Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made international headlines when he campaigned on a pro-marijuana platform. He continued to make headlines when he won running on the platform, and all eyes in the marijuana world have been on Canada ever since. I have heard the question, ‘when will marijuana be legalized in Canada?’ asked a lot lately. Justin Trudeau recently issued a letter giving mandates to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. Among many mandates was the following in regards to marijuana:
Working with the Ministers of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and Health, create a federal-provincial-territorial process that will lead to the legalization and regulation of marijuana.
I have to pinch myself every time I read it. I can’t even imagine how excited Canadian cannabis supporters are right now. Here you have a sitting Prime Minister mandating marijuana legalization as one of his first acts after taking over the job. I wish that more leaders were so sensible!
To the South, I know that many marijuana reform supporters are hoping that Bernie Sanders will follow in the same footsteps. I would say that Justin Trudeau’s mandate is actually even more progressive than Bernie Sanders’ stance, in that it mandates regulation in addition to ending prohibition. Bernie Sanders’ plan would just end federal prohibition, leaving it up to the states to decide their own marijuana policies, which is still a fantastic political position.
