 5:33 PM

Five years after the legalization of cannabis in Canada, many public safety stakeholders remain concerned about the continued involvement of organized crime and criminal networks in illicit cannabis production and sale.

That’s according to a report released this month by Health Canada entitled Legislative Review of the Cannabis Act: What We Heard Report. The lengthy document outlines the building blocks used to develop the cannabis framework and the resulting measures, key data, and the perspectives, including lived and living experience, that were shared through the panel’s engagement to date.

The report covers many topics ranging public health, economic, social and environmental impacts, access, criminal activity, impact on youth and more.

“From December 2022 to June 2023, we held numerous roundtable discussions, one-on-one meetings, and were graciously hosted by a number of stakeholders at their sites,” the report states. “The voices and perspectives reflected in this report come from a wide range of stakeholders and experts.”

The report shows almost seven million Canadian have consumed cannabis in the last year, an increase of two million people since 2017. While a large share of the increase is attributable to higher rates of use among people over the age of 25, it is notable that more than 40% of young adults (ages 20 to 24) in Canada now report cannabis use in the past 12 months.

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Most people who report past-year use of cannabis indicate using it less than once a week, while about one-quarter of cannabis consumers use it daily or almost every day.

“Overall, cannabis use continues to be more prevalent among males than females,” the report mentions. “The 2021 Canadian Community Health Survey noted higher rates of past-year and daily or almost daily use among males than females (25 per cent versus 19 per cent; seven per cent versus four per cent).”

There was general agreement that the main objectives of the cannabis framework should continue to be the protection of public health and public safety. There were some suggestions that further restrictions should be considered such as stricter age limits on who can possess, distribute, and buy cannabis, setting minimum pricing retailers can charge, and restrictions on selling flavoured products.

In contrast, industry representatives suggested that elements of the precautionary approach impede their ability to compete with the illicit market and thus risk sending to the illicit market for unregulated products that may pose greater health harms.

“We heard that more public education, drug prevention, and treatment efforts are needed,” the report notes. “With respect to public education, we heard about the need for an evidence-based approach that is customized to different populations and audiences and co-created with them.”

First Nations, Inuit and Métis were also stakeholders on the report. Those who participated in the process spoke of frustration about the limited engagement with the federal government during the development of the Act and its regulations, and emphasis on the need to reflect the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

“Key areas of interest and concern in relation to the impact of cannabis legalization on First Nations included: jurisdiction, including the recognition of First Nations authority over a range of cannabis activities; public health and public education (such as the need for culturally-appropriate public health resources and services and the funding to support them); public safety (such as the rise of unauthorized cannabis activities in communities and the impact this has on already under-resourced First Nations policing services); economic development (such as the jobs and revenue that could be supported through participation in the legal cannabis industry); and taxation (such as the ability to collect and redistribute taxes),” the report stated.

Read more about the Legislative Review of the Cannabis Act: What We Heard Report online here.

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