Canada to decriminalise cannabis

Stuff reports:

The Canadian government says it will introduce legislation next year to decriminalise and legalise the sale of marijuana, making Canada the first G7 country to permit widespread use of the substance.

The announcement was made by Canada’s health minister, Jane Philpott, at a United Nations drug conference in New York. It follows through on a promise made during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s successful election campaign last year.

Philpott said details of the legislation are being worked out, but she vowed that the government “will keep marijuana out of the hands of children and profits out of the hands of criminals.”

This follows three or four US states that have done the same.

One study by a leading Canadian bank estimated that legalisation could spark development of an annual marijuana trade worth about C$10 billion (NZ$11n).

Better to tax it than have a black market.