Increasing Control to Collect More Taxes as Canada Legalizes Cannabis

in #cannabis6 years ago

Canada has passed a bill (Bill C-45) to legalize and regulate cannabis across the nation. The bill passed the Senate last week, on June 19th, after first being introduced on April 13, 2017 and passing the House of Commons later that November.


Leaf Credit: Oren neu dag, CC BY-SA 3.0, Canada, Public Domain

Canada is only the second nation in the world to legalize cannabis. The change swill come into effect on October 17th, 2018. In Uruguay it's legal to use recreationally, medically and to grow up to 6 plants. Canada's federal law will allow recreational use to be legal. It also allows 4 plants to be grown, and up to 30grams to carry or share.

But provinces get to choose if they allow it or not. Quebec and Manitoba have decided to ban home cultivation, only allowing registered growing operation to be permitted to grow a plant. Provinces and territories get to draft their own rules for cannabis sales.

The bill has been called "historic", and will aid in the preventing youth from the "risk" of cannabis us, as justice minister, Jody Wilson-Raybould said in a tweet:

"This is an historic milestone for progressive policy in Canada. This legislation will help protect our youth from the risks of cannabis while keeping profits out of the hands of criminals and organized crime."

Prime Minster Justin Trudeau agrees with the purpose of protecting kids:

It's been too easy for our kids to get marijuana - and for criminals to reap the profits. Today, we change that. Our plan to legalize & regulate marijuana just passed the Senate.

Driving laws will be updated, where police can ask for tests for cannabis use to suspend driver's licenses, just like alcohol. With legalization, the production, distribution or sale of cannabis is now an offense for minors under 18 years old.

The bill is expected to create a booming billion dollar industry that the government will profit from through taxes. In the US with some states adopting legalization, the industry was estimated to rake in nearly $9 billion in 2017. There is an investor frenzy to get into the growing industry, as only permitted companies will be allowed to do so.

Dispensaries have been popping up to sell more cannabis. Small businesses are eager to capitalize and make money on these changes. But the government is the big pit dealer. In Quebec, it will be sold at SAQ where alcohol is sold. The market price will jump because taxes will not be added onto it, like they did for cigarettes. Small shops who provide affordable quality products will have to compete with government approved retail monopolies.

As for being clear to smoke in Canada, that's not the case in the US. When crossing the border, you might be tempted to just answer "yes" when asked if you've ever smoked pot in your life. Possession of cannabis is still a federal crime in the US of A. If you admit to smoking, you can easily be barred entry into the US, according to immigration lawyer Len Saunders:

"It's basically black and white – if you admit to a U.S. border officer at a U.S. port of entry that you've smoked marijuana in the past, whether it's in Canada or the U.S., you will be barred entry for life to the United States"


Source: pixabay

A waiver of inadmissibility can be applied for to grant access for up to 5 years, despite a ban still applying. These wavers cost US$585 and take up to a year to process, including fingerprinting and verification of a criminal record.

You can expect border officials to be asking if you smoke more often now. You can opt to not answer the question. You might not get in that day and have to try again another day or somewhere else, but it's better than a lifetime ban. The Canadian government does not intervene in any decision another nation has on restricting your access. They get to decide who can or can't go through it borders based on any criteria they choose.

It's really idiotic how much control the government still has in Canada over out ability to use a plant that has never killed anyone. You can only grow 4 plants as a person, but a company can get a permit to grow thousands and make tons of profit form you buying what they grow because you can't grow more.

This is not justice. Legalization is just more control. Decriminalization is the real solution, where government steps aside and lets freedom reign. There would be no taxes for governments to fill their coffers with. At least you get to carry an ounce (28g) in Canada an not go to jail. But if you carry 2 ounces, then you're a criminal again. This is insane bullshit. Control is the game of governments, not making people more free or safe.


Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.


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Is there a size restriction on the 4 plants? Lol

And provinces can even negate that. Quebec is more controlled. Gov't doesn't want to let ppl be free.

"Driving laws will be updated, where police can ask for tests for cannabis"

This is a problem that worries me in all the legal markets. Weed can be detected for 30 days or more and, in the U.S. at least, "driving under the influence" is a much more serious crime than possession of marijuana. Essentially, doing these tests and treating cannabis like alcohol in regards to driving despite its vastly different sort of "impairment" creates a system where people who would have been given probation in the past can be sent to prison now. Plus, most evidence and my own experience show that driving while high doesn't cause any significant issue under normal conditions because a user overestimates his or her own intoxication and drives more safely to compensate. With alcohol the opposite is often true. Truth be told, most drugs are probably safer to drive on than alcohol because they are depressants but that is straying into a different rant lol.

This was interesting, I didn't even think about the problem with people admitting use to a border agent until I read it here.

Alcohol is one of the worst, yet legal, taxed and heavily used in society. You make a good point of people more easily being railroaded into the prison complex :/

Just as they did with maple syrup they are doing it with Marijuana, if it's supposed to be "legal" why then would you have so much control on it?

Socialist's goverments still believe that everything is about control. Seems like they haven't learned anything from the 20th century. What a Shame Trudeau.

Great post!

Although, legalization will not be creating a multi-billion dollar industry, rather it will be stealing it from those who've created it. This industry has been alive and well for decades. There's a reason B.C. bud is already world famous!

The bull-shit border crossing "waiver" The States uses is nothing more than a voluntary submission for an FBI profile. Funny how they keep their borders so tight... must be trying to keep all the criminals in with the crime rates they maintain! America, despite it's amazing libertarianist culture, is one nation I have no desire to visit - and probably never will thanks to their ridiculous immigration policies.

Hehe, yes from illegal to 'legalized', the cash will flow tot he legal area now as the monopolize on the growing and don't let people grow many of their own.

In my opinion it's just reflecting as manipulation and decision of control and you said right, companies hold the right to produce unlimited but people cannot grow because companies will lose potential customers, and purely they are coming up with an business plan.

In my opinion government in every phase try to create the domination and the biased control and these controls reflects as created only for the common people and not for the super rich or elites.

And the unfortunate thing is people are majority and the rulers are less but still we are allowing them to rule and control us in an unbiased way, and we are becoming enslaved and we are staying knowingly unknown.

So, we have to understand the games of the centralised powers and all these games are just plan of one book and that is control everyone and create slaves.

Thanks for sharing this post with us and wishing you an great day. Stay blessed. 🙂

Thank you! People keep talking like legalization is some kind of step in the right direction - it’s not. No step they ever take will be a step in the right direction, unless it’s a step toward the end of the plank.

Decriminalization would be a the right step. Free to use and grow.

Let's decriminalize freedom and eradicate government!

Hey Jay, nice to meet you. I looked over your blog and see you're doing The Great Work - way t' be! Cool concept for a profile pic!

Thanks Brian, great to meet you as well! Checked out your blog, some great topics... I'll be seeing you around!

Awesome, thanks for coming by to visit!

Absolutely. The only thing an inherently immoral institution can do right is to get out of the way.

Choice and freedom come second to profits. This is a placating give to people who think this is good. It’s an improvement yes but it’s just another form of tax and control, not freedom.

Yup, all up in arms at how good it is, but you're still under control, and can still be a criminal, only now the government gets a shit load of extra tax dollars. win-win for statism.

I sure like how you notice the creation of a business venture and not the legalization of a plant. I also agree that it is insane. I also think people should be sending there reps a bill for all the work there being asked to do to comply with the bull.

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