Canada legalises possession and consumption of cannabis
Canada has become the second country in the world to make the possession and recreational consumption of cannabis legal, fulfilling a 2015 campaign pledge by prime minister Justin Trudeau.
He argued that the law that criminalized non-medical possession and use of cannabis was ineffective as Canadians are amongst the world’s heaviest users of the drug. The new laws come into effect at midnight tonight (17th October), and have been introduced to reduce the burden of laws relating to cannabis on the Candian justice system. It has been reported that any Canadian citizens convicted of past simple possession charges will be granted pardons.
However, it will remain illegal for any unlicensed person to sell cannabis to another person, meaning that Canadians will have to buy the drug from a registered dispensary.
Anyone found selling marijuana withouth a licence will face fines of up to $5,000, or up to 14 years in prison. It is unclear, however, how the police and health officials will deal with the anticipated increase in cannabis use.
According to accounting firm Deloitte, legal marijuana is expected to become more than a $6bn (£3.5bn) business in Canada in 2019, with up to $4.34bn (£2.5bn) coming from the legal recreational market and as much as $1.79bn (£1.04) from medical sales.