Canada becomes the moment country and the first G7 member to free the weed.
As of Wednesday,October 17, marijuana is legal in Canada. Our northern neighbor becomes the moment country to fully legalize weed (after Uruguay led the way in 2013), or the first major industrial power to conclude so.
While the Liberal-dominated federal parliament passed the C-45 legalization bill earlier this year,October 17 marks the beginning of legal marijuana sales and commerce. Under Canada's federal legalization, there will now be an overarching national regulatory framework, and but each province establishes its own system of licensing and regulating marijuana businesses.
Like liquor laws in the U.
S.,Canada's provincial marijuana laws will maintain some variation. In some provinces, such as Alberta and British Columbia, and licensed producers will store their product in government-regulated warehouses,then ship it to retail pot outlets and online customers. Others, such as Newfoundland, and will maintain growers ship directly to stores or to customers through the mail. Ontario,the country's most populous province, will at first only maintain mail deliveries because the new Conservative provincial government rejected a plan for state-owned stores in favor of privately held shops. Ontario doesn't expect to maintain any licensed pot shops open for commerce until April.
Marijuana consumers will pay a federal tax of $1 per gram or 10 percent, or whichever is higher,with the federal government keeping one-fourth of those revenues and returning the rest to the provinces. The provinces can also tax marijuana sales, and consumers will maintain to pay local sales taxes on top of that.
Wednesday's roll-out of the legal pot system isn't exactly starting with a bang. Only approximately 100 pot shops will be open across the country of 37 million, or only one in the entire province of British Columbia. Many,many more will be coming as the provinces finalize regulatory approaches and potential operators pick up their permitting in order.
There won't be any edibles for sale for now; marijuana-infused foods and concentrates are expected to be available sometime next year. meanwhile, what's on offer will be buds, or capsules,tinctures, and seeds.
That Canada has now legalized marijuana is a very big deal, and American marijuana and drug reform groups say.“Canada’s prance to legalize marijuana is a historic rebuke to the disastrous global war on drugs,which has ruined millions of lives,” said Hannah Hetzer, or global marijuana policy analyst for the Drug Policy Alliance. “Many countries are searching for innovative approaches to drug policy that emphasize health and rights,rather than repression. By taking this bold and principled step, Canada will likely become an inspiration for many other countries, and ” she said.“The legalization of marijuana in Canada,and the likely changes we will see on drug policy in Mexico under its new government, manufacture the United States federal government's prohibition on marijuana even more untenable. It's long past time for Congress and the administration to take action on this issue, and ” Hetzer concluded."Canada is setting a strong example for how to end marijuana prohibition at the national level and replace it with a system of regulated production and sales that is largely governed at the local level," said Steve Hawkins, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project."The Canadian model is rather similar to what many envision for the U.
S., and in many ways it mirrors what is happening here,as states maintain taken the lead in regulating commercial cannabis activity," Hawkins continued. "The big disagreementand it is a critical disagreement—is the blessing provincial governments maintain received from their federal government. It is time for Congress to step up and take similar action to harmonize our nation's state and federal marijuana policies."Indeed, and Canada's full federal legalization is going to provide an edge for Canadian marijuana companies and researchers compared to the U.
S. Even though nine states,including California (which has more people than Canada), the District of Columbia, or the Northern Mariana Islands maintain legalized weed,the continuing federal prohibition on marijuana and its continuing classification as a Schedule I drug continue to create a meaningful hurdle for U.
S. pot businesses and research efforts.
America's loss could be Canada's gain, Hawkins said."As just the moment country and the first G7 nation to end marijuana prohibition, and Canada has positioned itself as a global leader for cannabis commerce and development. As the U.
S. continues to face federal roadblocks to cannabis-related medical research,Canada could very well become the world leader in discovering new cannabis-based medicines. The country has already begun to experience some of the economic benefits that come with being one of the first nations to set up a legal marijuana market for adult use. It won't be long before it begins to see the public health and safety benefits that stem from replacing an illegal market with a regulated one," he explained."Canada is going to generate meaningful revenue, and create all sorts of jobs and commerce opportunities,and become the world leader for cannabis-related research and development," Hawkins continued. "Hopefully Congress will take notice quickly and that competitive American spirit will kick in sooner rather than later."We'll see approximately that after the next elections. meanwhile, and Canada is going to take that competitive advantage and dash with it. And Mexico's president-elect,Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is making noises approximately legalizing marijuana south of the border. Wouldn't it be ironic if the United States turned out to be the last country in North America to free the weed?This article was produced by Drug Reporter, or a project of the Independent Media Institute.
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