How Canada can ensure legalized pot trumps the black market
The government will introduce legislation that will legalize, regulate, and restrict access to marijuana.- Governor General David Johnston, December throne speech
The Liberal government has not yet indicated when, and how, it will make marijuana legal to Canadians but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked MP Bill Blair, the former Toronto police chief, to be his point man on the file.
Of course, medical marijuana is already available to anyone with a prescription. But opening up the pot market to recreational users raises some very big, practical questions: Like how, and where, pot should be sold and regulated? And how to avoid, well.... legalized reefer madness?
Pot quiz: Test your knowledge of marijuana
Guests in this segment:
- George Smitherman is a former deputy premier and health minister of Ontario. Today he runs THC Meds Ontario INC., a company working on getting its medical marijuana licence. He was in Toronto.
- Kirk Tousaw is a lawyer who works in the cannabis industry in Duncan, B.C.
- Jonathan Singer is a Democratic Party member of the Colorado House of Representatives who was instrumental in shaping the state's marijuana laws. Pot sales began there in 2014. He was in Longmont, Colorado.
The Current contacted Bill Blair, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice for comment. He was not available.
How do you think pot should be grown, bought and sold in Canada?
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