Justin Trudeau’s hashtag government is finally reviewing the Cannabis Act – a year late.
They want to know: has cannabis legalization been successful?
Not in the sense of whether it’s been working for those who buy, sell, and consume cannabis. No, according to the Liberal’s Cannabis Act, the review must focus on Indigenous people, home growing, and whether legalization has helped the children.
After all, it was never about your right to your body. Post-COVID, it’s clear that freedom doesn’t exist. It’s a privilege handed out whenever the corporate state sees fit.
According to Justin’s Health Minister, this review will be “inclusive” and “evidence-driven.” And the result will “strengthen the act so that it meets the needs of all Canadians while continuing to displace the illicit market.”
You can see the problem here.
Reviewing the Cannabis Act – a year late.
Reviewing the Cannabis Act is a year late. The Liberals said they’d do it three years after legalization. Nevertheless, it’s here.
A couple of federal ministers announced how the Liberals would be reviewing the Cannabis Act. Like the Legalization Task Farce, there will be an “expert panel” led by retired career bureaucrat Morris Rosenberg.
Rosenberg is well-liked across the board. Everyone expects him to do a competent job.
And he might. But any recommendations can be ignored by Justin Trudeau’s hashtag government. Reviewing the Cannabis Act may not yield any positive results for anyone.
The government hasn’t named the other members of the “expert panel.”
Confines of the Review
The issue with reviewing the Cannabis Act is that the Act itself demands “dual objectives of protecting public health and maintaining public safety.”
“Public health” means more of the same political spin about cannabis’ alleged harms and impact on children and indigenous people. Interesting that the federal government needs to hold the hand of these two identity groups.
I thought children had parents and mentors who looked after them. And aren’t indigenous people free, adult human beings?
This is why Justin Trudeau’s government is a hashtag government. They care more for optics and sound bytes than substance—they fake sincerity.
And this causes real-world destruction.
Look at the amount of plastic waste the Cannabis Act has created. Combined with face masks showing up in the ocean, fertilizer mandates, and not building pipelines, Justin Trudeau’s hashtag government has been a net negative for the environment.
Justin, his cronies and supporters don’t understand that fossil fuels are necessary to transition off fossil fuels. You can’t dictate consumer demand and expect the market to follow.
This hubris is why the illegal cannabis market still exists.
The “public health” approach to cannabis prevents BC Bud from operating aboveboard.
Cutting bureaucratic red tape and refocusing legalization away from “public health” and toward a viable commercial industry needs to be done.
What Canadians choose to do with their bodies is of no concern to the federal government.
Reviewing the Cannabis Act: 18 Months Later
Reviewing the Cannabis Act is not only a year late, but they expect the “expert panel” to take 18 months to conclude.
The problem is, with the current excise tax regime, many smaller producers won’t last.
The government hasn’t rewarded those who have tried to play by the rules.
And that’s the problem in a nutshell. If you want to displace the “black market,” you must make it worthwhile for those individuals to get licences.
But when even the large licensed producers complain about an overtly restricted regime, what incentive does BC Bud have?
Reviewing the Cannabis Act means an “expert” panel will spend 18 months and hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars focusing in the wrong direction.
Fortunately, alongside public health busybodies, the panel will also hear from the cannabis industry and the general public.
So there’s an opportunity to turn the tide. Direct the narrative away from concern about children, edibles, and home-growing to excise taxes and a bloated bureaucracy.
Ottawa doesn’t license craft brewers in British Columbia. It has no business doing the same for cannabis.