Canada and Canabis

Confronting the failed “War on Drugs”  head on and offering leadership and a new model for other nations to follow, Canada on Tuesday became the second country in the world—following Uruguay—to fully legalize recreational use of the substance at the federal level.

The Canadian Senate voted 52 to 29 to legalize recreational marijuana use, paving the way for a fully legal marketplace for the plant within the next two to three months.

The House of Commons had already passed the bill on Monday. Independent Sen. Tony Dean, who sponsored the Cannabis Act in the Senate, called the decision “historic” and looked ahead to the impact marijuana legalization could have on Canada’s criminal justice system.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau praised the upper house of Parliament’s decision on the matter, saying that the legal, regulated sale of marijuana—which has become increasingly popular among Canadian baby boomers in recent years—will limit young teenagers’ access to it.

“This is a historic step forward for the movement to end marijuana prohibition,” said Mason Tvert, spokesperson for the Marijuana Policy Project, who called on “the U.S. to take similar action and adopt a more rational federal marijuana policy.”

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