Canadian Task Force Outlines Recreational Cannabis Plan to Prime Minister Trudeau

A federal task force in Canada has told lawmakers that the country should allow adults over the age of 18 to purchase and cultivate small amounts of cannabis.

The recommendation is part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s campaign pledge to make Canada the second developed nation to end cannabis prohibition for recreational use.

In the past Trudeau has alluded that recreational cannabis could become legal country-wide as soon as next spring. In an effort to convince his citizens, he has commissioned a number of experts to examine what regulatory measures they would recommend for a potential recreational system. The fact finding missions are being led by Anne McLellan, a former cabinet minister, and they have supplied the Prime Minister with numerous recommendations.

“Now is the time to move away from a system that has, for decades, been focused on the prohibition of cannabis into a regulated legal market,” Ms. McLellan said at a news conference Tuesday, CBC reported.

The recommended system would permit individuals, 18 and older, to grow up to four cannabis plants and possess up to 30 grams of dried cannabis. On the retail side, the task force recommends that select shops be permitted to sell cannabis, under specific regulations. One provision is to restrict the sale of cannabis in a shop that also sells alcohol. Another suggests that cannabis be taxed according to its potency.

The Task Force visited Colorado and Washington in the United States, both of which have legal recreational cannabis, to speak with lawmakers and shop owners about potential pitfalls in the recreational cannabis space. They also visited Uruguay, the only current developed nation with legal recreational cannabis.

“We’ve been told by those who’ve gone before to expect surprises,” she said at Tuesday’s briefing.

Canada legalized medical cannabis in 2001, and currently oversees 36 federally-licensed cannabis growers.