Canada moving fast to legalize pot

CANADA’S  federal government has been scrambling to draft legislation to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, hoping to have a bill in place ahead of the symbolic date of April 20.

The government is hoping to legalize pot by July 1, 2018, CBC News reported Sunday night.

The governing Liberals used last year’s 4/20 celebrations – festivals held annually across the country in which marijuana enthusiasts publicly light up – to announce that they would table their legislation this spring.

The government is now hoping to table the long-awaited bill in less than a month, ahead of that same date this year, reports The Globe and Mail

This would entail introducing the legislation in the week of April 10, as the House will be on break during the actual celebrations of April 20 the following week.

The legislation will be inspired by a task force that was led by former Liberal minister Anne McLellan, which proposed a complete legalization model in a well-received report last year.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already endorsed one of its key recommendations, namely that marijuana should be legal for 18- or 19-year-olds, depending on each province’s legal drinking age.

Home grown
The task force also urged the government to allow Canadians to buy or carry 30 grams of marijuana for personal use, and to grow up to four plants at home. The task force also recommended a system that would feature storefront sales and mail-order distribution, and allow a wide range of producers to operate legally, including “craft” growers and the current producers of medical marijuana.

Trudeau said last year that the Liberal government was in overall agreement with the task force’s 80 recommendations.