Legalisation closer
Canada’s leap to the left in this week’s election could have the country singing a new anthem: ‘‘Oh, Cannabis.’’
CANADA’S leap to the left in this week’s election could have the country singing a new anthem: ‘‘Oh, Cannabis.’’
The United States’s largest trade partner overwhelmingly selected Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party to run Canada, a sweeping change that may lead to full marijuana legalisation for the country, which already allows medical cannabis use.
Trudeau has promised that under his leadership, Canada will create a system to tax, regulate and sell marijuana, along with stiff penalties for anyone giving it to children or caught driving while stoned.
‘‘Canada’s current system of marijuana prohibition does not work. It does not prevent young people from using marijuana, and too many Canadians end up with criminal records for possessing small amounts of the drug,’’ Trudeau said.
US-based cannabis activists have hailed Trudeau’s election as a milestone, suggesting that a day may soon come when cross-border trade talks include not just the Keystone XL oil pipeline, maple syrup or prescription drugs, but also legal weed.
Border states Alaska and Washington have already legalised recreational marijuana use, as have Colorado, Oregon and the District of Columbia.
‘‘It’s no longer a pipe dream to imagine a day when consumers and growers in Washington state and British Columbia, for example, could be ordering each other’s wares on the internet for cross-border shipment,’’ said Tom Angell, chairman of the prolegalisation Marijuana Majority.
Trudeau earlier this month said he would begin work to legalise cannabis ‘‘right away’’ if elected, but declined to specify a timeline for implementation.
His campaign said it was looking to Colorado as a potential model.
Colorado permits residents to buy and possess up to an ounce (28 grams) of marijuana at a time, and taxes each sale. Last month the state collected nearly US$12 million in marijuana taxes, with the money used to fund school construction and anti-abuse campaigns.