Canada on Thursday released a plan to legalize recreational marijuana use across the country by July 2018. With a solid Liberal majority in government the plan is widely expected to become law, but it would leave the details of implementation, including commercial regulations, to individual provinces.
The bill’s backers framed it as an effort to reduce adolescent drug use and take profits out of the black market. “Criminal prohibition has failed to protect our kids and our communities,” said Bill Blair, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Justice and a former Toronto police chief and one of the architects of the law, at a press conference. The new bill will “make Canada safer,” he added.
“Police forces spend between two and three billion dollars every year trying to deal with cannabis, yet Canadian teens are among the heaviest users in the Western world,” said Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodell. “Criminals pocket 7 to 8 billion dollars in proceeds.”
Marijuana legalization was a campaign promise of Prime Minster Justin Trudeau. The bill still needs to be approved by Parliament, but Trudeau’s Liberal party commands a solid majority there. The measure has also received support from the country’s Conservative party.
The legislation, “An Act respecting cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts,” would set a minimum age limit of 18 to purchase and use marijuana. That’s slightly lower than the drinking age limit of 19 in most provinces. It’s also a departure from the norm in the U.S., where states that have legalized recreational marijuana use have set a minimum age of 21.
Individuals would be allowed to possess up to 30 grams of marijuana for personal use, similar to the one-ounce standard in U.S. states where marijuana use is legal. Households would also be allowed to grow up to four marijuana plants.
While the bill would remove penalties for individual use and possession, it wouldn’t set up a nationwide system for selling marijuana commercially — those details would be left up to individual provinces.
In provinces that decline to set up a commercial framework, customers could order marijuana online from a federally-licensed producer.
Finally, accompanying legislation would toughen penalties for driving under the influence of marijuana, alcohol and other drugs.
The bill would make Canada the second country in the world, after Uruguay, to fully legalize recreational marijuana use. In the Netherlands marijuana use is generally tolerated, but it is not strictly speaking legal.
Legal marijuana in Canada, one of the U.S.’s strongest allies, could be a game-changer for domestic marijuana policy discussions in the states.
National legalization to the North could create a fertile environment for marijuana businesses to start up and operate, potentially giving Canadian companies a competitive edge over stateside businesses in the future.