Official: Canada Expected to Legalize Marijuana by July 2018

[bathroommonkey76]

Source: Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) — Canadians should be able to smoke marijuana legally by July 1, 2018, a senior government official said Monday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government will introduce legislation to legalize recreational marijuana the week of April 10th and it should become law by July next year, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to lack of authorization to discuss the upcoming legislation.

Trudeau has long promised to legalize recreational pot use and sales. Canada would be the largest developed country to end a nationwide prohibition of recreational marijuana. In the U.S, voters in California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada voted last year to approve the use of recreational marijuana, joining Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Uruguay in South America is the only nation to legalize recreational pot.

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould declined to confirm the dates provided by the official, but said in a statement the government is committed to introducing legislation this spring that would "legalize, strictly regulate, and restrict access to cannabis."

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2017-03-27/official-canada-expected-to-legalize-marijuana-by-july-2018

[Wibly]

1. Read the fine print

This announcement is nothing but a deflection.
The Trudeau government is under great pressure to legalize. In this release they are saying they will do it in just over a year. It's a stall tactic. They have no real intention of doing it before the next election, if at all.
Currently in Canada, cannabis dispensaries and those involved in the cannabis industry are under heavy attack. Their incomes are threatened, they are being forced into the courts with repeated raids and confiscations, and thousands of Canadians are being prosecuted for simple possession.
Also, if you read the fine print, it is clear, in the event of legalization, the federal government intends to keep firm control over who can and cannot cultivate and produce cannabis, which in the end will do nothing but keep the black market alive, and keep cultivation illegal for most Canadians.
This is a shell game that should not be taken seriously as a promise.

[SoCalMusicLover]

2. At Least They're Moving In Right Direction

Here we have Sessions still considering pot to be as dangerous as heroin, and many places continuing to throw people in jail, over smoking a doobie.

[BannonsLiver]

3. Meh