Will the Federal Government Decriminalize Marijuana?

02/02/2017 

Marijuana has long been an unsettled issue, both in Canada and in the United States. Now, the federal government has announced it will likely propose legislation in 2017 to decriminalise marijuana – something that could bring clarity to the law for everyone. Both the Health Minister and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have lent their support to the proposed legislation.

According to recent reports, there is no set date for the legislation; however, the Health Minister announced the likelihood of a decriminalisation law at a talk in front of the UN general assembly. Although there are currently no firm ideas of what the legislation would look like, the Health Minister said any law proposed will include provisions that keep children from accessing marijuana. The future law will also include language that stops individuals convicted of criminal offences from making a profit on sales of recreational marijuana.

Despite future legislation, and the Prime Minister’s pledge to regulate recreational marijuana during his campaign, law enforcement officials remind everyone that recreational marijuana is still illegal in Canada. In the same report from the Guardian, former Toronto police Chief Bill Blair pointed out that medical marijuana and recreational marijuana are different and must be treated as such.