The Quebec government recently released its framework for what the legal cannabis landscape will look like in the province.
Some of the rules make sense, but others discard policies that have worked in the province for decades when it comes to alcohol in favour of restrictive policies from across the river in Ontario.
One of the provisions getting the most attention is the fact that Quebec will not allow anyone to grow their own cannabis.
The province justified this decision by saying that policing home grow-ops will make enforcement a nightmare.

Instead of coming up with a way to police home grow-ops, the province will make them illegal.
It seems the province is concerned that people will turn their homes into full-scale industrial grow-ops. This doesn’t seem realistic. Are they worried that people will have too much cannabis if they have the ability to grow on their own?
Apparently that isn’t a concern because the province also wants to allow citizens to carry up to 150 grams of dried cannabis legally.
150 grams of dried cannabis is more than five ounces of pot – or upwards of a quarter-pound.
The only people who carry around a quarter-pound of cannabis are drug dealers – or Cheech and Chong.
This also shows the province isn’t really concerned with people having access to a large quantity of pot.
So why the opposition to home grow ops?
The simple answer: it’s too hard.
Instead of coming up with solutions that will make enforcement easier, it appears the province will just abandon sensible policy to make the job of police officers easier.
The police already dedicate a substantial amount of man-hours to policing marijuana, despite the fact that cannabis-related charges have plummeted across the country.
Last year, police handed out more than 17,000 possession charges across the country. Considering legalization has been on the agenda since the Trudeau Liberals came to office, it seems strange that so many people are still being charged under a law that will disappear in a matter of months.
Not to mention the fact that 17,000 charges indicates that police are still spending a large portion of time policing marijuana.
The government should set a similar growing limit to the four cannabis plants that will be allowed by Ontario.
Enforcement doesn’t even need to be that difficult. If a customer’s hydro bill spikes in the months after legalization, there is a good chance that person is growing cannabis. Surely there has to be a way to determine what those hydro increases would look like if someone is growing more than the allotted amount.
As it stands right now, what kind of policing methods are in place when it comes to growing cannabis? If someone decides to grow four plants in my home, what’s stopping me?
Nothing really. My neighbours might complain but the police aren’t poring over my hydro bill looking for indiscretions.
However, if I decided to grow 40 plants in my home, my hydro bill might raise a couple of eyebrows. Seems like a place to start when we talk about enforcement options.
But the government wants to hear none of it.
This is all the more disappointing when comparing Quebec to our provincial neighbours in Ontario.
Ontario is notorious for poor policy when it comes to alcohol sales, which is the main comparison when looking at cannabis.
Ontario only recently decided to allow businesses other than a government-sanctioned cartel (The Beer Store) to sell booze – even then, nothing more than a six pack lest these businesses start to compete with the Beer Store.
On the other hand, Quebec has approached alcohol sales with a modicum of common sense by allowing alcohol to be sold in several different types of businesses.
But this common sense goes out the window when it comes to cannabis sales in the province.
Quebec plans to set up 15 stores called the Societé Québécoise du Cannabis (SQC) that will sell marijuana.
When Ontario released its plan for legal pot, the province committed to opening 150 stores by 2020. And even that was criticized as being too few. Quebec wants to scale that down tenfold – which makes no sense.
Despite the ham-fisted attempt at this legislation, a degree of common sense can be found.
It makes sense to allow people to smoke everywhere that tobacco is currently allowed. You can’t smoke anywhere near children and the government plans on making it illegal to smoke on university and college campuses.
This overcomes one of the main sticking points to cannabis legalization: keeping it out of the hands of our young people.
Which is why the jury is still out on setting the legal age at 18.
Ontario recently set the legal age to purchase and consume cannabis at 19 – the same legal age as alcohol.
Many experts have said that cannabis use can have a negative impact on those whose brains are still developing. Does setting the legal age at 19 really protect that many more people? Does the extra year of brain development make a big difference?
It’s doubtful the difference is substantial, but it does combat the optics of children easily getting their hands on cannabis.
It appears that these policies are designed to ensure that the province has a monopoly on legal cannabis, thus ensuring all of the money stays in government coffers.
Instead of focusing exclusively on the province’s bottom line, maybe legislators should put more effort into eliminating the black market, which will likely remain alive and well in light of this legislation.

Chris Lowrey