Canada has always taken a more relaxed approach to marijuana compared to the United States and has fewer prohibitions in place. Since 2001, Canada has allowed medical patients to access legal marijuana for whatever their needs may be. The country has implemented a comprehensive system for the production and distribution of medical marijuana in Canada.
Come October 17th 2018, Canadians will be able to buy legal marijuana for both recreational and medicinal purposes. The Cannabis Act was recently passed in Canada, which made Canada the second country after Uruguay to legalize recreational marijuana. Canada is also the first G7 country to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
The Cannabis Act, formally known as Canada’s Bill C-45 was passed after months of debate. The Canadian government approved the Act on June 19th, 2018. Now, Canadians can start preparing for a legal marijuana market.
Legal Marijuana Stores
There are over 100 Licensed Producers of medical marijuana in Canada. With the Canada Act now approved, these LP’s can utilize their network for recreational marijuana too. But, before any Licensed Producer can distribute marijuana for both recreational and medical marijuana use, they must ensure that they meet the safety requirements set forth by Health Canada. These standards are like the regulations in place for pharmaceutical companies in Canada.
Licensed Producers have strict security measures in place to prevent theft. Some security requirements that producers must meet include keeping accurate record keeping, security clearances, security camera, management of inventory, quality control and more.
Canadian marijuana companies have anticipate that there will be a surge in sales once recreational marijuana becomes legalized. With that, many companies have already enlisted on Nasdaq stock exchange and have sold off shares of their company.
With legalization, you will now be able to buy marijuana from retail stores. The retail stores must follow strict regulations that will guide advertising, reporting, record keeping and product security. Retail stores are an important factor for the effective distribution of marijuana. Retail sales are currently not permitted in Canada, but select states in the US allows it.
A legitimate retail sale business model is being worked on by the Canadian authorities to effect a good network for the sale of recreational marijuana. The retail stores will be licensed by territorial and provincial governments in Canada. The retail stores will also be mandated to get licenses from their municipalities.
Will Legal Marijuana be Safe?
There has been a rapid transformation in the perception of marijuana by politicians and the general populace. It is widely believed that legal marijuana will take away control from the black market and it will make young people healthier by regulating access to cannabis products. Furthermore, there will be better quality control, and more public health awareness campaigns will be conducted.
According to the Cannabis Act, adults that are at least 18 years old can buy up to 30 grams (about 1 ounce) of marijuana. They are also permitted to grow four cannabis plants at home and they can choose their strain of preference (for example the famous Sour Diesel).
Small-scale cultivation of cannabis will not be heavily regulated, as long as they do not exceed their production limit. By 2019, extracts and edibles will also be available.
With this decision, the 90-year-old nationwide prohibition on marijuana comes to an end. The criminalization of marijuana has been replaced by suitable measures for regulating its production and distribution.
The World Health Organization conducted an assessment of marijuana and made moves to update global drug treaties based on its findings. The WHO reported that cannabis is relatively safe, and no one has ever overdosed on it.
