Pubdate: Thu, 21 Apr 2016
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2016 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.utsandiego.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386
Note: Seldom prints LTEs from outside it's circulation area.

CANADA MOVES TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

OTTAWA - The Canadian government announced Wednesday that it will 
introduce legislation next year to decriminalize and legalize 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 U.N. drug conference in New York. It follows through on a 
promise made during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's successful 
election campaign last fall.

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."

With the Liberals holding a majority in the House of Commons, the 
marijuana legislation is likely to pass. The move is the latest in a 
string of policy announcements from Trudeau that have moved Canada to 
the left after a decade of Conservative Party rule, including last 
week's unveiling of legislation to permit assisted suicide.

THE WASHINGTON POST
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom