According to a report, Canada is about to legalize marijuana, moving another step closer to perfection. (Or something like perfection, but with legal weed, and plenty of nature.)
From CBC News:
The Liberal government will announce legislation next month that will legalize marijuana in Canada by July 1, 2018.
CBC News has learned that the legislation will be announced during the week of April 10 and will broadly follow the recommendation of a federally appointed task force that was chaired by former liberal Justice Minister Anne McLellan.
Details of legalization will be handled by each Canadian province, and people looking to grow their own marijuana at home will reportedly be limited to four plants per household.
That sounds reasonable enough, right?
Legalization was a big deal during the last Canadian campaign cycle, too, and if this proposed legislation doesn’t get passed, it’s apparently going to be viewed as a broken promise:
Trudeau’s promise to legalize marijuana was seen as one of the reasons for the Liberals’ strong showing among youth voters in the 2015 election.
But at the NDP’s leadership debate in Montreal Sunday, which was focused on youth issues, several of the candidates pointed to marijuana legislation as an example of a broken Liberal promise.
“I do not believe Justin Trudeau is going to bring in the legalization of marijuana and as proof that … we are still seeing, particularly young, Canadians being criminalized by simple possession of marijuana,” said B.C. MP Peter Julian.
It’s a funny coincidence that this news would leak just after that statement, isn’t it? Surely not related at all!
Regardless, the United States has actually allowed states to legalize marijuana for years, but it’s technically still a controlled substance under federal law. Having lived in Colorado for a year, I can say that while it was shockingly normalized and present in daily Denver life, it didn’t really have any effect on my life at all.
Well, once on the light rail a guy rolled a joint so potent that my eyes watered twenty feet away. That was bad. But other than that, no harm done. And the tax revenue is a legitimate plus.
So, Canadians, here’s yet another example of your country doing something right. Congratulations. I’d say please don’t taunt Americans about it, but you’re all too nice to do that anyway.
[CBC]
