Hashing It Out

Marijuana, weed, pot, cannabis, hash — our relationships with that green bud with the unmistakable aroma are changing, and they're changing fast.

Canada is set to become just the second country in the world to fully legalize marijuana for both recreational and medical users.

So, what does that mean for the people who can't wait to light up without fear of being arrested? What about those who fear we're headed down a slippery slope by legalizing this drug?

Join CBC's Solomon Israel for 'Hashing it Out' and hear some fresh perspectives on the different roles marijuana plays in our personal lives.

This holiday special was produced by CBC's Mieke Anderson.

Featured voices

• "I think it's 'just say yes' toward life, toward joy, to new experiences, to trying new things. So I said yes to marijuana."

- Catherine Hiller, author of "Just Say Yes: A Marijuana Memoir"

• "There's no way to get around other than driving. And because I don't have a huge bankroll at my disposal, I can't afford to hire a driver or pay for a cab to take me everywhere I need to go. So it's not like I'm medicating and going out and partying and having good times."

- James Kerr, medical marijuana user

• "There's a wide variety of people that break the stereotype who use marijuana. We send officers to go out to marijuana dispensaries … and a lot of times they're very surprised at who's out there and using."

- Chris Halsor, former Colorado prosecutor who trains law enforcement on marijuana-impaired driving

• "If I tried to go a day without it, it just didn't work. By the end of the day I'd be sweaty and anxious and craving it."

- Daniel Farb, former marijuana user

• "I used to work at a dispensary, and we saw a lot of parents who were hiding their cannabis use even though it was medical. So I got the idea for the books to bridge that gap between what the parents wanted their children to know and what the children were already being exposed to."

- Maggie Volpo, author of the "Stinky Steve" series of children's books about marijuana

• "One of the things I've picked up as a parent over the years is that they throw these curveballs at you, and you wind up answering questions that you've never really had to think about before."

- Teresa Taylor, mother of one

• "I've been trying to be honest with them, I'm not trying to make it an issue. If you just sit down and listen, they have a lot to say — and if you don't, they just keep it all inside."

- Maria Villacorta, mother of two

• "Part of my history, and it's no secret, is that on my way up to Albany one day I was caught with three grams of marijuana in my car. And that was sort of the epiphany of my life."

- Dr. Stephen Katz, New York State Assemblyman, veterinarian, and developer of Therabis cannabis products for pets

• "I actually voted for legalization. I didn't realize that there would be so many unintended consequences."

- Candi Cdebaca, activist in Denver, Colorado

• "We have a long history of being abused by law enforcement, and you only have to look as far as current events to see, on TV, that every time a black American is shot by cops … the first thing that the police leak is that they've had issues with cannabis."

- Wanda James, owner of Simply Pure dispensary in Colorado

• "I think the most important thing is that we face up to the reality of the world and the reality of history, and we try and respond rationally to that real history, to what really happened. And I think if we were to do that, we would have much smarter drug policy."

- Isaac Campos, historian and author of "Home Grown: Marijuana and the Origins of Mexico's War on Drugs"