February 22, 2016
SHARE
COMMONS
41
Legal Weed is Bad for Poor People
We talk to a Liberal MP and a criminal defense lawyer about what legalisation means for the people who built the markets.

Canada has had a marijuana industry for a long time. It just hasn’t always been legal. People in the business have often ended up in prison, barred from crossing the border or denied future job prospects.

Now that the Liberals are planning to legalize weed, what will happen to those people?

Andray talks to Liberal MP for Beaches-East York Nathaniel Erskine-Smith and criminal defence lawyer John Struthers.

Following the interview, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith emailed us this message:

“I’ve been thinking more about the issue of reparations / rectifying the human costs of marijuana prohibition, and I’m not convinced that “reparations” is a helpful way of looking at the problem. For example, as was likely obvious from the interview, I don’t support Andray’s suggestion of providing grants or subsidies to former dealers to get back into the business. On the other hand, I do think we will need to review support initiatives for those granted amnesty / pardoned, in order to ensure that such individuals are given every opportunity to move past their previous records/incarceration, and given every opportunity to succeed.”

More from this series
Nearly 1.4 million Canadians and almost 50 million Americans are involved in multi-level marketing.
November 29, 2023
Mary-Jayne Blackmore is one of the oldest children of Winston Blackmore, the most famous polygamist in Canada. 
November 22, 2023
The media have portrayed the Raelians as not just a cult, but a strange phantasmagoria of extraterrestrials, orgies and clones. But its followers insist it is the only true path forward for humanity.
November 15, 2023
The Cult Wars have been raging for decades.
November 8, 2023
Is it even possible to “brainwash” anyone?
November 1, 2023
He’s often called the Devil of De Courcy Island for good reason.
October 25, 2023
The idea of cults has become an omnipresent part of our discourse. But what even is a cult? And why have we become so intrigued by these groups?
October 18, 2023
Uncovering the stories of both devotees and dissenters, this season of COMMONS will go beyond the true crime cliches and will make you question everything you thought you knew about cults.
October 4, 2023
all podcasts arrow All Podcasts
COMMONS