Call for Papers: Special Issue of the Journal of Canadian Studies on "Critical Perspectives on Cannabis in Canada"

Guest Editors: Michael Boudreau and Sarah Hamill
Deadline: December 1, 2019


For much of the twentieth century, recreational drugs, notably cannabis, have been seen as a serious social, legal, and moral problem. However, the negative connotations associated with cannabis have subsided, culminating in the introduction in 2018 of government-regulated sales of legal cannabis. Canada is the latest country to legalize cannabis use and it joins a growing list of jurisdictions that have done so. In 2013, Uruguay became the first country to enact legislation to legalize and regulate cannabis for non-medical purposes. To date, over twenty countries, and multiple U.S. states, have implemented some form of decriminalization.

In Canada, cannabis is the second most used recreational drug after alcohol. An estimated 2.3 million Canadians consume cannabis in various forms, including “edibles”, which will be legally available in December 2019. Cannabis is becoming more socially acceptable and support for its legalization continues to grow. It is important to note that support for legalization comes in part from non-users. Their support is predicated on the belief that cannabis was a problem only because it was illegal and thus unregulated. Besides lifting many of the criminal sanctions against the use of cannabis, legalization may result in the removal of the moral stigma surrounding marijuana. And it signals the end of one phase of Canada’s beleaguered war on drugs.

This special issue of the Journal of Canadian Studies is intended to examine cannabis from a variety of disciplinary and critical perspectives; notably historical, sociological, socio-legal, cultural, and criminological. Moreover, this issue especially welcomes contributions from scholars who can offer a comparative analysis of how cannabis is viewed and regulated in multiple jurisdictions. 


Possible topics include:
The factors that contributed to the normalization of cannabis use.
The factors that convinced the Federal government, and other national and sub-national governments, that voters would accept the legalization of cannabis.
The reasons why cannabis is no longer considered by many to be a radical substance.
The extent to which the legalization of cannabis will eliminate the “black market” for marijuana.
Whether the use of legal cannabis will increase among non-users, particularly among youth.
How governments have operationalized the sale of legal cannabis, including edibles.
Indigenous communities and legal cannabis.
The police response to the legalization of cannabis.
Whether other countries will follow Canada’s example and legalize cannabis.
Whether the legalization of cannabis will lead to the decriminalization of other illegal drugs.

We invite submissions in either English or French that deal with one or more of the above-mentioned topics or other possible topics pertaining to the theme of this special issue. We also encourage submissions from an interdisciplinary and international/comparative perspective. 


Authors should submit a 500-word abstract and a 50-word bio to Michael Boudreau ([email protected]) and Sarah Hamill ([email protected]) in English or French by December 1, 2019.

By January 15, 2020 authors will be notified whether they should submit a full version of their paper for peer review. The due date for completed papers is May 1, 2020. Final publication date is Spring 2021.  

Submission Guidelines may be found here: utpjournals.press/journals/jcs/journal/authors/ submission

​For further information, please contact us at the email addresses above.