Sociology Professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah recently authored a post on The Broadbent Blog discussing the need for an approach to the cannabis legalization process in Canada that focuses on equity and reparation. The Broadbent Blog is affiliated with the Broadbent Institute, an independent organization dedicated to research for the promotion of democracy, equality and sustainability. In his blog post, Professor Owusu-Bempah discusses the inequalities that have arisen from the "War on Drugs" and suggests policy solutions for the future. Professor Owusu-Bempah is a professor of sociology at the U of T St. George and Mississauga campuses. His research interests include policing, youth marginalization and exclusion, and race, ethnicity and crime.
We have posted an excerpt of the blog post below.
Cannabis Legalization and Equity in Canada
Akwasi Owusu-Bempah | December 18, 2017
Recreational cannabis is almost legal in Canada, former cops are cashing in, yet our government is still hesitant to advance any measures that would repair some of the social damage caused by almost a century of cannabis prohibition.
This is not the first time I have written about this issue and I highly doubt it will be the last – the need for equity and reparations in Canada’s emerging cannabis industry. Despite rumblings of a conservative attempt to stall implementation, the Trudeau government looks set to legalize recreational cannabis sales in Canada in the summer of 2018. This move has been celebrated as a means of promoting public health, reducing criminalization, and bringing a multi-billion dollar industry from the black market into the legal one. However, these celebrations are misplaced unless both the federal regulations and various provincial legislation provide avenues for inclusion and a means of repairing the harms caused by Canada’s war on drugs. We need to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to participate in this growing economy, while also working to improve the lives of people criminalized for activities that will no longer be illegal.
There is no doubt that cannabis prohibition has had a significant negative impact on certain segments of the Canadian population. Over the past 15 years, Canadian police agencies have reported more than 800,000 cannabis possession “incidents” to Statistics Canada. As former Toronto Police Chief and current Liberal Drug Czar, Bill Blair, has previously pointed out, the enforcement of cannabis laws disproportionately affects marginalized and racialized communities. He should know; Between 2003 and 2013 the Toronto Police Service arrested Black people for minor cannabis possession at three times the rates of Whites in the city (Blair served as chief from 2005 to 2015). These disparate rates of arrest for possession contrast with data showing relatively similar rates of cannabis use across racial groups in Ontario. As a result, some of our most vulnerable populations have been burdened with a criminal record that limits their ability to participate fully in our society. For example, people with a criminal record have a harder time securing employment, thereby restricting earning potential and the contributions one can make financially to their families and communities. Minor cannabis offences can also serve as a “gateway” into the criminal justice system for people who become “known to police,” which increasing their chances of further criminalization and social marginalization.
How does this relate to the emerging industry? At present, the laws and regulations stipulate that people with a criminal record are to be denied the security clearance needed in order to work for a licenced medical cannabis producer. The federal government is currently conducting consultations on whether those with minor cannabis convictions (“such as simple possession or small scale cultivation of cannabis plants”) should be able to obtain a security clearance and participate in the legal recreational industry. Of course they should – we are legalizing personal cannabis possession and small scale cultivation precisely because we recognize that prohibiting the substance and these activities was counterproductive. To add insult to injury, many of the most prominent law enforcers in the country, the drug warriors whose war is seemingly ending, are now themselves cashing in on legal cannabis. In addition to Bill Blair, who has made a second career on cannabis, his predecessor at the Toronto Police Service, former Chief Julian Fantino (yes, the guy who as a conservative MP supported mandatory minimum jail sentences for people convicted of growing six cannabis plants) has partnered with the ex-deputy commissioner of the RCMP to form a cannabis business. A former deputy chief of the Toronto Police Service as well as the previous head of the RCMP drug squad are also active in the industry. To many observers, the involvement of former law enforcement officials in legal cannabis is both hypocritical and offensive. This is doubly true if we do not open up access to the industry while at the same time actively working to correct historical (and contemporary) wrongs.
Read the full article here.