Canadian lawmakers passed sweeping cannabis legalization on Tuesday that will legalize recreational use of marijuana by adults.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government had hoped to make pot legal by July 1, but the government said local governments will need eight to 12 weeks to prepare for retail sales.

Trudeau's Cabinet is expected to set a legalization date in early or mid-September.

While many nations have decriminalized marijuana, Uruguay had previously been the only country to legalize marijuana nationwide.

Canada's legislation, known as the Cannabis Act, allows provinces to establish their own systems for licensing and regulating marijuana businesses, according to a statement from the Marijuana Policy Project.

Under the national framework, adults will be allow to possess up to 30 grams of marijuana, the Marijuana Policy Project says.

"It’s been too easy for our kids to get marijuana - and for criminals to reap the profits. Today, we change that. Our plan to legalize & regulate marijuana just passed the Senate," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted in reaction to the bill's passage Tuesday.

June 6: Canada poised to approve legal marijuana sales; pot shops could be open by late summer

In the USA, nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis, but marijuana remains federally classified a Schedule 1 drug with "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse," according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Recreational marijuana sales in Canada could be worth $3.3 billion by 2027.

The next step for the legislation: being sent to the governor general for royal assent, Marijuana Policy Project reported in a statement.

Contributing: Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, and the Associated Press</s>Both chambers of the Canadian Parliament have approved a new law that legalizes marijuana in the country. The Cannabis Act allows both possession and home growth of a limited amount of the plant. Medicinal use of marijuana has been legal in Canada since the early 2000s. Further liberalization is hoped to disrupt the black market, reduce the workload on the justice system and bring investment to the pot industry.</s>OTTAWA -- Canadians will be able to legally purchase and consume recreational marijuana by mid-September at the latest after the Senate voted Tuesday to lift almost a century-old prohibition on cannabis.

Senators voted 52-29, with two abstentions, to pass bill C-45, after seven months of study and debate.

Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor has said the provinces will need two to three months after the bill is passed before they'll be ready to implement the new legalized cannabis regime.

"We have seen in the Senate tonight a historic vote that ends 90 years of prohibition of cannabis in this country, 90 years of needless criminalization, 90 years of a just-say-no approach to drugs that hasn't worked," said independent Sen. Tony Dean, who sponsored the bill in the upper house.

Canada is the first industrialized country to legalize cannabis nationwide.

"I'm proud of Canada today. This is progressive social policy," Dean said.

However, Dean and other senators stressed that the government is taking a very cautious, prudent approach to this historic change. Cannabis will be strictly regulated, with the objective of keeping it out of the hands of young people and displacing the thriving black market in cannabis controlled by organized crime.

"What the government's approach has been is, yes, legalization but also strict control," said Sen. Peter Harder, the government's representative in the Senate.

"That does not in any way suggest that it's now party time."

Conservative senators remained resolutely opposed to legalization, however, and predicted passage of C-45 will not meet the government's objectives.

"The impact is we're going to have all those involved in illegal marijuana peddling right now becoming large corporations and making a lot of money and they're going to be doing it at the expense of vulnerable people in this country," said Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos, predicting young people will have more -- not less -- access.

"When you normalize the use of marijuana and you're a young person and you had certain reservations because of the simple fact that it was illegal, there's, I believe, a propensity to have somebody be more inclined to use it."</s>Canada's recreational boating industry says it's bracing for big losses if proposed countermeasures against American tariffs go ahead on July 1.

On Wednesday, the National Marine Manufacturers Association Canada, which represents the recreational boating industry, wrote a two-page letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It asked that the federal government remove four tariffs that target recreational boats from its proposed scope of retaliatory tariffs against the United States.

These tariffs "will cause irreparable and disastrous damage to the industry, from which it would likely never recover," wrote association president Sara Anghel.

The four tariffs of 10 per cent the National Marine Manufacturers Association Canada wants lifted include:
• Sailboats, with or without auxiliary motor
• Outboard motorboats, other vessels for pleasure or sport

Should those four tariffs come into effect, the association requests a grace period of six months to allow Canadian recreational boat dealers to adapt to the new pricing scheme.

Should the tariffs proceed and be removed in a few months, the association requests the tariff be paid back so as not to unfairly burden Canadian importers and dealers.

According to Anghel, the recreational boat industry in Canada generates $10 billion in revenues with a GDP of $5.6 billion and employs 75,000 Canadians. There are nearly 5,000 marine-related businesses across the country, many of them small and family-owned.

"[W]e must emphasize that the proposed Canadian countermeasures will have severe negative and long-term impact to the jobs, taxes and tourism that recreational boating represents — and generates — across Canada," wrote Anghel.

She stated recreational boat tariffs will be mostly felt by middle-class Canadians and will come at a particularly bad time for recreational boating as the industry is gearing up for the summer boating season.

"Canadian dealers are already cancelling orders and bracing for a sales downturn."

In the Maritimes, where there are more than 4,000 people employed in the recreational boating industry, people are already bracing for a downturn according to Patricia Nelder, executive director of the Atlantic Marine Trades Association/Boating Atlantic.

"One of our members wrote to me and he feels that if the 10 per cent tariff goes through it will have a drastic effect on his business since all his new boats that he's selling come from the U.S," said Nelder, who's from Martins River, N.S.

Nelder said the majority of recreational boats sold in the Maritimes are imported from the U.S.

She says the recreational boating industry is already facing enough challenges thanks to a perfect storm of factors — tariffs on both side of the border, volatile aluminum prices and a weakening exchange rate with the U.S. — that stand to spark a significant spike in prices for imported American vessels.

For example, a pontoon boat that costs $50,000 now could be selling for $65,000 after July 1 if retaliatory tariffs go ahead.

Nelder said some business sectors in the recreational boating industry, including marinas, are expecting a 20 to 25 per cent decrease in business and corresponding job losses as a result.

The Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs said on Friday it concluded a consultation period to ensure there are no unintended consequences of Canada's retaliatory tariffs. The results of the consultation will be reviewed with a final list of countermeasures to follow.

The U.S. announced the imposition of tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum products from Canada last month.

In response, Canada announced dollar-for-dollar tariffs on up to $16.6 billion worth of U.S. imports.

These retaliatory tariffs include more than just steel, aluminum and recreational boats. Ballpoint pens, beer kegs, bobbins and many other goods are included in a long list of countermeasures set to take effect on Canada Day unless the U.S. eliminates its trade restrictions.</s>Canadian lawmakers passed sweeping cannabis legalization on Tuesday that will legalize recreational use of marijuana by adults.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government had hoped to make pot legal by July 1, but the government said local governments will need eight to 12 weeks to prepare for retail sales.

Trudeau's Cabinet is expected to set a legalization date in early or mid-September.

While many nations have decriminalized marijuana, Uruguay had previously been the only country to legalize marijuana nationwide.

Canada's legislation, known as the Cannabis Act, allows provinces to establish their own systems for licensing and regulating marijuana businesses, according to a statement from the Marijuana Policy Project.

Under the national framework, adults will be allow to possess up to 30 grams of marijuana, the Marijuana Policy Project says.

"It’s been too easy for our kids to get marijuana - and for criminals to reap the profits. Today, we change that. Our plan to legalize & regulate marijuana just passed the Senate," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted in reaction to the bill's passage Tuesday.

June 6: Canada poised to approve legal marijuana sales; pot shops could be open by late summer

In the USA, nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis, but marijuana remains federally classified a Schedule 1 drug with "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse," according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Recreational marijuana sales in Canada could be worth $3.3 billion by 2027.

The next step for the legislation: being sent to the governor general for royal assent, Marijuana Policy Project reported in a statement.

Contributing: Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, and the Associated Press</s>Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vowed to sign into law any bill that legalizes cannabis in the Great White North.

Canada’s House of Commons voted Tuesday to legalize recreational marijuana nationwide, and the proposed law will now head to the country’s Senate, where it faces an uncertain future, NPR News is reporting.

In its current form, the bill would make it legal for any adult over 18 years of age to possess less than 30 grams (or just over an ounce) of marijuana. What’s more, the bill would allow Canadians to have up to four marijuana plants in their homes.

Now in Canada’s Senate, which is composed of appointees rather than elected representatives, and which has less power than the House, the bill faces an uncertain future. Already Senators have proposed at least 46 amendments to the law, including one that would allow Canada’s 15 provinces to forbid their residents from growing pot in their own homes. Thirteen of those amendments have already been rejected by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.

Also, according to ABS-CBN News, the Canadian Senate doesn’t have the power to block the law, but rather, it can only delay its implementation. The law will also require royal assent from the Governor General, acting on behalf of Canada’s constitutional sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II. However, the role of Governor General is largely ceremonial and she lacks any real political power.

Liberal spokesperson Bill Blair said that the law will likely be in effect by the end of summer.

In an official news release from Trudeau’s Liberal government, the ruling party said that Canada’s 95-year prohibition of cannabis has failed on every level.

However, opposition party opponents say that the bill, as written, does little to combat the black market of cannabis in Canada. Conservative Senator Percy Mockler, speaking for the opposition, said that the bill “suffers from a serious absence of policy analysis.”

In Canada’s neighbor to the south, the United States, the future of marijuana continues to get murkier. Although marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, over half of the 50 states have legalized either recreational or medical marijuana. The Obama-era Justice Department followed a general guideline of not interfering in states’ rights to allow marijuana – a policy that Trump appointee Jeff Sessions reversed. However, Donald Trump has promised to support a bill that would affirm the states’ rights to regulate marijuana on their own, according to The Hill.</s>Canadian lawmakers passed sweeping cannabis legalization on Tuesday that will legalize recreational use of marijuana by adults.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government had hoped to make pot legal by July 1, but the government said local governments will need eight to 12 weeks to prepare for retail sales.

Trudeau's Cabinet is expected to set a legalization date in early or mid-September.

While many nations have decriminalized marijuana, Uruguay had previously been the only country to legalize marijuana nationwide.

Canada's legislation, known as the Cannabis Act, allows provinces to establish their own systems for licensing and regulating marijuana businesses, according to a statement from the Marijuana Policy Project.

Under the national framework, adults will be allow to possess up to 30 grams of marijuana, the Marijuana Policy Project says.

"It’s been too easy for our kids to get marijuana - and for criminals to reap the profits. Today, we change that. Our plan to legalize & regulate marijuana just passed the Senate," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted in reaction to the bill's passage Tuesday.

June 6: Canada poised to approve legal marijuana sales; pot shops could be open by late summer

In the USA, nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis, but marijuana remains federally classified a Schedule 1 drug with "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse," according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Recreational marijuana sales in Canada could be worth $3.3 billion by 2027.

The next step for the legislation: being sent to the governor general for royal assent, Marijuana Policy Project reported in a statement.

Contributing: Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, and the Associated Press</s>Recreational marijuana use is a step closer to being legal in Canada, after the House of Commons approved the Cannabis Act on Monday. The legislation is now in the Senate, where it has been the subject of debate and proposed amendments.

"The Senate had proposed 46 amendments to The Cannabis Act but the Liberal government rejected several major ones last week," the CBC reports, "including one provision that would have affirmed the provinces' right to ban home cultivation of marijuana."

A reminder: In Canada's parliamentary system, the House of Commons is the more powerful of the two chambers. The Senate, whose members are appointed rather than elected, plays a somewhat controversial role and is often the subject of talk about reform — similar to Britain's House of Lords.

Canada's minister of justice sponsored the cannabis bill; the government announced its push for legalization last spring with an official news release that stated, "The current approach to cannabis does not work."

The government said that making marijuana illegal "has allowed criminals and organized crime to profit, while failing to keep cannabis out of the hands of Canadian youth."

It added, "In many cases, it is easier for our kids to buy cannabis than cigarettes."

Those points were echoed by Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last fall, when he welcomed the news that the bill was making its way to the Senate.

The proposed law would make it legal for anyone who's over 18 years old to possess marijuana, provided that it's less than 30 grams (just over an ounce). It also allows Canadians to grow up to four marijuana plants in their home.

The bill's authors write that legalization would have several benefits, from protecting the health of young people (by restricting access) to undercutting criminal enterprises and reducing the workload of the criminal justice system. It would also allow for quality control and public health awareness campaigns.

But critics of the bill say that part of the reason they want to keep marijuana illegal is that they're not convinced that the government will be able to disrupt the marijuana black market to any substantial degree.

That was one point raised by Conservative Sen. Percy Mockler, who said on Monday that "the initiative suffers from a serious absence of policy analysis."

During the debate, Sen. Peter Harder, the government representative in the Senate, said:



Canada's government has also published the results of a cannabis survey, based on more than 9,000 responses from people across the country, ages 16 and up.

In the survey, 'About half of all respondents indicated that cannabis had a positive effect on a person's mood (51 percent), creativity (45 percent), anxiety (50 percent), and sleep (49 percent)," Canada's health ministry said.

The government also said "77 percent of all survey respondents thought that using cannabis could be habit forming."

Medical marijuana has been legal in Canada since the early 2000s. If it legalizes recreational use now, it would give America's northern neighbor another competitive edge in what is widely seen as an emerging and lucrative industry.

"You've got big American alcohol and tobacco companies making investments in Canadian pot firms, because they see an opening," as Peter O'Dowd reported for NPR's Here and Now last month.

One expert told O'Dowd that because of America's more restrictive laws, "We are literally giving the next multibillion-dollar industry... to the Canadians."</s>The Canadian parliament passed a bill Monday to legalize cannabis that would make Canada the first G7 country to allow free consumption of the mind-altering drug.

The bill was passed by 205 votes to 82 in the House of Commons. The legislation must now pass the Senate, and receive royal assent by the governor general before becoming law, likely by September. The Senate could still delay its implementation, but not block it.

"We're probably looking at a date of implementation (of legalization) somewhere toward the beginning of September, perhaps mid-September," the Liberal government's pointman on the pot file, Bill Blair, told broadcaster CTV on Sunday.

Last week, the government rejected 13 out of 46 amendments to the bill proposed by the Senate after several months of study, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's health minister rising to defend home cultivation of cannabis and branded pot swag.

"Canadians are allowed to make beer at home, or wine," Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor said Friday. "It is already possible for Canadians to grow cannabis for medical purposes and we absolutely believe the legislation should be consistent when it comes to recreational cannabis."

The government, she said, would follow its expert panel's recommendation to allow at-home cultivation of up to four pot plants for personal use.

As for the proposed advertising restrictions, she said the bill already contains limits such as a requirement for plain packaging.

Legalizing weed was a 2015 campaign promise of Trudeau, who has admitted having smoked a joint with friends "five or six times."

An initial July 1 target was set for ending the pot prohibition that dates back to 1923.

Despite political setbacks, Trudeau has insisted his government would move to legalize the production, sale and consumption of the psychoactive drug this year.

Statistics Canada has estimated that the market will be worth Can$5.7 billion (U.S.$4.5 billion), based on last year's consumption data.</s>TORONTO — Canada’s Senate has given final passage to the federal government’s bill to legalize recreational cannabis, though Canadians will have to wait at least a few months to legally buy marijuana.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government had hoped to make pot legal by July 1, but the government has said provincial and territorial governments will need eight to 12 weeks following Senate passage and royal assent to prepare for retail sales. Trudeau’s Cabinet is expected to decide a legalization date in early or mid-September.

The law makes Canada the second country to have a nationwide, legal marijuana market, after Uruguay. Each province in Canada is coming up with rules for the sale of recreational pot.

The bill passed in the Senate by a vote of 52-29 on Tuesday.
The House of Commons of Canada votes to legalize recreational cannabis. The bill will now head back to the Senate, where it is expected to be passed into law.