Canada: first G7 country to legalize cannabis?

The legalizing cannabis in Canada was one of the campaign promises of Canada's 23rd Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, leader of the Liberal Party since November 4, 2015. If it goes ahead, Canada will be the first G7 country to legalize cannabis. Of its 35 million inhabitants, Canada still estimates the number of regular smokers at nearly one million.

As a reminder, the G7 (short for «Group of Seven») is an economic discussion and partnership group made up of seven of the world's major economic powers: the USA, Japan, Germany, France, the UK, Italy and, of course, Canada.

In 2004, the Canadian Liberal government tried to decriminalize cannabis consumption, but gave up. This was partly due to pressure from the United States, a neighboring country firmly opposed to the idea.

Here we are eleven years later, 24 US states have legalized cannabis, Canadian advocates of such a measure point to the substantial revenues generated by the private American cannabis industry, but also by the states themselves via taxes. For Justin Trudeau, it's the simplest way to increase government revenues. while denying access to minors and putting obstacles in the way of the black market.

The new Liberal government, elected on October 19, wants to pass «legislative measures [...] over the next year that will legalize and regulate marijuana use and limit access to the substance», said Governor General David Johnston, reading the speech prepared by Justin Trudeau, seated beside him in the House of Commons this Friday, December 4, 2015.

Legalization of cannabis in G7 countries

At present, the other G7 countries are not all on an equal footing when it comes to legalizing cannabis:

• l’Germany to create its own cannabis agency to study the possibility of legalizing
• l’Italy has legalized the medical use of cannabis in 2013 but suffers from a lack of available legal cannabis.
• the UK launches cannabis debate, but the Secretary of State for the Home Department opposed any change in legislation.
• the Japan, despite a long history of cannabis, is making no headway on the subject. The CBD is not illegal here, however following a legal vacuum.
• the France is still making no headway in this area, despite the obvious benefits.

Maybe Canada will give us some ideas.

D.