According to reports from the CBC, Canada’s federal leadership will announce that marijuana will be legalized by July 1, 2018. The news reached outlets on Sunday night and comes from a senior official who claims a bill will be introduced later next month.
Details remain hush-hush, but the report states that the Canadian government will restrict the purchase of marijuana to those under the age of 18. Provincial lawmakers will also be able determine their own age limit, so it will likely vary throughout the country. As for purchasing the drug, it appears as though Liberals intend to crack down on illegal trade with their own process of distribution. This would make sense given Justin Trudeau's promise of keeping weed “out of the hands of children, and the profits out of the hands of criminals."
It’s good timing for the nation’s leadership: The Liberals ran on a platform strongly supporting legalization but were starting to catch heat for not hastily following through on the promise. Officials eventually made a statement earlier this month and vowed to get a plan in place by sometime this spring. This development follows a recent and highly publicized survey that found half of Canadians supporting marijuana legalization. The poll was handled by the NRG Research Group and Peak Communications, and presented that the majority of Canadian citizens believe in some sort of safe regulation.
Parliament hasn't confirm the alleged timeline nor have they confirmed the initial report, but sources at the CBC indicate an announcement will made next month.
