Legalization of marijuana in Canada

The legalization of marijuana in Canada for recreational purposes occurred on October 17, 2018. This made Canada the first major world economy to make recreational use of marijuana legal across the country. In addition to making it legal for adults to smoke marijuana, the bill also included provisions allowing adults to possess up to a specified amount of marijuana, to share it with other adults, and to grow small amounts for personal use. Canada legalized the medical use of marijuana in 2001.

In legalizing the substance, also known as cannabis, Canada also established legal stores to sell the drug and accessories for its consumption. The products sold in these stores were required to meet specific standards set by the government. These standards were intended to make the drug free of additives and contaminants and therefore safer than street marijuana. The legalization act fulfilled a campaign promise made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before he was elected in 2015.

Background

Marijuana, which is often called by the slang terms pot or weed, is a consumable product made from the dried leaves, stems, seeds, and flowering tops of the Cannabis sativa, or hemp plant. The name “marijuana” comes from Mexico, but the word’s origin is uncertain. The plant and its byproducts have been used for centuries for many purposes, including making clothing and rope from its fibers, using its seeds in foods and oils, and smoking or consuming its leaves and other dried parts for medicinal, ritual, and recreational purposes.

The dried parts of the cannabis plant include more than 120 different substances. Two of the most widely known are delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and cannabidiol, or CBD. THC is the psychoactive part of marijuana that produces the feelings of relaxation or being “high.” It causes several alterations in the brain, including some that result in increased appetite and changes in mood. CBD does not produce these effects. It is the best known of the substances in the plant thought to provide relief from chronic pain, nausea from chemotherapy, and chronic inflammation.

Marijuana can be consumed in many forms. Smoking the dried leaves, buds, and stems is generally the most common form of recreational use. Medical marijuana users may also use smoking as a means of administration. CBD can also be formatted for use orally or topically. Though the plant has been used for practical and medical reasons for centuries, concerns about its effects led to it being classified and regulated as an illegal drug nearly worldwide. Despite the legalization of medical uses and some legalization of recreational use, marijuana was still considered the most widely used illegal drug around the world in 2021, with an estimated 5 percent of the world's population using cannabis.

Overview

Although the recreational use of marijuana has been illegal in many countries since the early twentieth century, there was a time when growing the cannabis plant, or hemp plant, as it was commonly known, was encouraged by national governments. It has long been seen as an important crop because it provides a renewable, non-imported source of raw material for fabric, rope, paper, and other uses. Following is a timeline detailing marijuana’s legal status in Canada.

• 1606: The first known crop of hemp is planted in what is now Nova Scotia on Canada’s east coast by French botanist Louis Hebert.
• 1700s: Hemp becomes a valuable resource in North America. In the United States, some farmers are required to grow it because it reduces the need for British imports. Its popularity for use in paper, rope, and fabric continues to grow and many farmers, including many of America’s Founding Fathers, grow hemp. The plant was so valuable that it was used as legal tender in some areas.
• 1800s: The Canadian government gives hemp seeds to its farmers to encourage them to devote more acreage to hemp crops that are seen as valuable to the country’s economy. The government also promoted the hemp industry by buying and making available machinery used to process the hemp plants into usable products. During this time, other byproducts of the cannabis plant were widely used in medical products, though without the regulation and oversight of contemporary times.
• Early 1900s: Concern begins to grow over the effects of cannabis. In North America, this was connected to an influx of Mexican migrants into the United States who called it “marijuana” and brought with them the idea of smoking it recreationally. After a series of studies linked this recreational use with increased crime and deviant behavior, many areas began introducing legislation to outlaw the recreational use of the drug. In 1923, the Canadian government approved the Act to Prohibit Improper Use of Opium and Other Drugs and included cannabis as one of these “other drugs.”
• 1932: Canadian law enforcement seizes illegal marijuana for the first time.
• 1960s: Illegal use of marijuana increases with the counterculture movement, and government efforts to combat it are also increased.
• 1970s: Pro-marijuana advocates increase efforts to legalize the drug, but are met with staunch government resistance. In Vancouver in 1971, this resulted in a riot where police in full riot gear mounted on horseback clashed with protestors in what became known as the Gastown Riot.
• 1990s: Pro-marijuana advocates gain ground as public opinion begins to swing away from seeing marijuana as a danger. This was helped by the case of Terry Parker, a Toronto resident who used marijuana to control epileptic seizures. He was arrested numerous times for possession, and his case brought attention to the medical benefits of marijuana.
• 2000: Ontario Court of Appeals rules that punishing Parker for using marijuana was depriving him of his rights.
• 2001: Parker’s case paved the way for the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations Act (MMAR) and the legalization of medical marijuana in Canada in 2001. This allowed patients with a special license signed for by their doctor to possess marijuana for medical purposes and made Canada the first country to allow this. Efforts to reduce the penalties for recreational use followed in 2003 but were halted after pressure from US authorities.
• 2006: Canada cracks down on growers and dealers of illegal marijuana with the imposition of mandatory prison sentences and increased maximum jail terms under Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
• 2014: Policy on medical marijuana is changed to allow physicians to prescribe it without requiring a special license with the passage of the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR).
• 2015: Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau campaigns for prime minister with a platform that includes legalizing recreational marijuana. His election was followed by indications that as much as 70 percent of the country’s population favored legalization.
• 2017: On April 13, Bill C-45 is introduced to Parliament. Its provisions included legalizing the recreational use of marijuana by anyone over the age of eighteen and allowing possession of up to thirty grams, or about the amount needed for sixty cigarettes.
• 2018: Bill C-45 is approved by the Canadian Senate on March 22. After further rounds of reviews by parliamentary committees, Trudeau announced on June 20 that recreational marijuana would be legalized as of October 17, 2018.

Topic Today

The legalization of marijuana in Canada made it the first major world economy to make recreational marijuana legal countrywide. Previously, only the nation of Uruguay had taken a similar action. The bill that legalized the drug included provisions allowing those eighteen and older to use marijuana legally and allowed them to possess thirty grams of dried cannabis—the type used for smoking. The bill also allowed for possession of fresh marijuana flowers and allowed the sale of cannabis oil and pre-rolled joints or cigarettes. Growing up to four plants for personal use was also legalized, though not all provinces in Canada allowed this provision. Also included was a provision allowing for the sale and consumption of edible products containing marijuana, such as candies and coffee, beginning after October 17, 2019.

In a related matter, the Canadian government announced it intended to make it easier for those previously convicted of possession of recreational amounts of marijuana to obtain pardons. However, the national government left implementation of the rules up to the thirteen provincial governments, so different rules apply in different areas of Canada. The bill also did not address how law enforcement and employers should handle issues related to people under the influence of recreational marijuana. The legislation did not allow the importation or transportation of marijuana or related products into or out of the country.

The move was welcomed by the majority of the Canadian population, with 26 percent of the population using marijuana in 2024. However, some warned that the move could have consequences such as increased crime, increased accidents, decreased worker productivity, a rise in medical conditions related to marijuana use, and potential effects on the Canadian and global hemp market. Legalizing recreational marijuana smoking was anticipated to add about $8 billion to the Canadian economy, with another $2.7 billion added from the sale of edible products. In 2022, it was estimated that the legal sale of cannabis had added C$43.5b to the nation's economy.

Because the move of nationwide recreational legalization was considered experimental, both national and international observers, including skeptics, analyzed and commented upon the state of the legalization in the following years, with perceived views of and reports on its success often mixed. In March 2020, a Canadian government representative argued during a meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs that while data did not show an increase in marijuana use among younger demographics as had been feared, the market for illegal sales had already been significantly reduced since the implementation of legalization in Canada. At the same time, others, including international critics, argued that regulation had continued to prove complicated, the economics of the legalized cannabis industry had fluctuated and even seen some loss of stock and jobs, and many people had continued to participate in illegal sales because of insufficient legal access and product quality. Though there were some reports of increased legal sales during the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it was also noted that the pandemic interrupted efforts toward pardons, a process that some criticized as already having been too slow and flawed.

The research firm Statista reported that the legal recreational cannabis market in Canada had reached a value of $4 billion by 2022. That same year, the Government of Canada's Canada Cannabis Survey 2022 found that 61 percent of respondents had purchased cannabis from a legal storefront within the past twelve months, which was nearly a 10 percent increase from the year prior.

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