OTTAWA – Some of the highlights from the suite of bills introduced Thursday by the federal Liberal government to legalize recreational marijuana:
– Sales to be restricted to people age 18 and older, although provinces would have the jurisdiction to increase their own minimum age.
– Adults 18 and older would be allowed to publicly possess up to 30 grams of dried cannabis, or its equivalent in non-dried form.
– Sales by mail or courier through a federally licensed producer would be allowed in provinces that lack a regulated retail system.
READ MORE: Nine questions Parliament will have to answer before we legalize marijuana
– Adults aged 18 and older would be allowed to grow up to four cannabis plants for each residence, with plants not to exceed one metre in height.
– Adults aged 18 and older would also be allowed to produce legal cannabis products, such as food or drinks, for personal use at home.
– At first, sales will entail only fresh and dried cannabis, cannabis oils and seeds and plants for cultivation. Sales of edibles will come later, once regulations for production and sale can be developed.
– Possession, production and distribution outside the legal system would remain illegal, as would imports or exports without a federal permit. Such permits will cover only limited purposes, such as medical or scientific cannabis and industrial hemp.
– Travellers entering Canada would still be subject to inspections for prohibited goods, including cannabis.
– The existing program for access to medical marijuana would continue as it currently exists.
-Regulated limit of THC in a driver’s blood stream.
-Roadside saliva test would be conducted to help determine impairment
– Driving within two hours an illegal amount of THC in the blood will be punishable by fines ranging from up to $1,000 to up to life in jail.
-Regulations will prohibit package designs that can be deemed to be appealing to young people. Cartoon characters, endorsements or images that connect cannabis with a glamorous or exciting lifestyle would also be banned.
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