Leaders of Canada's Liberal Party unveiled a proposal Thursday that would make the country only the second in the world to legalize recreational marijuana, allowing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to deliver on a campaign promise and inching the nation ever closer to replacing the maple leaf on its flag.
The Canadian government's movement toward legalized recreational marijuana will have major implications in American border cities like Buffalo, where Western New Yorkers would theoretically be free to cross the border to buy and use the drug at Ontario's discretion. Colorado lawmakers have backed off plans to regulate marijuana clubs, saying the state would invite a federal crackdown by approving Amsterdam-style pot clubs.
Blair said at the news conference in Ottawa that "criminal prohibition has failed" and that 21 percent of youth, and 30 percent of young adults, use cannabis in Canada.
Canada on Thursday released a plan to legalize recreational marijuana use across the country by July 2018.
One bill would allow individuals over 18 to possess up to 30 grams of pot in public, share their weed with other adults and purchase cannabis and cannabis-infused products from federally licensed pot shops, and would also let adults harvest up to to four marijuana plants in their home per resident.
Marijuana production, distribution or possession outside the authorized medical marijuana program remains illegal until the new laws are in place. The government is yet to decide whether the producers would use child-proof packaging or plain packaging.
"It's gonna become more available for everyone, and there's definitely going to be more shops opening up", Panjwani said.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says there will be an "orderly transition" while new regulations are drafted, and police will continue to enforce existing marijuana laws until legalization is introduced next summer.
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While the government has said it considers medical and recreational use to be separate issues, Ivancicevic said he's hoping the announcement will make it easier for medical users to access cannabis with more insurance opting to cover it. The government will have to debate the bill and later the provinces will have to draft their own rules and regulations for the sale of marijuana in their province.
"If you sell alcohol to a minor in Canada, you get a fine; if you now give or sell cannabis to a minor, it's a maximum 14-year jail sentence", Larsen said in a phone interview.
According to the bill, the minimum age to purchase marijuana in Canada is 18 years old.
The law will also allow adults to transport marijuana across Canada.
A U.S. Embassy spokesperson, speaking on background, said while any changes won't impact the relationship between the two countries, Canadians still need to be cognizant of the law as it stands in the U.S. "I believe that we we have to do a better job protecting our kids".
"They're too novel for us to say".
Canada has been in "very close touch" with the US on the issue, said Goodale, but he had little to say about Canadians who might fear trouble from American border guards when travelling south.
At the same time, the new system creates harsh penalties for people who sell marijuana to underage people, and boost screening for impaired drivers. "It is a not a free-for-all".
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