Recreational Marijuana Becomes Legal in Canada

At the stroke of midnight on Wednesday local time, the first legal sale of recreational weed in Canada was made on the island of Newfoundland as hundreds of people waited on line.

Canada is now the second country, after Uruguay, to legalize the possession and use of marijuana for recreational purposes, although a number of U.S. states including California and Oregon legalized it.

The use of medical marijuana is also making headway in many European countries and both Portugal and the Netherlands have decriminalized weed.

The move follows a 2015 campaign promise by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  He said that the law is designed to keep marijuana out of the hands of minors and stop profits from the sale of weed by criminals.

Under the new rules, adults will be able to purchase seeds, plants, dried cannabis and cannabis oil from licensed producers and retailers. They will be legally allowed to posses up to one ounce (30 g) of weed in public.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency said that its officers will be allowed to ask Canadians if they smoke weed and have “broad latitude” in determining who is admissible to the country, especially if they believe an individual intends to smoke pot in the United States.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)