Why Buy Legal Cannabis Over the “Black Market”
Now that cannabis is legal in Canada you can not look anywhere without seeing a brick and mortar legal cannabis dispensary close to your home. With the increase of store popping up near you some may see it as a negative consequence due to lack of rules for distance between stores. However, at Canada Buds we feel that in this congested market that it is an amazing opportunity to combat the Black Market, and all the misconceptions that go along with it. Below let's go over the positive notes that we like to highlight to customers asking the burning question, why choose to legally buy cannabis in Canada vs. the Black Market.
Cutting Out the Black Market
Up until recent years, the black market was really the only place to find marijuana. Sure, everyone knows “a guy” or a friend’s cousin had the hookup, but where did they get it from?
Chances are they knew someone who knew a neighbour who knew that buddy who was a drug dealer or involved in organized crime. Some of those drug dealers even had ties to more dangerous organizations in other countries.
The legalization of marijuana either put them out of business or made them go legit. Now, the black market is shrinking and that’s a fact, only 40% of cannabis consumers turn to the black market in Canada for their marijuana needs. Cannabis dispensaries are licenced, registered and regulated provincially. They are also taxed which helps the economy in this crazy time in the world. That is excellent for your normal day to day consumer bad news for the criminals.
True Quality Control
With the recent fentanyl/opioid problem thriving throughout the country, it makes it hard for the customer to know exactly what they’re getting when they purchase marijuana off the street. Legalizing marijuana, on the other hand, immediately creates a set of standards for quality and safety control.
Now, users will know they’re getting exactly what they’re paying for. With real and accurate testing and quality control of every product that goes on the market, the consumer can sleep easy at night knowing that they have consumed the safest top quality marijuana in Canada.
Improved quality and safety control also translates into less of a burden on the medical system. There is less of a risk of serious problems occurring due to overdoses on unknown substances hidden in the marijuana that is sold on the streets.
Tax Revenue
One of the biggest pros that have come from the legalization debate is that of increased tax revenue. That money can be used to fix roads, fund public projects, improve schools, hire more police and firefighters…the list goes on and on.
Since 2018, Canadians have purchased $11 billion worth of cannabis, while the companies responsible for the production and sale of legal pot have spent $29 billion in capital expenditures during that time. Of the tax revenue generated, about $1 billion came from direct contributions to government revenue, while another $2.9 billion was sourced from sales and excise taxes. The remaining $11.2 billion was modelled from both indirect and induced tax sources.
Cutting Down on Drug Related Violence
Gang drug violence is very real part of life in many urban areas around the country. But the legalization of recreational marijuana would remove one of those sources of dispute.
Provinces have seen a decrease in crimes involving marijuana. That benefits not just their safety, but the safety of the public at large who were often innocent victims of gang-related drug violence. In 2020, the rate of cannabis-related incidents under the Cannabis Act and Controlled Drugs and Substances Act dropped 25% from the previous years. Police reported a total of 12,591 incidents, representing a rate of 33 incidents per 100,000 population. Also in 2020, the rate of offences related to importation or exportation accounted for the largest decrease among Cannabis Act offences, dropping 31% from 29 incidents per 100,000 to 20 incidents per 100,000. In total, there were 3,211 fewer incidents of importation or exportation under the Cannabis Act in 2020.
Allowing the Courts and Police to Deal with Major Crime
Legalization of medical and recreational marijuana would do two very important things: Provide the police and the courts with more money (through tax revenue). Also give them more time to focus on more violent crimes
Better funding means more individuals to handle the load. And more time means more attention paid to preventing violent crimes. Too often, both the police and the court system are overwhelmed with handling individuals brought in for simply possessing marijuana.
The problem was, under the law, those individuals had to be treated as though they were carrying meth, heroin, or cocaine. That flooded the court system and overcrowded our prison system. Legalizing marijuana relieves the pressure on these already-overworked public servants.
In Conclusion
Allowing legal cannabis to thrive is one of the best things that the government could have done to combat the black market. There have been struggles in the legal side, from supply chain issues to inventory issues and now over supply and saturation. Even with all these problems the industry, businesses and community are much better off than they were a few years ago. There is still lots of work to still to ensure the smooth transition from Black market to Legal. With Health Canada Reviewing their policies and regulations on the legal cannabis system we can see how the things that issues are now are slowly going to start to disappear as the legal cannabis industry goes mainstream.
At Canada Buds we welcome Health Canada’s revisions to the Regulations Under the Cannabis Act. We strive to be knowledgeable and proactive in our understanding of the laws that surround legal cannabis!!!