COVER STORY
position of enforcement. I think the
best way is to leverage the expertise of
people who understand enforcement
and regulation.” There should also be
representation from such areas as
public health, planning and fire.
“That’s the approach we’ve been
taking, and I think it helps,” he says,
“because no one person can handle all
these things.”
In its statements about the proposed
new legislation, the federal govern-
ment has emphasized that “the current
approach to cannabis doesn’t work.”
Certainly, many Canadians treat the
use of marijuana less like a felony and
more like a guilty pleasure. In 2012, a
Canadian Community Health Survey
found that 43 per cent of Canadians
over the age of 14 had tried marijuana
at least once, and 12.2 per cent reported
having used it in the past year. A 2016
survey of 1,000 Canadians conducted
by Nanos for CTV found 69 per cent at
least somewhat in favour of marijuana
legalization. Health Canada reports
that by the end of 2016, a flood of almost
130,000 Canadians had signed up with
licensed producers of medical mari-
juana, up 32 per cent since the end of
September 2016.
Canadians have made it clear that
they want adults to have legal access
to cannabis while young people are
protected from its health risks, and
Canada is part of a growing pool
of jurisdictions legalizing posses-
sion, consumption and production
of moderate amounts. In the U.S.,
Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine,
Massachusetts,
Nevada,
Oregon,
Washington state and Washington
D.C. have all legalized marijuana, to
greater or lesser degrees. Nonetheless,
the process will likely be a challenging
one for Ontario municipalities over the
coming months and years.
YOUR ONTARIO
EMPLOYMENT LAW PROFESSIONAL
Municipal Integrity Commissioner
Workplace Investigator
Code of Conduct Matters
Policy Review and Training
519-317-2227
[email protected]
korablaw.ca
MUNICIPAL MONITOR
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