Trudeau rolls out bill to allow recreational pot use in Canada

TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government introduced legislation Thursday to let adults possess 30 grams of marijuana in public — a measure that would make Canada the largest developed country to end a nationwide prohibition on recreational marijuana.

Trudeau has long promised to legalize recreational pot use and sales.

U.S. voters in California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada voted last year to approve the use of recreational marijuana, joining Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington state.

The South American nation of Uruguay is the only nation to legalize recreational pot.

The proposed Canadian law allows four plants to be grown at home. Those under 18 found with less than five grams of marijuana would not face criminal charges but those who sell it or give to youth could face up to 14 years in jail.

“It’s too easy for our kids to get marijuana,” Trudeau said. “We’re going to change that.”

Officials said Canadians should be able to smoke marijuana legally by July 1, 2018.

The federal government set the age at 18, but is allowing each of Canada’s provinces to determine if it should be higher.

Marijuana taxes will be announced at a later date, officials said.

Canadian youth have higher rates of cannabis use than their peers worldwide.

Former Toronto police Chief Bill Blair, who is the parliamentary secretary to the justice minister, said Canadian officials learned from the U.S. experiences from other jurisdictions like Colorado and Washington state.