Mike Hosking: Canada’s example shows the dangers of legalising cannabis

NewsTalk ZB 28 November 2019
Family First Comment: “The legalisation in Canada had the same sort of ideological bollocks wrapped around it as the pro dopers are pedalling here. It’s a health issue, we want to offer support, we want to control the market, we want the bad guys out of the business. One year on none of it has happened. In fact, quite the opposite, the illegal side of the trade has flourished.”
#saynopetodope

I think we can be somewhat grateful to Canada for legalising cannabis a good year or so ahead of us. They’re making a complete hash – no pun intended – of it.

This week’s news is the massive over supply: the market went nuts, grew it like there was no tomorrow, so now they have warehouses full of it. And you know what happens to the price when the supply side is out of kilter – yes, it crashes.

That’s the trouble when it comes to drugs. Cheap drugs then lead to greater uptake, which is fine if its fruit and veggies but not if it’s the sort of product that leads to dependence and psychosis.

The legalisation in Canada had the same sort of ideological bollocks wrapped around it as the pro dopers are pedalling here. It’s a health issue, we want to offer support, we want to control the market, we want the bad guys out of the business.

One year on none of it has happened. In fact, quite the opposite, the illegal side of the trade has flourished.

And here’s the simple truth about government vs private enterprise when it comes to business of which pedalling dope is: the private sector always wins. It wins on agility, creativity, flexibility and street smarts.

They’re not driven by policy, by politics, by agencies, by bureaucracy, they’re driven by a bottom line: you want it, they got it.

So not only do the Canadians have two and a half years’ worth of supply in warehouses. They also have the psychological things they didn’t think of.
READ MORE: https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/mike-hosking-breakfast/opinion/mike-hosking-canadas-example-shows-the-dangers-of-legalising-cannabis/