Up in Legal Smoke: Canada’s Marijuana Mess

In many countries throughout the world there is a fight to legalize marijuana. Proponents compare current marijuana laws with the prohibition, saying that they are unreasonable and against the people’s freedom. On the other side, critics of such attempts claim that marijuana is a harmful and addictive substance, whose legalization can cause multiple health problems to the whole society. One such country is Canada, where there are frequent discussions on marijuana laws. The following data visualisation brings more to the discussion table by showing numbers and the status quo.

First, it presents a short overview of the current legislation and the number of people arrested and charged for marijuana related offences. After that, it shows marijuana usage numbers where the first inconsistencies start to show. Many people have smoked cannabis, but only some of them have been punished harshly.

The second part analyzes the law enforcement rates. The percentages of people getting arrested and charged are compared on the provincial levels. It can be seen that even though the usage rates don’t differ much on the geographical level, there is a disparity in law enforcement rates. Such disparities are multidimensional, and the only conclusion is that currently there is a lot of arbitrariness in implementing the law. The final conclusion is that the probability of getting arrested or prosecuted depends on the geographical level.

Infographic source : http://omqlaw.ca/up-in-legal-smoke-canadas-marijuana-mess/