Effective October 17th, Canada will legalize recreational marijuana throughout the country. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau notes how this move will positively impact organized crime whilst protecting the nation's youth.
The Senate gave their final blessings to the bill to legalize cannabis on Tuesday, making Canada only the second country, next to Uruguay, to legally authorize the drug nationwide.
Trudeau admits that provincial and territorial governments will need some extra time in order to prepare for marijuana's infiltration of the retail market. "It is our hope as of October 17 there will be a smooth operation of retail cannabis outlets operated by the provinces with an online mail delivery system operated by the provinces that will ensure that this happens in an orderly fashion," he discloses.
Trudeau continues to note how "over the following months and indeed years we will completely replace or almost completely replace the organized crime market on that."
"The legislation is transformative," states Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, revealing how it "marks a wholesale shift in how our country approaches cannabis, leaving behind a failed model of prohibition." Until then, Wilson-Raybould urges Canadians to follow existing laws surrounding the drug, as "the law still remains the law."