Yahoo – AFP,
Michel COMTE, April 13, 2017
Canada is poised to become second country to fully legalize recreational marijuana use (AFP Photo/Chris Roussakis) |
Ottawa
(AFP) - The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will unveil legislation
on Thursday to fully legalize recreational marijuana use, making Canada only
the second country to do so, after Uruguay.
Its
legalization and regulation would follow in 2018, in time for Canada's national
day on July 1.
The
country's ministers of health, justice, public safety and national revenue, as
well as a former-cop-turned-MP who spearheaded the initiative, will make the
announcement.
The stated
aim is to reduce policing and prosecutions, and keep it out of the hands of
children.
Canadian
political leaders have also decried the current anti-drug regime as a failure.
Trudeau
himself admitted in 2013 to having smoked pot five or six times in his life,
including at a dinner party with friends since being elected to parliament.
He has also
said that his late brother Michel was facing marijuana possession charges for a
"tiny amount" of pot before his death in an avalanche in 1998, and
that this influenced his decision to propose legalizing cannabis.
Police
chiefs who support legalization point to the nearly 70,000 police-reported
incidents related to cannabis, mostly possession, in 2014, saying police
resources are being wasted and criminal convictions are causing undue harm.
In
anticipation of the legislative move, there has reportedly been a rush on
licenses to produce medical marijuana, pot stocks have shot up, and
dispensaries have opened in cities across the country vying for market share in
what promises to be a lucrative business.
The latter, however, has led to police raids and controversy, and pleas from the government to would-be sellers to be patient and wait for the legal regime to be announced.
Cannabis worldwide (AFP Photo)
|
The latter, however, has led to police raids and controversy, and pleas from the government to would-be sellers to be patient and wait for the legal regime to be announced.
Medical
marijuana use has been regulated in Canada since 2001. But cannabis remains a
controlled drug, for the time being.
What will
legal market look like
According
to government statistics, as many as 4.6 million Canadians will consume an
estimated total 655 metric tons of cannabis annually by 2018, spending an
estimated Can$4.2 billion to Can$6.2 billion each year.
A task
force led by former deputy prime minister Anne McLellan released a report last
December outlining possible regulations for creating a legal market for
cannabis including plain packaging and labelling, restrictions on advertising,
and retail distribution.
The more
than 80 recommendations included maintaining a separate medical marijuana
regime, as well as criminal penalties for trafficking and selling cannabis to
youth.
Under the
proposed rules, individuals would be allowed to grow up to four plants at home
for personal use.
Personal
possession, however, would be limited to 30 grams (one ounce).
The report
also noted that the biggest concerns in more than 30,000 submissions to the
task force concerned the proposed minimum age and impaired driving.
Health
groups expressed concern about the potential impact of marijuana on developing
brains under the age of 25.
But the
report concluded that the "current science is not definitive on a safe age
for cannabis use."
Since the
intention of legalization is to stop criminalizing users the panel chose an age
that would not force adults under 25 to turn to the illicit market.
It noted
that US states where recreational marijuana use is legal had aligned the
minimum age with alcohol consumption at 21. In Canada legal adulthood starts at
18 or 19, depending on the province.
Public
Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, meanwhile, said officials are testing devices
similar to roadside breathalyzers to detect cannabis.
The drug
has created new enforcement challenges because there is no legal or verified
scientific test to determine a level of THC -- the psychoactive chemical in pot
-- that causes impairment.
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