Canada on Wednesday became the first industrialized Western nation to legalize cannabis as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government completed a 2015 campaign pledge.
Beforehand, only medical marijuana had been legal in the North American country.
A regulated industry:
- While Canadians must be 18 years old to purchase cannabis, several provinces have bumped up the age requirement. Quebec is pushing the legal age to 21 years.
- Canadians can possess up to 30 grams (1.05 ounces) and grow up to four plants at home.
- Some provinces have imposed a profit cap, such as Newfoundland, which has limited total profits on cannabis to 8 percent.
- Smoking cannabis is prohibited everywhere where tobacco smoking is banned.
- Cannabis concentrates, liquids for vaporizers and edibles are still banned under current legislation. Health authorities say they do not have sufficient evidence about their impact on public health.
Read more: German parliament legalizes cannabis for medical consumption
Many young Canadians attended countdown events to welcome legalization
Targeting crime
Former Toronto police chief Bill Blair, the first Canadian minister for organized crime reduction, said the move is aimed at upending the black market, which criminal organizations have greatly benefited from.
"For almost a century, criminal enterprises had complete control of this market, 100 percent of its production and distribution, and they profited in the billions of dollars each year. I suspect they're not going to go gently into the night," he told AFP news agency.
German economist Justus Haucap of the Heinrich-Heine University in Dusseldorf told DW that tackling criminal networks will take time.
"It is not possible to dry up the black market from one day to the next," said Haucap. "This takes time."
Read more: In Germany, it's a painstaking path to medical marijuana
Better bud
Haucap told DW that by regulating the industry, the final product should technically be of a better quality than what can be purchased on the streets.
"Legal cannabis will be quality-controlled," Haucap said, noting that illegal cannabis often contains pesticides and other additives potentially-dangerous additives.
Read more: 5 facts about cannabis laws in Germany
Enthusiasm for weed is reaching new highs
'Uncontrolled experiment'
But not everyone is on board with the move. Diane Kelsall, who serves as editor-in-chief of the Canadian Medial Association Journal, has described the legalization of cannabis as "a national, uncontrolled experiment in which the profits of cannabis producers and tax revenues are squarely pitched against the health of Canadians."
Read more: Germany's medicinal cannabis market struggles with short supply and high costs
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Mother Nature's drug lab
Cannabis - smoke it or wear it
The cannabis plant contains the psychoactive substance tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). It makes people feel euphoric and relaxed and can also alleviate pain. The flowers of infertilized female plants contain particularly high amounts of THC, that's why they are taken for producing marihuana. Some cannabis species do not contain any THC at all and are grown for fiber production.
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Mother Nature's drug lab
Better than aspirin
Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) produces - you guessed it - opium. To harvest it, you simply incise the capsules and let the white latex exude and dry. Opium contains high amounts of morphine, the strongest existing pain medication. A chemical variation of morphine provides the semi-synthetic drug heroin.
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Mother Nature's drug lab
Fancy a magic mushroom?
Mushrooms are chemical artists - some of them even produce psychoactive substances. Among them: this grey-coloured Pluteus salicinus. It grows on wood and contains psilocybin, which causes visual and mental hallucinations similar to LSD. Side effects are nausea and panic attacks.
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Mother Nature's drug lab
Drug snack to go
Leaves of the coca plant harbour chemical compounds similar to cocaine. They alleviate pain and act as stimulants. In many countries in Latin America, chewing on raw coca leaves is quite common. It helps tourists deal better with altitude sickness, too. By fermenting and drying the leaves and processing them chemically, cocaine is produced.
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Mother Nature's drug lab
Beautiful poisonous flowers
Angel's trumpets are beautiful to look at but you should refrain from tasting them. All parts of the plant contain alkaloids - chemical compounds with strong effects on the human body. When you eat or smoke the plant, your heart rate will increase and you will start to hallucinate. As with all natural drugs, finding the right dosage is difficult. Deadly accidents occur quite often.
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Mother Nature's drug lab
Bummer with thornapple
On the internet, poisonous Datura plants - also known as thornapples - are advertised as natural drugs as well. Really not a good idea: The plant induces strong hallucinations, sometimes with a complete loss of reality. People tend to hurt themselves severely under its influence.
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Mother Nature's drug lab
Hawaiian Babies
Argyreia nervosa is native to Asia, even though the plant is called Hawaiian baby woodrose. The seeds of this climbing vine contain ergine, a compound similar to LSD. It causes colourful visions and euphoria but also nausea, prickling and psychoses. Overdosing can happen easily as one seed alone already has a strong effect.
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Mother Nature's drug lab
Ecstasy with cactus
The peyote cactus in Mexico and Texas is full of mescaline, a hallucinogenic compound that is illegal under the international Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Mescaline alters thinking processes and one's sense of time and self-awareness. The cactus is cut into pieces and eaten or boiled into a tea. The cactus species is now listed on the Red List as vulnerable.
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Mother Nature's drug lab
Beware of nutmeg
Nutmeg in high amounts can act as a drug, since it contains the hallucinogenic compound myristicin. But don't worry: you'll never reach the necessary dosage if you only use nutmeg as a spice. Getting high on nutmeg seems a bad idea anyway, as side effects include headaches, nausea and diarrhea.
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Mother Nature's drug lab
Psychedelic leaves?
Yes, it's true: the evergreen kratom tree (Mitragyna speciosa), native to Southeast Asia, incorporates the opioid-like compound mitragynine into its leaves. In traditional medicine, the leaves are chewed to relieve pain, increase appetite and treat diarrhea. But they can also be used to mix drug cocktails.
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Mother Nature's drug lab
One of nature's most dangerous killers
The tobacco plant produces poisonous and addictive chemicals, such as nicotine and other alkaloids, and harbours them inside its leaves. With this poisonous cocktail, the plant tries to ward off animals that might want to eat it. When the leaves are dried and smoked, the chemicals enter the human body - together with many cancerous substances generated by burning tabacco.
Author: Brigitte Osterath
ls/msh (AFP, AP)
