Canada to Legalize Marijuana

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is going to devise and implement a system to effectively legalize and regulate marijuana. In a step towards this Trudeau's administration repeated its pledge to legalize marijuana in a speech outlining its agenda as parliament resumes after the 19 October election. The government however will restrict the access to it to prevent misuse.

Guardian reports that, in a speech delivered by governor general David Johnston reiterated new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's plan to legalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. However, the government said it will restrict access - though details about those restrictions are not forthcoming.

Because of Trudeau's plan, Canada is going to lead the charge on a global scale for marijuana legalization. Evidently, Canadian officials are relishing the role. "The world is going to be looking to Canada to make sure we do the job well," the country's health minister, Jane Philpott, told CBC News.

Trudeau has said that legalizing marijuana would fix a "failed system" and help remove the "criminal element" linked to the drug. He also has said Canadians would benefit from analyzing the experiences of Colorado and Washington State, which recently legalized pot.

Cheat Sheet says that those experiments in the U.S. have been, by and large, a success - and more states are following suit. It's hard to ignore that. And if Canada's strategy pays off, it'll be in a position to monopolize the economic gains until other countries can catch up. With millions of regular marijuana users in Canada, tax revenues could bolster government coffers (which will need funding as liberal policies are enacted), and thousands of jobs could be create.

The process is already underway. Shortly after Election Day, Trudeau knocked over the first domino. Among several other things, a letter from Trudeau to Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould states one goal is to "create a federal-provincial-territorial process that will lead to the legalization and regulation of marijuana."

Clearly, Trudeau wasn't just parlaying empty promises; legalizing marijuana is one of the key items on the docket.

Marijuana policy reform will be difficult to implement and Canadians are well aware of this. But by embracing Trudeau's plan and moving ahead, Canada is putting itself in a very good position moving forward.