A while back, I wrote about how the U.S. and Canadian dollars hit parity for the first time in nearly 30 years and discussed the effect of a weak dollar on the price of imports. Well, more proof of this has hit the news. The price of Canadian marijuana is going up.
I can't remember which candidate (I think it was Bill Bradley during his run for the presidential nomination in 2000) or which interviewer (I think it was Katie Couric), but when asked if he'd tried pot in college, the candidate said "of course I did. Which drugs did you try in college?"
That's sort of my attitude toward pot. Asking someone if they've ever tried pot is like asking them if they ever had a beer. Only difference is that pot is illegal. Even at today's prices, it costs about as much to get high as it does to get a decent beer buzz.
So, in terms of it curtailing pot imports from Canada, it doesn't make my heart leap or make me say "there's a benefit!" In fact, it just makes it easier for Mexican drug cartels to undercut the Canadians. Since the Mexican drug cartels tend to be more violent than the Canadian pot dealers, I don't see this as a net benefit.
It was also interesting to see that Canada, according to a U.S. study, had the highest level of pot use in any industrialized nation. That's why Canadians are so polite. They're all too stoned to get upset.
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