Overpoliced and Underrepresented: Perspectives on Cannabis Legalization From Members of Racialized Communities in Canada

Jessica L Wiese; Tara Marie Watson; Akwasi Owusu-Bempah; Elaine Hyshka; Samantha Wells; Margaret Robinson; Tara Elton-Marshall; Sergio Rueda

doi:10.1177/00914509221142156

Overpoliced and Underrepresented: Perspectives on Cannabis Legalization From Members of Racialized Communities in Canada

Contemp Drug Probl. 2023 Mar;50(1):25-45. doi: 10.1177/00914509221142156. Epub 2022 Dec 5.

Authors

Jessica L Wiese^{1

2}, Tara Marie Watson³, Akwasi Owusu-Bempah⁴, Elaine Hyshka⁵, Samantha Wells^{1

2

6

7}, Margaret Robinson⁸, Tara Elton-Marshall^{1

2

6

9}, Sergio Rueda^{1

2

7

10}

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
² Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
³ Provincial System Support Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ Department of Sociology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
⁵ School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
⁶ Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁸ Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
⁹ School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁰ Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Abstract

Historically, overpolicing of some racialized and Indigenous groups in Canada has resulted in unequal application of drug laws contributing to disproportionate rates of charges and convictions in these populations. Criminal records severely and negatively impact an individual's life and can perpetuate cycles of poverty and socioeconomic disadvantage. On October 17, 2018, Canada legalized cannabis production, distribution, sale, and possession for non-medical purposes. Advocates of criminal justice reform have raised concerns that Indigenous and racialized people may not equitably benefit from legalization due to unequal police surveillance and drug enforcement. These groups are among priority populations for research on cannabis and mental health, but their views on cannabis regulation have been largely absent from research and policy-making. To address this gap, we asked self-identified members of these communities about their lived experiences and perspectives on cannabis legalization in Canada. Between September 2018 and July 2019, we conducted semistructured interviews and focus groups with 37 individuals in Québec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. During this phase of early cannabis legalization, participants responded to questions about anticipated public health risks and benefits of legalization, how their jurisdiction is responding to legalization, and what community resources would be needed to address legalization impacts. We conducted a thematic analysis and identified five major themes in the data related to race and early cannabis legalization: overpolicing of racialized communities, severity of penalties in new cannabis legislation, increased police powers, and underrepresentation of racialized groups in the legal cannabis market and in cannabis research. Participants discussed opportunities to support cannabis justice, including establishing priority licenses, issuing pardons or expunging criminal records, and reinvesting cannabis revenue into impacted communities. This work begins to address the paucity of Indigenous and racialized voices in cannabis research and identifies potential solutions to injustices of cannabis prohibition.

Keywords: cannabis; criminalization; legalization; policing; race; racialized communities.