BRIEFING NOTE - Marijuana Legalization in Canada

KEY MESSAGES: We are implementing changes to the legalization of marijuana that will require changes to the Criminal Code of Canada, Health Canada policy, and an implementation of a distribution and taxation framework that will benefit Canada as a whole. [...] According to The Report of the Canadian Government Commission of Inquiry into the Non- Medical Use of Drugs (1972), “the physical and mental effects of cannabis...appear to be much less serious than those which may result from excessive use of alcohol.” Economic Costs/Benefits A 2009 report from the RAND Corporation for the European Commission concluded global retail expenditures on cannabis r. [...] KEY CONSIDERATIONS: Public support for legalization is over 60% and the recent election of the Liberal Government has created a mandate for the development of policies that would allow for the legalization, distribution, The public perception of marijuana use has changed both domestically and internationally; the United States no longer opposes legalization to the extent it has in the past L. [...] Remove marijuana from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act The distribution and possible taxation of marijuana presents several options: Development of a federal/provincial framework such as the distribution and taxation tobacco and alcohol that allows for the controlling of marijuana and capture of negative externalities. [...] Legalization and utilizing the current federal framework for the distribution of marijuana for medicinal users.