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Canada becomes second nation in the world to legalize marijuana
Recreational marijuana use will soon be legal in Canada after the Senate passed a "historic" bill on Tuesday with a vote of 52-29. Canada is only the second country in the world -- and the first G7 nation -- to implement legislation to permit a nationwide marijuana market. In the neighboring US, nine states and the District of Columbia now allow for recreational marijuana use, and 30 allow for medical use.
Bill C-45, otherwise known as the Cannabis Act, stems from a campaign pledge of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to keep marijuana away from underage users and reduce related crime. The act to legalize the recreational use of weed was first introduced on April 13, 2017, and was later passed at the House of Commons in November. The Senate passage of the bill was the final hurdle in the process.
Uruguay was the first country to legalize marijuana's production, sale and consumption in December 2013.
Also at CBC, BBC, NPR, Reuters, and The Guardian.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by opinionated_science on Thursday June 21 2018, @01:17PM (4 children)
The best thing, is that this frees up resources for clinical trials of MJ derived compounds.
Let's hope the US Fed gets real on this too - perhaps they'll drop EtOH age to match voting and military service....
(Score: 3, Informative) by Spook brat on Thursday June 21 2018, @03:43PM (3 children)
Join the military, and they'll serve you beer at the NCO club as long as you have valid Enlisted ID, down to age 18.
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(Score: 3, Interesting) by sjames on Thursday June 21 2018, @07:51PM (2 children)
Of course, that was a dodge. The actual thought is that if you're considered old enough to fight and perhaps die for your country, and you're considered old enough to elect representatives, you're old enough to make decisions about alcohol.
Unless or until the minimum age for a potential future draft is raised to 21 and likewise the ages for voting and full criminal culpability are raised, the hypocrisy remains.
(Score: 2) by Spook brat on Friday June 22 2018, @12:41PM (1 child)
You are thinking about this the same way the Joint Chiefs are. Unfortunately, they don't have the ability to lower the drinking age nationwide, nor do they have the ability to raise the draft age; both of those powers reside with Congress. What they do have is jurisdiction for enforcing the law on base, and adjusting the Uniform Code of Military Justice as they see fit. Short of Congress making underage drinking a Federal crime and sending FBI goons in to check IDs at the NCO club there is little Capitol Hill can do to stop the military from doing what's right for their service members in this case.
The hypocrisy here lies with the lawmakers who are primarily interested in being re-elected. I guarantee that if a sufficiently widespread campaign were to emerge demanding 21 YO draft/voting/criminal accountability they would suddenly see reason.
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(Score: 2) by sjames on Monday June 25 2018, @07:15AM
Yes, the military did the right thing. Then the congress critters said (to everyone else) that's close enough and moved on to the panic of the week.
Agreed, the hypocrisy lies with Congress.