Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced legislation on Thursday, Apr. 13, to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Canada. Trudeau’s campaign pledge to legalize marijuana is seen as one of the reasons young people voted with the Liberals in the 2015 election.
Eight American states have legalized the drug for medical reasons, as well as a number of countries around the world. Canada will become the second nation in the world, after Uruguay, to completely legalize the drug as a consumer product. While the bill is expected to pass, some issues need to be worked out before legal sales can begin throughout the country.
One cannabis lounge began selling marijuana after Justin Trudeau was elected prime minister last November.
Each Canadian province will have to decide how the drug will be distributed and sold, and the government will have to develop marijuana “breathalyzers” so that police can check drivers’ impairment on the road. Medical experts are concerned about the effects marijuana can have on young Canadians, while the drug’s supposedly miraculous medicinal properties have been vigorously denied by the Canadian medical establishment.
Provinces “could authorize only one agent to sell marijuana, locate it on top of a mountain and limit its hours to 4 a.m. to 4:15 a.m. every second Christmas Day,” former MP Brent Rathgeber noted.
Mr. Trudeau’s legislative plan follows the 1999 court-mandated legalization of marijuana for medical purposes. The latest rules for medical use obliged patients to be registered, have a prescription and obtain their supplies only by mail from a government-licensed producer or by growing a limited amount privately.
The Canadian federal government was working on drafting legislation to legalize the recreational use of marijuana before the Apr. 20, or ‘Weed Day,’ the Globe and Mail reported last month. The government is hoping the legalization will go into effect by July 1, 2018, CBC News reported.
A 2016 report from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce economist Avery Shenfeld estimated that legal pot could generate $5 billion a year in revenues if the government can stop black market sales, which is highly unlikely.
High taxes and bureaucratic micromanagement are very likely to encourage Canadians to keep buying marijuana illegally. A 2007 study found that one-quarter of Ontarian smokers buy tobacco on Indian reserves.
Here are the main takeaways from the legislation, as pointed out by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation:
- Provincial governments will have the right to set the price, as well as where the marijuana will be distributed and how it will be sold.
- Ottawa will set a minimum age of 18 to buy marijuana, but provinces could set the age limit higher.
- Canadians who want to grow their own marijuana will be limited to four plants per household.
