'Weed' Did It! Marijuana to Be Legal in Canada by July 2018

The Canadian government is planning to legalize marijuana in the country by July 2018.

A senior government official reportedly spoke to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and confirmed that Bill Blair, the former Toronto police chief, briefed the Liberals on the plan during caucus meetings this weekend.

According to CBC, the liberals will introduce a piece of legislation in April to begin the process of legalizing and regulating the "weed."

Meanwhile, CP24 reached out to Blair on Monday for comments. The Liberal MP asserted that the proposed measure would follow recommendations suggested by the federal marijuana task force. The task force delivered a 106-page report in December with 80 recommendations.

"We have canvassed very extensively, right across the country, and examined the experience in other jurisdictions so that the government could receive from the Task Force recommendations to enable us to do a good job, a comprehensive job of protecting our kids, taking the money away from criminals and protecting the health of our citizens," Blair told CP24.

Provisions would reportedly include setting a minimum age of 18 to buy marijuana in Ottawa while provinces will have the option of deciding how much they will sell marijuana. Canadian households will also be allowed to grow their own marijuana. However, each household can only grow four plants, with a height limit of 100 centimeters.

Meanwhile, the federal government will oversee the supply of the drug and continue to license producers.

BBC noted that medical marijuana has been legal in Canada since 2001 and is grown by 40 federally licensed producers. If the proposed legislation will be passed into law, Canada will become the biggest country to decriminalize and regulate recreational marijuana.

The Guardian cited that since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assumed his position, he has been vocal about the need to prioritize legalizing and regulating recreational marijuana to ensure that its full benefits are utilized in a good way.