Weed Culture Still Budding

LettersJoey Grihalva — Published November 16, 2010

At an establishment called Coffeeshop, Johnny, a clerk, chatted us up, lamenting on the demise of the cannabis cafe in the Netherlands. I told the clerk to not be discouraged. I preached of a budding pot culture out West in which the blossoming may take place in Oaksterdam, California.

In that American state on Nov. 2, over seven million voters weighed in on Proposition 19, also known as the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act, which would have allowed local governments to legalize the sale of marijuana and control it like alcohol.

The narrow defeat (46 per cent in favour and 54 per cent opposed) suggests the legalization movement is gaining momentum and ready for serious debate in the mainstream.

Cannabis growers in B.C. may be relieved that their profits don’t risk dropping in the short-term, but most acknowledge that legalization in North America would benefit the overall economy in the long-term.

And they have good reason. A California public agency charged with tax administration and fee collection estimated that a $50 tax per ounce would generate $1.4 billion annually for the cash-strapped state. Canada, with its similarly sized population and consumption rates, could use that money to improve social services such as health care.

On the day of the vote, noted stoner comedian Doug Benson tweeted, “Don’t feel bad for me if Prop 19 doesn’t pass. Feel bad for people in the states that don’t even have medical marijuana.”

So where does medicinal marijuana stand in Montreal? After a slew of raids and postponed court dates, it is unclear what the fate of the local compassion clubs will be. Until then, serious patients will find a way to get their medicine and casual cannabis consumers will continue their act of civil disobedience.

—Joey Grihalva,
Graduate Diploma Journalism

This article originally appeared in Volume 31, Issue 14, published November 16, 2010.