Canada just became the second country in the world to legalize the recreational use of cannabis, the U.S. and U.K. are getting closer
Canada just passed The Cannabis Act Tuesday with a landslide vote in the Senate.
Canadians will now be allowed to buy, grow and consume cannabis legally as early as this September.
Citizens over age 18 will be able to buy cannabis and cannabis oil grown by licensed producers at various retail locations, or order the drug online from federally licensed producers.
They will also be allowed to grow up to four plants at home for personal use.
Adults will also be allowed to possess up to an ounce of dried cannabis in public.
Edibles will not be immediately available for purchase, but will be within a year.
Cannabis possession first became a crime in Canada in 1923 but medical use has been legal since 2001.
Uruguay became the first country to legalize the sale of cannabis for recreational use in 2013.
Some are wondering whether the U.S. or the U.K. will be next.
“Canada’s progress will galvanize support for drug policy reforms around the world,” Hannah Hetzer of the Drug Policy Alliance told Rolling Stone.
Trump has sent mixed signals on pot, recently saying he’ll “probably” back legislation to safeguard pot-legal states like Colorado.
A recent poll finds more than two thirds of American voters support full legalization.
The UK government said recently it would review the use of medicinal cannabis.
Medical marijuana is legal in 14 European countries, Israel, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Panama, Mexico, Turkey, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and 29 U.S. states.
Nine of those states have legalized recreational marijuana, as well.
Although it is still technically illegal in the Netherlands, the law is not upheld.
The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been tweeting his support of the successful vote:
It’s been too easy for our kids to get marijuana – and for criminals to reap the profits. Today, we change that. Our plan to legalize & regulate marijuana just passed the Senate. #PromiseKept
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 20, 2018
Comments
One response to “Canada Legalizes Recreational Cannabis, Will U.S. Be Next?”
Stop shutting down the dispensiaries. They have been helping the patients since 2001. The Lp’s should be boycotted just like this government and the corporations that lobby them !