SHOULD THE

RECREATIONAL
USE OF
MARIJUANA BE
LEGALISED IN
CANADA?
ASHWIN RAJU
This paper tries to analyse the pros and cons of legalizing
marijuana in Canada in 2017 by the federal government
recreational purposes. For that purpose, this paper will
pool researches carried out by various researchers
around the world relevant to this paper. After careful
analysis of the data available at hand, a recommendation
will be made, keeping all the advantages and
disadvantages in mind.

ENGLISH 1100-33/34

LORNE BELLAMY

RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT

12/2/2016
ASHWIN RAJU

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ------------------------------------------------------------------PAGE 2

ECONOMIC IMPACTS------------------------------------------------------------PAGE 2 & 3

SOCIAL IMPACTS------------------------------------------------------------------PAGE 4

PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACTS-----------------------------------------------------PAGE 4 & 5

EFFECT ON DRIVING SKILLS--------------------------------------------------PAGE 5-8

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT----------------------------------------------------PAGE 8 & 9

CONCLUSION------------------------------------------------------------------------PAGE 9 & 10

WORKS CITED-----------------------------------------------------------------------PAGE 10 & 11

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The federal government should, or should not, legalize the recreational use of

marijuana?

Marijuana, which is also commonly known as weed or pot comes from the plant Cannabis

Sativa. Marijuana is a psychoactive substance which is known to grow naturally (Hajizadeh

453). Although many countries around the world have seen its citizens consume weed for

recreational or medicinal purposes, it is still illegal to cultivate and use weed in many

countries the world over, including Canada. Although it is illegal for someone in Canada to

use marijuana for recreational purposes, the Supreme Court of Canada in 2001 had legalized

the use of marijuana in therapy (Hajizadeh 453). This is most probably set to change in 2017

as Canadas Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau had voiced his support earlier for the legalization

of marijuana. One of the most pressing questions regarding this probable outcome is whether

legalization of marijuana is in the best interests of the country and the society. This paper

aims to give the reader an unbiased view of the impacts this move can have on the society

and let them decide for themselves if legalization is the right step to take.

Economic Impacts

Firstly, to start off with the benefits, we try to predict the financial gains that Canada can

acquire by going ahead with the legalization. For this, we try to look at the examples of

Denver & Washington where marijuana use has been legalized, to fairly approximately

predict the gains to Canada (Nachshon and Bogdanov 126). In Canada, even though it is a

criminal offence to smoke weed with punishments of up to 5 years imprisonment for

consumption or life sentence for trafficking, and even though Canada has dedicated law

enforcement agencies working hard to uphold the law, the violations seem to be on the rise.

To curb this, maybe walking in the footsteps of Denver & Colorado, who went from

criminalization to legalization will help make better use of law enforcement agencies, while

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earning revenue through taxation. For the scope of this paper, instead of jumping into the

specifics of legalities in the both the states, well directly jump into what the numbers look

like for Canada. In recent public surveys, only about 1/10th of the Canadian population

thought that the current state of legalization was appropriate. 35% percent of the population

felt that legalization and taxation was the way to go in, following Denver & Colorado among

other states in the USA (Nachshon and Bogdanov 134).

To get an approximate idea of the revenue that marijuana sales

could generate for Canada, we first look at Colorados usage: 15% of the population or

808,220 people smoke weed with an approximate spending of $264 per person. When these

numbers are applied to Ontario with 1,331,299 smokers, the revenues that could be generated

in the first year of legalization stand at $351,462,936; this number is based on the assumption

that the taxation rate is kept similar to that of Colorado.

The following table shows how much exactly Ontario, Toronto and Canada stand to lose on

$351,462,936 of sales.

This number is just an approximate value based on the revenues from the taxation of the sale

of marijuana. By legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, other sources of revenue, as

well as advantages open up such as 1) Licensing fees 2) Employment boost in marijuana and

related industries 3) Costs saved by freeing law enforcement resources strapped to the

enforcement of current marijuana laws 4) Reduction in crime rate and subsequent savings

from reduction in drug incarcerations (Nachshon and Bogdanov 135).

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Social Impacts:

Canadian youth between the ages of 15-24 have the highest consumption rate of marijuana

compared to youth from other developed countries. This high demand for recreational

marijuana means that there are black markets already in existence who are supplying this

demand. When black markets exist, it becomes extremely difficult for the law enforcement

agencies to cut off supply to teens and children, exposing the teens to very dangerous

environments. Legalization can accomplish two goals in this regard; 1) Kids and youth wont

readily be able to get their hands on weed 2) People wont be booked criminally for

possession of small amounts of marijuana (Hajizadeh 454). On the social front too,

legalization of marijuana would seem to have very desirable results for Canada.

Public Health Impacts:

Cannabis is known to have some medicinal benefits to it in the use of treatment of

neuropathic pain, inflammatory bowel diseases, managing symptoms of chemotherapy and

treatment-resistant epilepsy in children (Hajizadeh 454).

However, along with its fair share of benefits, usage of cannabis can also give rise

to adverse health effects. That being said, mortality due to overdosing isnt one of them, since

mortality would require one to smoke between 15 to 70 grams in a day. Even the heaviest of

users couldnt consume such an amount in a day. In a study that was conducted for 20 years

with a sample size of 5000 young adults in the US, some surprising findings were reported in

terms of cannabis smoking and its impact on respiratory function. When people smoked 3 to

5 joints in a month, it was found to improve their respiratory function probably because of

deep inhalation unlike cigarettes or possibly because THC(Tetrahydrocannabinol the main

psychoactive element of cannabis) has dilatory effects on the bronchi and bronchioles(the

respiratory airways of the lungs). In contrast, people who smoked often didnt experience the

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same benefits due to the adverse effects of the cannabis smoke on their lungs, nullifying the

dilatory effects (Hall 27).

Coming to cardiovascular health, in a study of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample in the US

from 2004-2011, it was found that the recreational use of marijuana independently was found

to increase the chances of an acute ischemic stroke (loss of blood supply to a part of the

brain, resulting in a loss of neurologic function) by 17%. When combined with tobacco, the

likelihood rose to 31% and to 42% when combined with cocaine (Rumalla, Reddy, Mittal 4).

Testicular Cancer: An interview of patients diagnosed with testicular cancer at the Fred

Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute, USA, discovered a connection between the use of

marijuana and non-seminoma type testicular cancers, accounting for 40% of the cases. The

study also assumes that people younger than 18 were more susceptible to this type of cancer

as a result of puberty making them vulnerable to the chemicals in cannabis. Though these

findings are not concrete due to the small sample size used, researchers are skeptical about

taking a chance with ones life to smoke marijuana recreationally (Swami 1).

Effect on Driving Skills: There is growing concern about the legalization of marijuana the

world over because most of the road accidents or driving under influence (DUI) charges are

attributed to psychoactive elements of marijuana found in the blood of drivers. As per records

from the Colorado State Patrol, accidents related to people under the influence of marijuana

rose from 37 in 2006 to 78 in 2012.

The table below shows the effects of cannabis on different tasks at hand. The subjects used

for this experiment smoked marijuana less than once a week.

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X Impaired Judgement

The following inferences can be made from this particular experiment:

After a 3.9% inhalation of THC, it has been found to affect working memory in both,

smokers who smoked occasionally as well as frequently. The same effects applied to subjects

who were administered with 2.5mg of synthetic THC through IV ( intra venus) . Also, some

studies also found subjects to exhibit impulsive behavior or inhibition of motor activities

during acute intoxication of THC, both in frequent and occasional users. Another finding of

this study focussed on attention levels of subjects. Subjects were subjected to attention tasks

after being administered THC. It was found that their attention spans plummeted after a

2.67% THC dose or after a 17mg THC cigarette being inhaled. The results suggest that a

subject under the influence of marijuana will have the reduced ability to process information

and will reduce his ability to process information when subjected to various tasks at the same

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time, thereby reducing his performance. Also, after subjects were subjected to a 3.6% or

17mg THC dose, they were found to be more likely to take risks.

The following tables and graphs show the number of accidents caused by drivers under

influence of marijuana. It also shows a comparison of DUI before and after the legalization of

marijuana in Colorado.

In the picture above, it is clearly visible that up until 2009, the cases of car crashes with the

drivers testing positive for marijuana was 37/535 in 2006. In 2009, it rose to 47/465 and in

2012 the total crashes with DUI were 78/472. While the total number of car crashes were

coming down in the state of Colorado, it is very clear that the total number of crashes under

the influence were going up. From 2009 to 2012, there was a 165% increase in accidents

caused by drivers under the influence of marijuana after the legalization of marijuana in the

state of Colorado in the US (Hajizadeh 456).

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(Hajizadeh 456)

Environmental Impact:

With the Canadian government proposing to legalize the possession and consumption of

marijuana in 2017 for recreational purposes, it is of utmost importance that one also

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understands the impact cultivation of marijuana can have on the environment. The cultivation

of marijuana requires a lot of nutrients and water. If grown outdoors, it will also require

massive clearing of land, while if it is grown indoors, it can require large amounts of energy

thereby affecting the climate negatively. As it requires more power, to match the demand for

power, more power will have to be generated using steam or coal or nuclear energy, all of

which affect the environment and the climate eventually. To explain this argument, California

is being taken as a sample as 60-70% of marijuana in the US is cultivated in California.

There, in the months of June-October, during when weed is grown outside, a plant will need

22 liters of water per day. Applying that statistic to a greenhouse growing area with a size of

900,000 plants per sq. km., the water needed for one growing season would amount to 3

billion liters/sq. km. To show how thirsty these plants are, a suitable analogy would be wine

grapes grown in California. These wine grapes require 271 million liters of water per sq. km.

in the outdoor growing season while 130,000 marijuana plants/sq. km. grown outside will

need about 430 million liters of water, almost twice as much of grapes. (Carah 823).

Also, for the cultivation of weed, the prime locations are usually close to

watersheds, which are also sometimes prime locations for various flora and fauna. Due to the

close proximity of the watersheds to the agricultural site, the pesticides used for cultivation of

marijuana have a high chance of making their way into these watersheds, threatening the bio-

diversity. In addition to that, due to the land being cleared for cultivation, it gives rise to soil

erosion (Carah 825).

Conclusion:

Taking into consideration all the advantages and disadvantages of cannabis discussed in this

paper, it is quite clear that the cons outweigh the pros, even though the research on cannabis

is still not full-fledged. One can only assume that with increased research into the impacts of

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marijuana in various aspects of our daily life, the results will most probably be very

disappointing, with the detrimental effects to humans as well as the environment trumping the

advantages. Although the market for cannabis has a potential for $10bn, taking into

consideration all the adverse impacts that marijuana poses today, it will be prudent of the

government to conduct more research, educate the general public, and then, if necessary,

create a strong legal framework and go ahead with the legalization to ensure the damage is

mitigated as much as possible. It isnt my opinion that the government should abandon their

plan altogether, but it is my suggestion that the government should hold off the plan to

legalize, for now, conduct more research on marijuanas adverse effects on human health, as

well as on the environment. Until then, in my opinion, the government should not go ahead

with the legalization of marijuana in 2017.

Works Cited:

1. Ansell, Emily B., et al. "Effects Of Marijuana Use On Impulsivity And Hostility

In Daily Life." Drug And Alcohol Dependence 148.(2015): 136-142. ScienceDirect.

Web. 24 Nov. 2016.

2. Bondallaz, Percy, et al. "Review Article: Cannabis And Its Effects On Driving

Skills." Forensic Science International 268.(2016): 92-102. ScienceDirect. Web. 24

Nov. 2016.

3. CARAH, JENNIFER K., et al. "High Time For Conservation: Adding The

Environment To The Debate On Marijuana Liberalization."Bioscience 65.8

(2015): 822-829. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Nov. 2016.

4. Deshpande, Amol, et al. "Efficacy And Adverse Effects Of Medical Marijuana

For Chronic Noncancer Pain: Systematic Review Of Randomized Controlled

Trials." Canadian Family Physician Medecin De Famille Canadien 61.8 (2015):

e372-e381. MEDLINE with Full Text. Web. 24 Nov. 2016.

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5. Fischer, Benedikt, et al. "Lower Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines For Canada

(LRCUG): A Narrative Review Of Evidence And Recommendations." Canadian

Journal Of Public Health = Revue Canadienne De Sante Publique 102.5 (2011): 324-

327. MEDLINE with Full Text. Web. 24 Nov. 2016.

6. Goltz, Nachshon, and Ekaterina Bogdanov. "Lessons From Washington And

Colorado: The Potential Financial Gains Of Recreational Marijuana To

Canada." Canada-United States Law Journal 40.1 (2016): 126-139. Academic

Search Complete. Web. 24 Nov. 2016.

7. Hajizadeh, Mohammad. "Legalizing and Regulating Marijuana in Canada:

Review of Potential Economic, Social, and Health Impacts." International Journal

of Health Policy & Management Aug. 2016: 453. Publisher Provided Full Text

Searching File. Web. 24 Nov. 2016.

8. Hall, Wayne. "What Has Research Over The Past Two Decades Revealed About

The Adverse Health Effects Of Recreational Cannabis Use?." Addiction 110.1

(2015): 19-35. CINAHL Complete. Web. 24 Nov. 2016.

9. Rumalla, Kavelin, Adithi Y. Reddy, and Manoj K. Mittal. "Recreational Marijuana

Use And Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Population-Based Analysis Of Hospitalized

Patients In The United States." Journal Of The Neurological Sciences 364.(2016):

191-196. PsycINFO. Web. 24 Nov. 2016.

10. Swami, Meera. "Cannabis And Cancer Link." Nature Reviews Cancer 9.3 (2009):

148. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Dec. 2016.

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