It’s official! Recreational marijuana use has been legalized in Canada after Senators voted to pass Bill C-45. The vote of 52-59 passed with two abstentions.
And while we originally expected top see people legally consuming weed this coming Canada Day (July 1), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made assurances today that it would be officially legal as of Oct. 17, 2018.
To be fair to Trudeau – who championed the legalization cause as one his main campaign promises – the delay was caused by Canadian Senators needing more time to review the bill.
Here’s what he wrote on Twitter earlier:
“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”
As of yesterday, Bill C-45 or the ‘Cannabis Act’ is awaiting royal assent:
The bill is described as “an Act respecting cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts.”
It is briefly summarized as:
“This enactment enacts the Cannabis Act to provide legal access to cannabis and to control and regulate its production, distribution and sale.
The objectives of the Act are to prevent young persons from accessing cannabis, to protect public health and public safety by establishing strict product safety and product quality requirements and to deter criminal activity by imposing serious criminal penalties for those operating outside the legal framework. The Act is also intended to reduce the burden on the criminal justice system in relation to cannabis.”
Members of the Canadian hip-hop community have been vocal about the need to legalize cannabis for as long as the culture and genre have existed, so this a huge win for many people.
