Pubdate: Thu, 20 Apr 2017 Source: Northumberland Today (CN ON) Copyright: 2017 Sun Media Contact: http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/letters Website: http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5003 Author: Ralph Goodale Page: A5 CHANGING MARIJUANA LAWS If your objectives are to protect public health and safety, keep marijuana out of the hands of minors and cut illegal profits flowing to organized crime - then the law as it stands today has been an abject failure. Law enforcement agencies in Canada spend an estimated $2-3 billion a year trying to fight pot, yet Canadian teenagers are among the heaviest users in the western world. And criminals walk away with $7-8 billion every year in illicit proceeds. We have to do better. Health and safety objectives have been in the forefront of our approach to cannabis. The new legislation we introduced last week reflects that - to do a better job of protecting our kids and fighting crime. We have benefited from the advice of an Expert Task Force which gathered the best available data, medical and legal input, the experiences of other jurisdictions and the views of Canadians. Our proposals are in line with their recommendations. The new law would create a framework for legalizing, strictly regulating and restricting the use of cannabis: * Only adults (18 years of age and older) will have legal access through an appropriate retail framework, and sourced from a safe and well-regulated industry, or grown in small amounts at home (i.e., a maximum of four plants in any one residence). * Provinces will be able to set a higher minimum age or a lower home limit, if they deem that appropriate. * It will be legal for adults to possess, use and share (with other adults) up to 30 grams in public. * Commercial producers of cannabis will be federally-licensed and security cleared. Strict product safety and standards will be required. Mail order distribution will be allowed, but generally retail operations will be under provincial jurisdiction to regulate. Municipalities will be able to enact local bylaws reflecting community preferences (e.g., where cannabis is produced or consumed). * Serious criminal penalties will apply to all those operating outside this framework, with a strong focus on illicit production and trafficking, those who try to exploit children and youth, and drug-impaired driving. Importing and exporting cannabis will also remain illegal (unless exceptionally authorized for medical or scientific purposes by Health Canada). * For a young person (under 18), it will be an offence to possess, use or share marijuana. Prosecutions will be governed by the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Criminal charges will not be laid where the amount involved is under 5 grams, but provinces could create "ticketable" offences to deal with such small amounts. * Promotion, packaging, labelling and display will be tightly controlled to ensure factual accuracy and prevent appeals to young people. * The new law will be accompanied by a strong public education campaign to explain the risks and dangers associated with the use of pot, especially by young people, and to warn against irresponsible behaviour at any age. Ralph Goodale Minister of Public Safety - --- MAP posted-by: Matt