Recreational Marijuana: Canada To Set Marijuana Age Limit At 18?

A special marijuana task force appointed by the Canadian government presented on Tuesday a clear path for full recreational legalization. The bold recommendations include an age restriction of 18 and a possession limit of 30 grams.

The committee, appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in June, laid out its comprehensive proposal after five months of study.

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“Now is the time to move away from a system that has, for decades, been focused on the prohibition of cannabis into a regulated legal market,” said Anne McLellan, a chair of the task force.

“I think we’re all aware of the challenges and societal problems that the existing system has created,” she said.

When Trudeau won his election in 2015, marijuana reform was one of the pillars of his campaign. But the issue remained on the back burner until the announcement.

Among the task force recommendations:

• Minimum age to purchase recreational marijuana should be 18 years, but province’s should have the right to alter the age restrictions
• Distribution and sale of recreational marijuana should largely be regulated by the provinces and territories
• Marijuana should be sold via mail order and in storefronts
• Marijuana should not be sold in the same locations where alcohol is sold
• Limits should be placed on the amount of marijuana a person is allowed to carry and cultivate
• Existing smoking bans applied against cigarettes should also apply to the consumption of marijuana
• Edibles and oils should be legal, but those products must not be attractive to minors

The Canadian Medical Association had urged setting the age limit at 21, but the task force disagreed. The older age limit, the committee felt, would keep younger users in the black market.

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The task force’s recommendations are nonbinding and the government has no obligation to act on the proposals.

Read the full report.

Highway is an essential source for cannabis science, how-to stories and demystifying marijuana. Want to read more? Thy these posts: The Majority Of Americans Now Want Legal Marijuana, Seattle’s Swankiest Marijuana Store Opens Its Doors, and Opioids Out, Cannabis In, Top Medical Research Journal Says.