Australian-Canadian cannabis relations are a lesson in stupidity
Think about it. Someday, historians will look at this time period and come to one conclusion: we’re a bunch of morons.
Just look at the evidence. We have a runaway greenhouse effect. So do we invest heavily in nuclear power?
No, the government imposes “carbon taxes” on individuals and their families, limits food production, and wastes billions of dollars “investing” in inferior technology like solar farms and wind turbines.
Do governments rely on Zoom calls to communicate and look for ways to reduce industrial carbon output in supply chains?
Of course not.
They fly all over the world on private jets, lecturing us about how we need to eat bugs instead of red meat.
Then they give big corporations tax breaks and subsidies and act like anyone rightfully pissed off at this merger of corporate and state power is promoting “hate” or “misinformation.”
Need an example? Australian-Canadian cannabis relations. It truly is a lesson in stupidity.
How Medical Cannabis Works in Australia
Remember how medical cannabis in Canada used to work in 2012? That’s where Australia is in 2022. To say they’re behind the times is an understatement.
Australians can’t even grow their own medical cannabis, so technically, they’re in a worse situation than Canadians were ten years ago.
So how does it work now? Similar to how it used to work here.
- One: You walk into a cannabis clinic with some ailment.
- Two: The doctor gives you a prescription for medical cannabis
- Three: You either order from a list of approved producers.
Of course, you could visit the black market.
In Canada, we refer to this as “BC Bud” or the legacy market. In Australia, it’s often called the “green” market, and at least 11% of the population sources their cannabis from there.
So far, all good, right? Except that Australians can’t grow their own. They also can’t smoke or vape in public.
You can only medicate on your private property if you’re approved for medical cannabis in Australia.
And suppose police catch you with cannabis in public. The odds of them confiscating it and bringing charges against you are more likely than the alternative.
Which is, the police believe you when you say it’s medicinal and check in with your doctor.
Australian-Canadian Cannabis Supply-Chain: Why?
Here’s where Australian-Canadian cannabis relations get stupid.
Consider Australia’s vast and various climate regions. They’re all ideal for growing cannabis outdoors. Depending on where you are, you get abundant sun and plenty of warmth from August to April.
Compare this to Canada, where it’s winter eight months of the year. Where even in the summer, your outdoor plants may not survive the overnight chill.
All major Canadian cannabis producers grow indoors.
It’s like having Australia import kangaroo meat from some domestic kangaroo farm in Saskatchewan.
This is how medical cannabis works. Australians – who are better equipped to grow cannabis than Canadians – must import their cannabis from 14,000 kilometres away.
Talk about an unnecessary carbon footprint.
And don’t even get me started on how we could fuel these container ships with hemp biodiesel instead of supporting Saudi Arabia’s brutal regime.
So let’s walk through what happens when you want medical cannabis in Australia.
You visit a cannabis clinic. You get a prescription. Then you head on over to a pharmacy. Maybe it turns out they don’t have the strain you need. So you go back to the cannabis clinic. They request an import permit from the Office of Drug Control.
Then, you wait. Health Canada has to issue a corresponding export permit which can take up to 90 days or more. Anyone who’s dealt with Health Canada before knows what I’m talking about.
Suppose things went smoothly. Suppose you get your medicine within 90 days without much hassle or trouble.
That still doesn’t address the sheer wastefulness and energy-sucking nonsense that is the Australian-Canadian cannabis import/export relationship.
Australian-Canadian Cannabis: Fixing This Problem
Liberalize legalization. That’s how you fix the Australian-Canadian cannabis supply chain. Remove all the unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles and financial burdens placed on cannabis producers.
Canada doesn’t need to be exporting their cannabis to Australia. Australians have the means and the perfect climate to be growing it themselves.
If anything, Australia should be supplying Canadians with high-quality outdoor cannabis.
But, I suppose this is the world we live in. The COVID pandemic demonstrated that neither the governments of Australia nor Canada gives a flying rat’s ass about logic and common sense.
Australia had COVID internment camps, for god’s sake.
And, it’s clear that all this talk about a new “green” economy and environmental stewardship is doublespeak for: give us all the money and power.
Justin Trudeau burned 85.8 tonnes of greenhouse gases into the earth’s atmosphere in one month while flying around on his private jet.
The yearly Canadian average is 4.1 tonnes.
Do as I say, not as I do. That’s the ethos of our political elite. And the masses support it.
Someday, historians will look at this time period and come to one conclusion: we’re a bunch of morons.