This article challenges the assumptions underlying the shared federal, provincial, and territorial goals of reducing criminal involvement in the drug trade and preventing substance use by youth. These official government objectives, it is argued, reflect a harmful tendency that continues the tradition of neglecting decades of sociological research on the efficiency of informal sources of control. Rather than continue to prioritize prevention, consistent evidence-based policy development for cannabis requires articulation of more informed and realistic goals of harm reduction. New educational initiatives need to build on informal controls that more effectively regulate responsible substance use behaviour.Sommaire : Cet article remet en question les hypothèses sous-tendant les objectifs communs des gouvernements fédéral, provinciaux et territoriaux qui consistent à diminuer l'activité criminelle dans le trafic de la drogue et à prévenir la toxi comanie chez les jeunes. Nous soutenons que ces objectifs gouvernementaux officiels reflètent la tendance néfaste qui persiste dans la tradition de négliger des décennies de recherche sociologique sur l'efficacité de sources de contrôle informelles. Plutôt que de continuer à faire de la prévention une priorité, l'élaboration d'une politique sur le cannabis cohérente et fondée sur des données probantes requiert la définition d'objectifs de la réduction des méfaits qui soient mieux informés et plus réalistes. De nouvelles initiatives éducatives doivent s'appuyer sur des formes de contrôle informelles qui régissent plus efficacement un comportement de toxicomanie responsable. et al. 2018). These research findings are consistent with each other and cast doubt on the coherence of the primary objectives of the government.This article builds on classic contributions to the literature about the relative effectiveness of formal and informal sources of control among illicit drug consumers. The analysis presented raises questions in particular about the feasibility of displacing the illicit market and the public health objective of reducing use by youth. The article's primary contribution is to further the advancement of sociological perspectives informing policy discussions about cannabis legalization as a regulatory measure targeting reduction of drug use-related harm. Formal bureaucratic forms of governance are hampered by their failure to account for the efficiency of networks of informal interaction in regulating norms of conduct.The goals of legalization from this standpoint, it is argued, are based on faulty premises about the characteristics of the illicit market and related patterns of supply and use behaviour. As cannabis has moved from the margins to the mainstream, informal social practices long recognized by users remain the most effective ways of regulating use. The potential for effective harm reduction and prevention would be significantly enhanced, for young adolescents in particular, through further recognition and support for interaction between formal and informal m...