Canada legalises recreational cannabis use
Ottawa: Canada has passed a landmark law that legalises the recreational use of marijuana nationwide.
The Cannabis Act passed its final hurdle on Tuesday in a 52-29 vote in the Senate. The bill controls and regulates how the drug can be grown, distributed, and sold. Canadians will be able to buy and consume cannabis legally as early as this September.
The country is the first in the G7 to legalise the drug’s recreational use. Cannabis possession first became a crime in Canada in 1923 but medical use has been legal since 2001.
The bill will likely receive Royal Assent this week, and the government will then choose an official date when the law will come into force. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that until now, “it’s been too easy for our kids to get marijuana and for criminals to reap the profits”. The government is expected to give the provinces and territories, as well as municipalities, eight to 12 weeks to set up the new marijuana marketplace.
This timeframe will also allow industry and Police forces to prepare for the new legal framework.