Three Reasons Canadian Cannabis Tourism Sucks

Are you planning a trip to Canada soon? Specifically, to experience legal cannabis? Think again. We’ve got three reasons Canadian cannabis tourism sucks.

So let’s get into it.

3rd Reason Canadian Cannabis Tourism Sucks – You Can’t See Anything

Canada’s federal government didn’t legalize cannabis because we’re all self-owning individuals with the right to bodily autonomy. They legalized cannabis because of “public health and safety.”

Ergo – it’s a tightly controlled market. As a foreigner, you can walk in and buy some weed with any old piece of I.D. (assuming you’re legal age, 19 in most provinces). But you can’t see what you’re buying.

There are no California-style dispensaries in Canada. Not legally, at least.

Not only is your cannabis product hidden behind layers of plastic and child-resistant packaging, but it’s also irradiated.

Health Canada regulations demand “sterilized” cannabis. For most cannabis producers, the cheapest way to pass Health Canada’s inspection is by using Gamma radiation to eliminate microorganisms and contaminants.

The World Health Organization says irradiating cannabis is fine, so there’s no reason to dig any deeper, right? When has the WHO ever been wrong?

Of course, there’s this study published in the Frontiers of Pharmacology. The results found that “irradiation had a measurable effect on the content of various cannabis terpenes, mainly on the more volatile monoterpenes. In general, reduction of affected terpenes was between 10 and 20%, but for some components, this may be as much as 38%.”

In case you’re unfamiliar, terpenes are pretty important when it comes to cannabis.

They give the plant its flavour and taste. Many of cannabis’ medicinal and therapeutic properties arise from strains with diverse terpene profiles.

Terpenes work with the plant’s cannabinoids to provide the “entourage effect,” which makes cannabis more effective.

So one reason why Canadian cannabis tourism sucks? Not only can you not see anything, but the cannabis isn’t even that good.

Canada’s “BC Bud” legacy market still provides high-quality cannabis that hasn’t been irradiated. If you’re heading to Canada for cannabis tourism, aim for B.C.

2nd Reason Canadian Cannabis Tourism Sucks – Prices and Regulations 

Another reason Canadian cannabis tourism sucks (and the reason cannabis legalization, in general, has been such a letdown) is because of prices and regulations.

Between asinine regulations at the federal level and the busybodies of public health influencing lower levels of government, the result is expensive cannabis.

The average price for cannabis in Canada is around $10 a gram. It’s even higher for premium cannabis. Sometimes you can find deals, but the amount of plastic waste and other regulatory barriers increase costs.

If it wasn’t for a functioning legacy market the government is trying to eradicate, cannabis in Canada may resemble our alcohol market.

Alcohol is cheap to produce. The average cost for a pint of beer in the Czech Republic is $1.70. The average price for the same pint in Canada? $4.80.

Why the 95% price difference?

Because the Czech Republic doesn’t consider beer drinking “sinful” behaviour, that requires excise taxes and regulations to protect grown adults from themselves.

They had that style of governance back when the communists were in charge. They now have a good political bullshit detector that Canadians lack.

Where Can You Smoke in Canada?

As for Canada? Yet again, another reason Canadian cannabis tourism sucks. 

Canada is a very anti-cigarette country. Even in the B.C. lower mainland, where there’s a large Asian population and cigarette smoking is a large part of their culture – the health bureaucrats refuse to budge.

For the tourist: there are no legal lounges, only a few farm-gate businesses, and as of yet, no official bed-n-breakfast where you can smoke indoors.

Of course, that doesn’t mean cannabis-centric accommodation doesn’t exist. You have to do some digging. Look for signs like 4/20 friendly.

As cannabis is legal, you can get a standard motel room and smoke out in the parking lot like a cigarette.

But, like cigarettes, there are laws against smoking on a hotel balcony.

While cannabis is legal in Canada, your options are limited if you’re a tourist without private property.

(That said, Vancouver has been cannabis-friendly for years. There are smoke lounges you can visit, although technically, they are against the law.)

#1 Reason Canadian Cannabis Tourism Sucks – Justin Trudeau is Prime Minister

If you like Justin Trudeau because he legalized weed, you’re the perfect example of why democracy doesn’t work.

Justin didn’t legalize cannabis. Legalization in the liberal tradition is synonymous with decriminalization.

What Justin did was corporatize it.

Last year, Justin Trudeau called people who disagreed with his COVID regime a bunch of racists and misogynists. Some were shocked, but this is a par course for the drama teacher.

Trudeau spent three years calling BC Bud a bunch of criminals that didn’t care about “the children” or producing high-quality cannabis.

Instead of legalizing B.C.’s massive underground cannabis industry – he handed the file to a former Toronto police chief.

This cop reiterated that BC Bud was a bunch of criminals the public couldn’t trust. And that the well-connected corporations producing pharmaceutical-grade cannabis would be our source of cannabis in Canada.

Similar to how the Trudeau government is now decimating small farms in the name of “climate change.” All while subsidizing the large corporate fields of monocrop nightmares and factory farm animal death camps.

Avoid the Airports 

But what about the cannabis tourist? Here’s yet another reason Canadian cannabis tourism sucks.

Justin Trudeau has destroyed this country’s travel industry. Just look at the state of the country’s airports. Like the prime minister’s haircut, our airports are an international embarrassment.

From days-long wait times to nonsensical COVID requirements (including a malfunctioning app they want to make permanent), Justin Trudeau controls the borders like he’s a 20th-century Eastern European dictator.

Are you interested in cannabis tourism? Then you’re best to avoid Canada. At least until Trudeau’s out of power. It’s unlikely Canada’s cannabis industry will liberalize overnight. Still, as time goes on, the push for lounges, b&bs, and indoor smoking will make Canadian cannabis tourism worthwhile.

But until Canadians remove their blackface dictator, Canada isn’t worth travelling to for any reason, let alone cannabis.

Interested in cannabis tourism? You’re better off visiting California beaches or Colorado’s little mountain towns.