Canada Health Minister Jane Philpott announced at the special session of the U.N. Drug Policy Summit in New York Wednesday that the country’s legislation to legalize marijuana will be ready by spring of 2017.
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The government took opportunity to make the announcement on World Weed Day, celebrated by smokers worldwide on April 20, in order to further the discussion.
Bill Blair, the former police chief of Toronto and now Canada’s point man on legalization said, “It's important to do it right. And so, we're looking at regulations with respect to production, distribution, the retail and consumption of marijuana and we want to make sure that it's based on the best advice from experts."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose election campaign last year included the promise of legalizing recreational marijuana, has repeatedly emphasized the policy is to ensure pot is kept out of the hands of children. However, when pressed by NDP leader Thomas Mulcair on the issue of decriminalization, Trudeau said that simply decriminalizing marijuana does not help in keeping pot away from children but he would offer a legal stream of income to criminals selling it.
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Blair farther emphasized that current laws that make marijuana illegal remain in effect.
The federal Liberal Party's policy on pot will breach three global treaties on illicit drug use that had been signed by previous Canadian governments.
Medical marijuana is already legal in Canada.