If you haven’t heard yet, then you might just be living under a rock – Canada’s newly chosen Prime Minister has pledged that he would legalize marijuana nationwide and from the looks of it, it won’t take long.
The benefits an entire country would see from legalizing marijuana would be vast – and we will finally get to see these changes on a national level. If things go as successfully in Canada as they have in states like Colorado, Washington and Oregon then we may have a better chance for legalization in more states or even the entirety of the United States given some time.
Actually, it is interesting to note that Canada will be looking to the mistakes and successes of the American states with legal marijuana in order to create their own laws. After all, creating a legal distribution and cultivation industry takes a lot of work and a lot of trial and error – luckily for Canada there are places to look and see what works and what doesn’t.
For example, they will likely take into consideration all the challenges that Colorado had with edibles and implement laws with specific dosages and packaging requirements from the get-go. They will also be better prepared to decide how much cannabis a person can purchase at one time and carry on their person by taking a look at which states have been the most successful thus far.
Similar to the U.S., Canada has over half (59%, whereas we have 58%) of the population in favor of legalizing the plant. However with the changes in the coming months, Canada will be the first nation to have a FULLY regulated industry with standards across the entire country.
However considering all the chaos in the last month or so including raids on multiple medical marijuana dispensaries, it seems that maybe they just aren’t working fast enough. It seems to me that with the impending changes, those in the government who do not approve with be on a vendetta to get as many people and companies as they can before the laws change.
It will never be an easy process to try and legalize a controlled substance, no matter who you are, where you live or at what level of government – there will always be people who do not share your views and opinions. However it is the truth that the majority wins in this case as Canada is hoping to have marijuana legalized as soon as next year.
