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Canada: marijuana to be legal by July 1, 2018

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Simon Belmont

Banned
Zombie James said:
The NDP have a legitimate beef in that while this whole process is going on, it should be decriminalized. It makes no sense.
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It makes just as little sense to decriminalize it and give the black market carte blanche for a year, especially if a large part of the pitch for legalization is to remove the black market.

If the NDP had pushed for legalization instead of decriminalization maybe they'd be the ones making the decisions? Considering the policy they pushed in the election they don't have much room to squawk.
 
L

lupinko

Member
Kinitari said:
What about the investment in AI? Or the middle income tax cut? Or the improvements to EI? Or the national Park visits being free? Or the overturning the scientist muzzle? Any of that? I have more good things
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Threw out that godawful C-24 hateful bullshit too.
 
Y

You Are Viewtiful

Member
Simon Belmont said:
It makes just as little sense to decriminalize it and give the black market carte blanche for a year, especially if a large part of the pitch for legalization is to remove the black market.
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They should go after the dealers rather than the users. It's nuts that people can still get arrested and charged for smoking a joint if the police are in a bad mood.
 
K

Kurdel

Banned
dankir said:
Will the SAQ sell it in Quebec? Lol
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God I hope not, that would be the fastest way to kneecap variety and options outside of cities where they already have the bigger SAQ shops and shelf space.

On ghe other hand, I would rather have the state manage the sale and provincial supply, so I am of two minds.
 
Z

Zombie James

Banned
Simon Belmont said:
It makes just as little sense to decriminalize it and give the black market carte blanche for a year, especially if a large part of the pitch for legalization is to remove the black market.
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I'm talking about decriminalization of possession, not selling. No one's going to decriminalize selling on the street. It's illegal now and it'll be illegal once pot itself is legal.
 
S

Simon Belmont

Banned
Zombie James said:
I'm talking about decriminalization of possession, not selling. No one's going to decriminalize selling on the street. It's illegal now and it'll be illegal once pot itself is legal.
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Is weed just going to magically fall into people's hands?

Just get a medical card. It's pretty easy.
 
Regginator

Regginator

Member
Wish they did this in the Netherlands. It's weird how we're being seen as the "weed capital" of the world, but the soft drug policy in this country is totally backwards. In short, coffee shops are permitted to sell it, but they're legally NOT permitted to actually buy the stuff, let alone grow it. So they have to buy the drugs from dealers (I'm not making this shit up), and the government looks the other way. It's called the "gedoogbeleid", which literally means they're tolerating it, it's not legal in the true meaning of the sense.
 
Y

You Are Viewtiful

Member
Simon Belmont said:
They do. You pretty much just described enforcement strategy for the past...20 years?
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According to this article, tens of thousands of people are still charged for possession every year.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/cannabis-legalization-arrests-charges-enforcement-1.3545800

In 2014, the most recent year for which data is available, there were 57,314 marijuana possession-related "incidents" reported by police nationwide, according to Statistics Canada. More than 24,540 people were charged as a result. The year before that, 25,819 Canadians faced charges.
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From 2008 to 2012, 58,938 possession cases made their way through adult criminal courts in Canada. Defendants were found guilty 43 per cent of the time while the rest had charges stayed or withdrawn, according to Statistics Canada.
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S

Simon Belmont

Banned
You Are Viewtiful said:
According to this article, tens of thousands of people are still charged for possession every year.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/cannabis-legalization-arrests-charges-enforcement-1.3545800
Click to expand...

It says between only about 5k a year were actually found guilty between 2008 and 2012, which were Harper years with no legalization on the horizon. It'll be interesting to see what the statistics end up looking like for this year and next.

Edit: I'd also love to see how many of those are grouped in with other charges stemming from the same incedent, how many are parole violations, etc.
 
S

Silexx

Member
Vice Canada's Justin Ling is live-tweeting some of the details of Bill C-45 (or 'The Canabis Act').

https://twitter.com/Justin_Ling/with_replies


Right now highlights include:

- Minimum age of 18 (Provinces can set their own standard)
- Individuals can hold up to 30 grams on their person in public.
- Illegally selling will result in a fine, but selling to youth or smuggling across border can result in jail time (up to 14yrs)
 
A

Apathy

Member
Silexx said:
Vice Canada's Justin Ling is live-tweeting some of the details of Bill C-45 (or 'The Canabis Act').

https://twitter.com/Justin_Ling/with_replies


Right now highlights include:

- Minimum age of 18 (Provinces can set their own standard)
- Individuals can hold up to 30 grams on their person in public.
- Illegally selling will result in a fine, but selling to youth or smuggling across border can result in jail time (up to 14yrs)
Click to expand...

All reasonable
 
Z

Zombie James

Banned
I'm not sure why someone would be carrying 30g of pot on them if it's just for personal use. That seems a bit excessive to me. The rest sounds good but the key will be the final price.
 
S

Silexx

Member
arts&crafts said:
But what is the limit? It just says "an illegal level of drugs in the system". Wont that vary for everybody? And how can they test that?
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Justin Ling‏Verified account @Justin_Ling
Driving with 2 to 5 nanograms/ml of THC in your system comes with a max penalty of $2,000, maybe a driving ban.
 
O

Onemic

Member
arts&crafts said:
But what is the limit? It just says "an illegal level of drugs in the system". Wont that vary for everybody? And how can they test that?
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I meant the 2 hour window. Im not sure how they'll be able to determine what's an illegal amount, since it's definitely a case by case situation.

Silexx said:
Justin Ling‏Verified account @Justin_Ling
Driving with 2 to 5 nanograms/ml of THC in your system comes with a max penalty of $2,000, maybe a driving ban.
Click to expand...

In smoking terms what would that be equivalent to though?
 
Hale-XF11

Hale-XF11

Member
Silexx said:
Justin Ling‏Verified account @Justin_Ling
Driving with 2 to 5 nanograms/ml of THC in your system comes with a max penalty of $2,000, maybe a driving ban.
Click to expand...

Is this method even full proof? I thought you could only prove that someone had marijuana in their system, not if they're actually too high to drive at the time of testing.
 
S

Simon Belmont

Banned
Zombie James said:
I'm not sure why someone would be carrying 30g of pot on them if it's just for personal use. That seems a bit excessive to me. The rest sounds good but the key will be the final price.
Click to expand...

If I've just picked up and I'm going somewhere I might be suuuuuuper lazy and bring my whole stash, but only because I've got a card and I'm allowed to.
 
W

wordballoons

Member
Zombie James said:
I'm not sure why someone would be carrying 30g of pot on them if it's just for personal use. That seems a bit excessive to me. The rest sounds good but the key will be the final price.
Click to expand...
My immediate reaction, too. If you're too lazy to take over an ounce home you need to rethink your priorities.
 
I

inner-G

Banned
Silexx said:
Justin Ling‏Verified account @Justin_Ling
Driving with 2 to 5 nanograms/ml of THC in your system comes with a max penalty of $2,000, maybe a driving ban.
Click to expand...

Wow - if you're a heavy smoker, you might have this much in you all the time.

Very cool that the 30g limit is for public. If you grow some plants, you could easily get 100g+ per plant so you could keep the extra at your home, I'm assuming.
 
S

Simon Belmont

Banned
wordballoons said:
My immediate reaction, too. If you're too lazy to take over an ounce home you need to rethink your priorities.
Click to expand...

I generally order 30g at a time (my max allotment). If I'm heading to a buddies or back to my folks or something I'm likely to just grab my whole stash rather than get a separate bag, pinch out what I think I need, etc.

I also don't roll joints, so I don't have j's just lying around.
 
M

matthewwhatever

Member
Full details on the legislation, in case anyone is in the mood for some reading:
  • The Cannabis Act proposes that legal sales of cannabis would be restricted to people who are 18 years of age and over. Provinces and territories could increase the minimum legal age of sale, purchase and consumption.
  • The movement of cannabis and cannabis products across international borders would remain a serious criminal offence.
  • Following Royal Assent, the Government intends to bring the proposed Act into force no later than July 2018. At that time, adults would legally be able to possess up to 30 grams of legal cannabis in public, and to grow up to four plants per household at a maximum height of one metre from a legal seed or seedling. Until the new law comes into force, cannabis will remain illegal everywhere in Canada, except for medical purposes.
  • The provinces and territories would authorize and oversee the distribution and sale of cannabis, subject to minimum federal conditions. In those jurisdictions that have not put in place a regulated retail framework, individuals would be able to purchase cannabis online from a federally licensed producer with secure home delivery through the mail or by courier.
  • The proposed legislation would amend the Criminal Code to modernize and simplify the transportation provisions, strengthen the criminal law responses to impaired driving, and facilitate the effective and efficient investigation and prosecution of drug- and alcohol-impaired driving.
  • To facilitate detection and investigation of drug-impaired driving, law enforcement officers will be authorized and equipped to use oral fluid drug screeners at the roadside.
Click to expand...
 
Z

Zombie James

Banned
In those jurisdictions that have not put in place a regulated retail framework, individuals would be able to purchase cannabis online from a federally licensed producer with secure home delivery through the mail or by courier.
Click to expand...

This is great just in case certain provincial parties were planning on not jumping on board. This would also theoretically enable sales before provinces have retail distribution ready. Good stuff.
 
L

LegendofJoe

Member
This should accelerate legalization in other US border states. I imagine Vermont and New Hampshire will do so in short order. And hopefully Minnesota, New York, and possibly Michigan in the not too distant future.
 
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