Legalization in Canada Results in Fewer Incidents Between Youth and Cops

Cannabis legalization in Canada has reduced incidents between young people and police in the country. According to data released earlier this spring,.

The results of this study were published in a journal in April drug and alcohol addiction, A marijuana law enacted five years ago in Canada was “associated with a significant reduction in police-reported cannabis-related offenses” among citizens aged 12 to 17, it found.

Researchers at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto examined police data from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2021 and found that young women committed 4.04 crimes per day, a 62.1% decrease. and found that young men committed 12.42 crimes per day. , which corresponds to a reduction of 53%.

The Cannabis Act officially took effect in Canada in October 2018, legalizing recreational marijuana use by adults over the age of 18.

“The results suggest that the cannabis law’s impact on reducing cannabis-related youth crime is sustained, and is consistent with reducing juvenile cannabis-related criminalization and the concomitant impact on Canada’s criminal justice system.” It supports the purpose of the law,” the researchers conclude.

The researchers added, “There was no evidence of a link between cannabis legalization and patterns of property crime or violent crime.”

NORML quoted in its report: The researchers wrote: “The cannabis law reduced the national pattern of male and female police-reported juvenile cannabis-related crimes by about 50 percent to 60 percent in the approximately three years after legalization.” was associated with a sustained and significant decline in the percentage of ‘…that the involvement of the police and the Canadian criminal justice system in cannabis-related criminal cases represents significant social and personal harm to young people. Given , it is reasonable to conclude that our findings show benefits associated with conducting cannabis-related criminal cases. cannabis law. “

The researchers found that “The Canadian Cannabis Act 2018, which allows youth to possess up to 5g of dried cannabis or equivalent for personal We have previously reported that they are related.” Cannabis-related crime has been reported among young people. “

This finding is consistent with another recent study also published in the journal. drug and alcohol addiction, The study showed that recreational marijuana use and the legalization of cannabis sales in Canada did not lead to an increase in car accidents.

“[N]Any of the CCAs [Canadian Cannabis Act] Not NCS [number of cannabis stores per capita] is associated with concomitant changes in (traffic safety) outcomes. … in the first year of CRUL [cannabis recreational use laws] Implementation in Toronto, number of crashes, traffic casualties, no significant change in KSI [all road users killed or severely injured] was observed,” said the study.

In another study, Similar results were obtained for 2021 and beyond, suggesting that “enforcement of the Cannabis Law significantly affected the post-legalization pattern of traffic injury emergency room visits for all drivers, and more specifically for youth drivers.” There was no evidence that it was associated with significant changes.” “

“Given that Canada’s cannabis law requires the Canadian Parliament to review the public health impact of the law by 2023, the findings of this study are relevant to the calculation of harm and benefit in Canada. As well as evaluating, as quoted by NORML, the study states:

With the declaration of marijuana legalization, some in Canada have shifted their focus to the next frontier of drug reform. Earlier this year, activists launched a petition calling on lawmakers to legalize the medical use of psilocybin mushrooms.