Guardian: Marijuana may cause Canada's economic comedown

If you've been paying attention to some of the more peculiar side-effects of the global recession, you may have noticed that Canadians have been behaving uncharacteristically uppity of late. This new-found swagger is a result of Canada having the dubious distinction of being the "least-bad-rich-world-economy" – an honour that would be rather unimpressive if the rest of the G8 wasn't so persistently gloom-stricken.

While most wealthy economies are still stagnant, in decline or disrepair, the Canadian economy has outpaced allcomers and will avoid the possibility of a double-dip recession that continues to haunt the US. But beyond the chorus of self-congratulatory backslapping coming from Ottawa, there has emerged a new and immediate threat of economic crisis that is being willfully ignored by Canadian politicians.

This November, in an effort to increase tax revenue, California will hold a referendum on whether or not to legalise the cultivation and use of marijuana. If passed, the change in law would be devastating to the Canadian economy, halting the flow of billions of dollars from the US into Canada and eventually forcing hundreds of thousands into unemployment.

Over the past 20 years, Canada has developed a substantial and highly profitable marijuana industry that is almost completely dependent on the US market. Between 60 and 90% of the marijuana produced domestically is exported to the US via cross-border smuggling operations. It's exactly like the alcohol prohibition of the 1920s, only far more sophisticated and more profitable. The establishment of a legal industry based in the US would likely cripple these exports overnight.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/aug/05/marijuana-industry-canada

The marijuana being exported was too pricey for the western Canadian market. The growers might give us a better deal if this Ca bill passes.

That is amazing, and quite interesting. Perhaps Canada should find a reasonable way to legalize and tax this in underground industry.

I have less and less respect for the Gaurdian the more I read them. First off, it's not going to crippl anything "overnight." Does the Gaurdian think that suddenly there would be a massive explosion of legal weed farms and distributors in even a one week period? Not to mention massive amounts of infrastructure would have to be in place for the regulation and such of all this stuff.

As well, though California is big buyer, there's 49 other states out there who are buying BC product. The fact the Gaurdian is trying to make it look as if Canada's economy is completely reliant on illegal drugs is the stupidest load of shit I've ever heard.

They really have turned to shit.