Skip to main content

Canada Has Just Passed a Landmark Bill Legalizing Recreational Marijuana


Canada passed a landmark bill Tuesday legalizing recreational marijuana, becoming the second country to make pot legal nationwide.
The legislation will allow Canadians to buy and consume weed as soon as September, the BBC reports. It is expected to receive royal assent sometime this week.
Canada criminalized pot possession in 1923, but became an early adopter of medical marijuana in 2001.
The Cannabis Act was approved by the Senate 52-29 after already passing the House of Commons. The law allows the federal government to license producers and regulate how they grow, sell and distribute marijuana.
Under the law, adults 18 and up will be allowed to possess up to ounce of weed for recreational use, and grow a maximum of four plants.

Weed-infused edibles will be legal within one year of the law’s implementation, a delay meant to to give the government time to figure out how to regulate the products.
The exact timeline for the law depends on when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decides to put it into effect and how much time he allots for the territories and provinces to roll out retail sales.

Trudeau had made legalizing and federally regulating marijuana one of his 2015 campaign promises, arguing that only criminal syndicates profited from the drug’s prohibition. On Wednesday, he tweeted, “It’s been too easy for our kids to get marijuana – and for criminals to reap the profits. Today, we change that.”
In 2015, Canadians reportedly spent C$6 billion ($4.5 billion) on marijuana, almost as much as was spent on wine.
In the U.S., nine states have legalized recreational marijuana. Uruguay was previously the only country that permitted recreational marijuana in public.
[TIME]
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Real Winner of the Democratic Debate: President Obama   More Sanders Snarks as Democratic Debate Gets Heated Democratic Candidates Court Black Voters at Debate Clinton and Sanders Walk a Careful Line on Women at Debate There were only two Democrats on the debate stage in Milwaukee on Thursday night, but they should have brought a third podium for President Obama. Coming back from a landslide defeat in the New Hampshire primary, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton doggedly criticized Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on areas where he’d split with Obama while duct-taping herself to the President’s legacy on issues as varied as foreign policy , health care and Wall Street . Sanders, for his part, did his best to hold his ground, justifying his criticism of the President and presenting himself as a change agent while pointing out Clinton’s own differences with Obama. Their heated exchanges over Obama’s legacy reflected how the President has b...
Post a Comment
Read more

The country’s problem is our problem- Buhari

Nigeria President Muhammad Buhari gave this reminder on Tuesday in Abuja while breaking his Ramadan fast with a delegation of Islamic clerics. Mr. President said that Nigerians do not have any other country to call theirs except Nigeria and should therefore work and pray for it to prosper.
Post a Comment
Read more

Oscar Pistorius Will Be Sentenced for Murder After Dismissal of his Appeal

A lawyer for Oscar Pistorius says South Africa’s highest court has dismissed the former track star’s appeal of his murder conviction. The ruling by the Constitutional Court on Thursday clears the way for a judge to sentence Pistorius for murder at a hearing scheduled for April 18. Defense lawyer Andrew Fawcett confirmed the Constitutional Court’s decision and said: “We’ll proceed to the sentencing.” Pistorius, who killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his home in 2013, had appealed to the Constitutional Court, saying another court erred when it overturned a manslaughter conviction and declared the Olympic athlete guilty of murder. The minimum sentence for murder in South Africa is 15 years, though a judge can reduce that sentence for what the law describes as exceptional circumstances. Pistorius is currently under house arrest. [ Time ]
Post a Comment
Read more