Finnish Perspective on Canadian Cannabis Legalization

The editorial team of a Finnish newspaper investigated the changes brought about by legalization in Canada—in legislation, production, and consumption.

Canadian Joel Podersky spent all his savings on this: a plot of land on a sunny southern slope near a bypass road, two large greenhouses, and a not-yet-finished yurt. In the greenhouse grows a green plant with many names: cannabis, marijuana, weed, pot… In English, it’s called “pot” or “weed.” Watching Podersky care for his plants, it feels wrong to call them by such dismissive names. He demonstrates how to fight pests with honey and enthusiastically talks about regenerative agriculture—a concept also embraced by one of Finland’s wealthiest people, Ilkka Herlin.

Podersky’s harvest also requires serious investment. One greenhouse cost him about 200,000 Canadian dollars (130,000 euros, about nine million rubles). The land cost over a million Canadian dollars. Podersky got the money from selling his apartment in Vancouver. He also comes from a family of professors and inherited some wealth. Now, all his savings are invested here: in land and in plants that were illegal to grow for a long time.

In 2018, Canada became the second country in the world to legalize recreational marijuana use, after Uruguay. Medical cannabis has been legal in Canada since 2001. However, simply ending “prohibition” was far from the whole story.

Canada’s provinces were required to decide how legal cannabis markets would be created and regulated in their territories. All ten provinces became a kind of “experimental laboratory” for the rest of the world.

There are 11 such “laboratories” in the United States. Slightly more American states have legalized medical marijuana. Some have decriminalized marijuana use, following the example of the Netherlands.

This idea is also being promoted as a civic initiative in Finland. The initiative has already gathered over 50,000 signatures and will be submitted to parliament, although Prime Minister Antti Rinne has said the government does not intend to push for a legal amendment. Joonas Soukkio, head of the youth wing of the Finnish Centre Party, is pushing for full legalization rather than just decriminalization—wanting to follow Canada’s example.

The Centre Party’s position isn’t as unusual as it might seem. In Canada, cannabis is tied to current agricultural and industrial policy—areas also handled by centrists.

Regulation and Challenges of Legalization

Fans whir in Podersky’s greenhouse to reduce humidity and prevent mold. He spreads out the flowers to let them dry. “It’s the same as with thyme or rosemary,” he says. Podersky wishes cannabis were treated like any other plant, but that’s not the case yet.

Anyone who has followed alcohol policy debates in Finland can imagine what it’s like to create rules for buying, selling, and using drugs from scratch. Canadian politicians had to answer endless questions: Where will cannabis be sold? Who will sell it? How will it be produced? Can it be advertised? Will there be age limits? How much can be bought at once? How will quantities be measured?

Will home growing be allowed? How much? Where can cannabis be used? Can you drive after using it? How will intoxication be measured? Can cannabis be grown for export? Can it be imported? How will it be taxed? How will tax revenue be used? What penalties will there be for breaking the rules?

Legal doesn’t mean “free.” Many marijuana enthusiasts feel that legalization replaced prohibition with a jungle of regulations. Podersky gets frustrated, raises his voice, and runs his hand through his hair. Oligarchs! Corporations! Greedy government! He’s angry at everyone. “This isn’t legalization at all!”

Podersky has a permit to grow cannabis for personal medical use. He has a prescription for anxiety disorder. It seems to be a serious case, as there are dozens of plants in his greenhouse. “I’m planning to get a permit to sell as well. At this stage, I need two permits: one for growing, one for processing. And another, separate one for seed production,” he explains. And that’s not all. “When I get the sales permit, I’ll probably lose my medical use permit. That’s okay, because this place has two addresses, and I also own the neighboring plot.”

Podersky is now well acquainted with Canada’s legal system. He says that meeting all the bureaucratic requirements will require an additional half a million dollars in investment. He calls the current situation “Prohibition 2.0.”

The West Coast and the Black Market

On Canada’s west coast, in British Columbia, people have been growing and smoking marijuana for decades. The region shares the same attitudes as California, now the largest legal marijuana market. Many hippies, artists, and intellectuals live on the coastal islands and in small towns. During the Vietnam War, tens of thousands of Americans fled the draft by moving here, leaving a mark on the region’s liberal culture—including cannabis cultivation.

Many cleared small plots in the forests, playing cat-and-mouse with officials, but the vast distances and low population density favored those growing marijuana for a living. Before legalization, organized crime was only partially involved in cannabis production in Canada. Researchers say most growers had small plots and weren’t involved in other crimes, let alone violence.

Many in the illegal market looked forward to going legal, but the process proved difficult as initial investments rose. Forest plots didn’t meet legal requirements. Small growers found themselves in the same position as small craft brewers in Finland: you can’t just sell your product directly to consumers.

Others, however, have done well. For example, former Toronto police chief and current minister Julian Fantino started a business in the field. In 2015, Fantino called the idea of legalization “just wrong” and once compared legalizing marijuana to legalizing murder. But times change. Most cannabis businesses are in Alberta, where business has traditionally been lightly regulated, and now cannabis is just another business.

More than 9,000 people now work in Canada’s cannabis industry—four times more than a year ago. Still, the sector is unstable; some companies have already had to lay off hundreds of workers. The counter at a Vancouver marijuana shop looks like a hipster café: instead of cappuccino, latte, and espresso, you can buy “Utopia,” “Highland,” “Sunset,” or “Blue Cheese.”

“I like this one best,” the saleswoman tells two young women. “‘Blue Dream’ creates a cloud of euphoria and is great for daytime use.”

The shop feels more like a cosmetics store: no scary bongs, just pastel colors and ceramics. The owner, Andrea Dobbs, is Swedish and has extensive experience in the field. She opened Village Bloomery in 2015.

Retail, Regulation, and the Ongoing Black Market

The city allowed marijuana shops to open even before legalization, calling them dispensaries and—at least officially—selling medical marijuana. Dobbs’s shop offered a wide selection: besides smokable marijuana, there were capsules, tea, bath foams, and creams. Now, dispensaries are closed, and Dobbs’s shop officially serves only recreational users. Staff can no longer talk about health benefits, which frustrates Dobbs. She discovered cannabis in middle age to ease menopause symptoms. “The salesperson was a young guy. He was very embarrassed when I started talking about cramps and chest pain.”

Her first experience with marijuana in her youth was unsuccessful, but now it helps, Dobbs says. She also thought of opening a shop with an aesthetic that would appeal to both middle-aged women and teenage stoners—a good business strategy, since cannabis use among Canadians over 65 is rising fast. Seniors are increasingly joining the group of cannabis users and are likely to buy legally.

Still, legalization has made life harder for marijuana retailers. Dobbs lists a long list of changes: the quality was worse—at least at first. Cannabis could no longer be bought directly from growers; you had to go through wholesalers. Licensed producers became new competitors, with better prices and permission to sell online. Now, shop windows must be covered so no one can see inside. All products must be kept in closed cabinets. Customers can’t touch or smell the product. Previously, sellers could scoop out the desired amount from a glass jar for the customer. Now, everything is different. “There are so many pointless new rules.”

How’s business now? Worse than before legalization, Dobbs says. New customers make up about a third of the total. A third of old customers remain, but two-thirds have disappeared—likely turning to the black market, where prices are lower and quality and service are often better, even though it’s illegal. According to The Globe and Mail, only 12 to 30 percent of marijuana in Canada is bought legally. It’s still easy to call a familiar dealer or grower. Incidentally, ending alcohol prohibition didn’t stop bootleggers either.

The challenges of the new system are reflected in the stock prices of Canadian cannabis companies: in the first year, shares of the largest companies fell by at least 50%.

Regular cannabis use in Canada hasn’t increased. According to the national statistics center, 17% of Canadians over 15 used cannabis in the past three months—a figure unchanged from the previous year, despite recreational legalization.

Dobbs hopes the laws will be relaxed. “When people realize the sky hasn’t fallen and marijuana hasn’t turned us all into zombies.”

Personal Stories: The Old Guard

Joel Podersky drives down a dark country road three times before finding the right intersection. They’re headed to a dilapidated shed with boarded-up windows. Fifty-five-year-old Robbie isn’t officially allowed to live here, but he’s never been one for officialdom. Robbie says he seeks a joyful state from cannabis—not the kind that makes you want to lie on the couch and play video games for hours. “I’m looking for the kind of high where you want to put on old disco hits, pull out the vacuum cleaner, clean for hours, and sing ‘Y.M.C.A.’”

Robbie, who grew up in England, grew his first marijuana plants in 1994 at a London cemetery where his friend worked. He bought seeds in Amsterdam and learned plant care from his mother, an excellent gardener. “My mom taught me; she was a wonderful gardener.”

A few years later, Robbie moved to British Columbia with a Canadian woman. It was a world of new opportunities: there was space and freedom, and it seemed no one cared whether he grew cannabis or not. “In England, 50 million people are always checking up on you.”

Robbie stayed in Canada and watched the legalization process: court cases, campaigns, elections. He says he was caught growing marijuana three times. During a police raid, a gun was held to his forehead. And for what? “Now everyone just talks about markets, markets, markets. Brands, brands, brands.”

He has no place in those markets. You need investors and official support, which he doesn’t have. “I’m a real pirate.” Robbie’s story reminded me of an old Finnish song by Juha Vainio about a smuggler whose adventures ended with the end of prohibition. But Robbie hasn’t stopped growing marijuana. In the next room, he has four plants, grown with a special permit. “But now, no one comes to check anymore.”