Medicine, Moral Panic, and the International Context of Canadian Cannabis Prohibition

Abstract

Amongst controlled substances in Canada, cannabis now occupies the anomalous position of being both a medicinal and recreational drug, the legal status of which is currently governed by two parallel systems—an intentionally constructed legislative framework borne out of a federal election mandate, and a medical access program originally formed through a series of reluctant governmental concessions resulting from various high court cases. Across the world, lawmakers and public health officials are increasingly calling for an approach to drugs premised on the principles of education, harm reduction, and restricted legal access. In this sense, Canada’s experiment in creating a national and government regulated legal market in cannabis serves as an integral part of a wider reconsideration of the multilateral policy framework underlying official attitudes towards illicit substances. This article examines the relationship between this international regulatory apparatus, Canadian policymakers in the legal and healthcare sectors, and the origins, evolution, and eventual abolition of cannabis prohibition in Canada. It draws on an eclectic variety of sources, including specialized monographs, peer-reviewed articles, contemporary journals, Parliamentary debates, governmental commissions, and reports by the League of Nations and United Nations.