On October 17th, 2018, Canada became the second country in the world to Legalise Cannabis and regulate it for recreational use and sale purposes. The campaign started in 2015, it was a promise to legalise marijuana in Canada. It was the government’s and the minister’s way to push organised crime out of the industry and get cannabis out of the hands of the youth. Statistics have shown, 5.4 million Canadians will purchase marijuana in 2018 from dispensaries that are legal, which is about 15% of the population. Cannabis can now be legally bought online and in stores. For the sale of edibles, they will be legal to buy and sell next year. The demand for marijuana has heightened, hundreds of growers have been licensed to sell the product and some have taken over floriculture and horticulture greenhouses. The sale of cannabis is forecasted to provide the government with a 400 million tax revenue windfall and it is also predicted to boost economic growth by up to 1.1 billion. Canada has made history, and prohibition has finally ended!

The Legal Policy 

There are several aspects of cannabis that are still illegal:

1. Quebec and Alberta have set the minimum age of purchase to 18, while the rest have limited the age to 19.
2. Canadians can hold up to 30 grams (one ounce) of legal cannabis in public.
3. They can share up to 30 grams (one ounce) of cannabis with other adults.
4. 4 cannabis plants can be grown in the home per residence for personal use.
5. Cannabis can be purchased from provincially licensed stores.
6. It is now legal to make your own food and drink products at your own residence with the use of cannabis, provided organic solvents are not used.

The government also passed a new drug-impaired driving legislation that includes a fine and a possibility of jail time. A saliva sample test is taken to test for THC, the main compound found in Cannabis.

Canada’s Previous Cannabis Laws

For much of the past century, the use of Cannabis for any reason was against the law. Whether you used cannabis for medicinal or recreational purposes, it was still shaped as a banned substance. Cannabis was banned from the country in 1923 and many people had never heard or seen cannabis before. In the 1960s, cannabis was very rarely known or seen in the mainstream population. However, it then became popular and began to increase among the youth of higher means, social use, and among the well-educated.  In 2001, cannabis became legal for medicinal purposes only.