OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – The federal government has finally launched its long-awaited effort to legalize recreational marijuana, setting in motion a host of sweeping policy changes for public safety and health across Canada.

The legislation has established 18 as the minimum legal age to buy pot, however, that can be raised by individual provinces. It also says a homeowner can cultivate up to four pot plants on their property

The law has a “strict legal framework” for the production, sale, distribution and possession of pot, and make it a specific criminal offence to sell cannabis to a minor.

Adults over 18 would be allowed to possess up to 30 grams of dried cannabis or its equivalent in public, share up to 30 grams of dried cannabis with other adults and buy cannabis or cannabis oil from a provincially regulated retailer.

They would also be permitted to grow up to four plants per resident for personal use, as well as make legal cannabis-containing products at home.

The government aims to establish “significant penalties” for those who engage young Canadians in “cannabis-related offences” and a “zero-tolerance approach” to drug-impaired driving, along with a “robust” public awareness campaign. It will also provide additional investment for licensing, inspection and enforcement challenges.

Provinces, territories and municipalities would be able to tailor rules for their own jurisdictions, enforcing them through mechanisms such as ticketing.

They will also be permitted to set their own licensing, distribution and retail sales rules, establish provincial zoning rules for cannabis businesses and change provincial traffic safety laws as they deem necessary.

Philpott says criminalizing cannabis has not deterred use among young people, noting products like alcohol and tobacco are legally available with restrictions. Once passed, the Liberal bills introduced today would make Canada the first member of the G7 to legalize marijuana for recreational use across the country.

“As a former police officer, I know firsthand how easy it is for our kids to buy cannabis. In many cases, it is easier for our children to get cannabis than it is to get cigarettes. Today’s plan to legalize, strictly regulate and restrict access to cannabis will put an end to this. It will keep cannabis out of the hands of children and youth, and stop criminals from profiting from it,” says Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice Bill Blair.

“The bills we propose today are aiming at putting drug dealers and organized crime out of the cannabis business. It will allow law enforcement to focus on other serious offences, including the distribution of cannabis to children and youth and driving under the influence of drugs. Drug-impaired driving puts the lives and the safety of drivers and passengers at risk every day, and we will lead a wide-ranging campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of driving while impaired. The proposed Bill will also provide more tools and stronger laws to punish more severely drivers who drive under the influence of drugs, including cannabis. We will continue to work with our law enforcement, provincial and territorial partners and stakeholders to develop a consistent enforcement approach and to provide support in building capacity across the country,” adds Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale.

But just because the legislation is tabled doesn’t mean pot will be sold in stores right away — there are still some hurdles ahead for the feds.

For starters, not all provinces are equally enthusiastic about giving the green light to recreational pot sales. “One of the biggest problems for the Liberals is exactly how to hoist it out of the provinces,” explains VICE News Journalist Justin Ling. “It’s a catch-22. They don’t want to centralize all the power in deciding how this thing gets dealt with, sold, regulated, how the criminal prohibition works — they don’t want to deal with that at a national level.”

Provinces like Ontario and Quebec will want to do things their own way. Ling points to Manitoba as one province that has made it clear this is not among its top priorities. “Manitoba has already made it quite clear that they are not interested in regulating marijuana because they do not consider it a priority or something they even want to do. So, now Ottawa has this push-pull situation. They will end up pushing it on to the provinces, but I think there is probably some negotiations going on right now.”

British Columbians support the move

The folks over at NRG Research Group asked Canadians how they felt about the legalization of marijuana and British Columbians were one of the provinces the most in favour.

They say 51 per cent of Canadians think it’s a good idea, while 33 per cent oppose it and 14 per cent haven’t decided how they feel. Fifty-seven per cent of people in BC say they support Trudeau and company while Quebecers are the most opposed.

One of the reasons a lot of Canadians appear to be in favour, says the group, is the potential economic benefit — more than 60 per cent of people would support a specific sales tax on marijuana. The poll also suggests legalization would increase usage with 17 per cent of non-users right now saying they would consider consumption once the law is passed.

Impaired driving once pot is legal

Marijuana legislation isn’t having a huge impact on the amount of teens that smoke it just south of our border in Washington State.

It was only weeks ago US Attorney General Jeff Sessions questioned why it was legalized. “I’m not sure we’re going to be a better, healthier nation if we have marijuana being sold at every corner grocery store.”

However, the recent poll looked at more than 38,000 students in Washington State and it found weed usage amongst high schoolers has basically remained unchanged.

Pot was legalized in the state back in 2012, and pot shops opened there in 2014, yet the number of kids between grades 8 to 12 who reported using weed in the past 30 days remained steady throughout that time.

In 2016 the poll found, six per cent of 8th graders reported using it, 17 per cent of 10th graders reported the same, and 26 per cent of 12th graders said they used marijuana over a 30-day period. Pot use climbed about three per cent amongst 12th graders but actually dropped that same amount among 10th graders.