It’s been almost a year since Canada’s historical move to end its prohibition of cannabis, making it the first G7 nation to federally legalise cannabis for medicinal and adult recreational use. Now there’s a new conversation brewing, hot on the heels of cannabis legalisation, the decriminalization of psychedelic mushrooms. 

Yet, so often, I see the terms decriminalisation and legalisation incorrectly used interchangeably. It’s understandable now more than ever that people would be confused, it seems like every other day something is being legalised somewhere!

So what is the difference?

Definitions

There’s a long and a short answer to this question. First, the short - here’s a quick definition of the terms we’ll use in this article:

Legalization: Lifting of all legal prohibitions against the possession and personal use of cannabis. Allowing the government to regulate the production and distribution along with collection taxes.

Decriminalized: Removal of criminal penalties imposed on personal possession and consumption of      cannabis. The production and distribution of cannabis however remains illegal.

The long answer revolves around the pro’s and cons of legalised and decriminalised systems.

THE CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS?

In Canada, a plethora of cannabis dispensaries operated around the country prior to legalisation, when cannabis was in fact 100% illegal for recreational use. It was, however, medically legal with an occasionally lax approach to prescriptions. In some cities, the best way to describe it would be to say that cannabis consumption was tolerated.

Believe it or not, the effect federal legalisation has had on access to cannabis has been the opposite of what you might expect. There are now fewer operational dispensaries and a long list of stringent rules that producers and retailers must adhered to, all staff are prohibited from making suggestions on types of products patrons might use for their requirements. Overall cannabis is now somewhat harder to access and definitely more difficult to understand in legal dispensaries. 

Federally illegal cannabis

In the US cannabis is federally illegal, but this hasn’t stopped some states from implementing their own laws on cannabis use. In some states, such as California, cannabis has been legalized both medically and recreationally, in others only medically, and in some, New York being the most notable and recent example, it has simply been decriminalized. 

While there is a hubbub of excitement around the veil of cannabis prohibition finally being lifted, the laws can be tricky to navigate when they’re in various states of transition, both in North America and around the world. 

Currently, the federal status of cannabis in the US could still land you in jail if you were to be pursued by the feds, regardless of whether it is legal in your state or not.  

WHY IT MATTERS?

By now, most people have cottoned on that the so called ‘war on drugs’ has been a miserable failure, serving only as a demolition vehicle to the most marginalised groups in our society.

There is enough reason to celebrate any step towards the recognition of this fact, and whether it’s pursuing decriminalisation of psilocybin mushrooms in Canada, or the state wide decriminalisation of cannabis in New York, we’re on board. 

Perhaps the greatest benefit of decriminalisation is that it lifts the burden on law enforcement, allowing them to ignore petty possession crimes like your grandmas edible stash for her arthritis, and focus on more serious, violent and organised criminal syndicates.

In fact, some people actually consider decriminalisation to be a better option than full legalisation. Take cannabis for example; by way of legalisation, the government takes complete control, regulating the production and distribution of the product. It stands to reason that when implementing mass reform on a system that has to date been operating independently, you’re bound to wrinkle a few feathers, indeed has been the case in Canada. 

At the same time, decriminalization is a halfway solution that only relaxes the criminal penalties around personal consumption, while still imposing restrictions on growing and selling the product. The resulting ambiguity of the laws often make way for the criminals to run the black markets, while scaring the civilian population from operating freely. 

Legalization, with all its flaws, is arguably the safer option for the community as a whole. There are several added benefits, which include the economic returns by way of taxes, the reassessment of law enforcement priorities, and the vacating of cannabis related offences.

Regardless of which side of the fence you may find yourself on, legalization or decriminalization, people the world over are invariably opening their eyes to the healing potential of the cannabis plant.

The truth is, there may never ever be a perfect system to produce, distribute and regulate a plant so perfect as cannabis.

As we move closer to cannabis legalization, the issue of cannabis and youth is increasingly on my mind. You see, my son turned thirteen last week.

I recently had an unexpected career change after I was approached by a friend who was looking for a marketing manager for a startup, the catch was it was in the cannabis business. Coming upon Flower & Freedom in my professional life has been a surprise in more ways than one. I never imagined that I would be discussing cannabis consumption as a part of my career, but here I am. All of a sudden I find myself in the middle of a movement with huge socio-cultural implications that, whether you realize it or not, affects us all.

In the background, these changes have been brewing for many years, but with the view from my everyday vanilla life, it feels like it has happened overnight.

The Future of Cannabis Consumption

By now you may have realized that I am relatively inexperienced when it comes to cannabis. As part of my induction at Flower & Freedom, I had the opportunity to attend a cannabis education course in Vancouver. Here I learned about the basic science that underscores its medicinal uses, the chemical interactions within the body, and a very thorough botany lesson to boot. I also learned that young people have increasingly been opting out of the common method of smoking cannabis (well hallelujah! Let’s high five for this win parents), in favour of alternative methods of consumption. Yet, when I recently heard the “don’t smoke and drive” ads on the radio, it struck me just how out of touch we are on the subject.

I’m now much more aware of the reality that my son is going to grow up in a world where, instead of getting someone to ‘bootleg’ at the liquor store for beer, kids will be conspiring on how to get cannabis concentrates to ‘dab’ from the local cannabis retail store. To be perfectly honest, until very recently I didn’t even know what a cannabis dab was (it’s a method of consumption that uses concentrated forms of cannabis, which are heated to a high temperatures, and have a very strong euphoric effect) and although it’s not likely to be something I will ever consume, if it can be purchased at various retail outlets, it’s something parents should be aware of.

Cannabis Legalization Brings New Realities and Limits

Like some of the Flower and Freedom audience, this is all very new to me and so it’s important to recognize that as a society we have more experience with alcohol consumption and therefore we have a general understanding of our limits. In contrast, many adults do not have experience consuming cannabis for anything other than being ‘high’, which comes with the baggage of cultural and social stigmas alongside some wildly inaccurate ‘facts’. I believe that we should be actively engaging in conversations on platforms such as Her(B)Life, Flower & Freedom and the like so that we can discuss the benefits and the pitfalls of cannabis consumption.

I now know that there are aspects to cannabis that can have incredible health benefits - part of my role at Flower & Freedom is exploring how cannabis can be consumed as a tool for fitness - but like anything, I do think that cannabis can be over-consumed.

how can we be student and teacher at the same time?

It’s our job as parents to ensure our children are prepared for the world they live in, yet the prospect of being the first wave of parents that need to have this conversation in a legalized landscape weighs heavily on my mind. 

How do we even broach the subject of cannabis with the current perceptions of the plant being so drastically different from when we grew up? Where do we start? And how can we be student and teacher at the same time?

I started by educating myself and learning about the different products that are available on the market already. Regardless of whether they’re legal or ‘grey’, if they’re available for purchase at cannabis retail stores, I should know about it. I also visited a cannabis store for the first time, with a knowledgeable colleague who walked me through the myriad of products and their various uses.

For me, it’s less about knowing everything about cannabis and more about challenging the pitfalls of over-consumption. I am learning more and more every day about the therapeutic properties of cannabis in its many different forms, and I’m honestly amazed at what this plant has to offer, I can certainly see the benefits of legalization, but I can also see the potential for misuse among youth and I plan to be ahead of the conversation with my son.

 It’s time to get real with this plant because access to cannabis is right around the corner.