Britannica
Sources used in this answer
- Canada - Legalization of marijuana, environmental protection, and Quebec mosque attack
- Medical marijuana - August 26, 2003 - First Canadian patient to receive government-grown marijuana
- Medical marijuana - 1938 - Canada prohibits cannabis cultivation
- marijuana
- Justin Trudeau - Policy proposals and the challenge of ruling
- Recreational marijuana - Con 4: Health experts do not believe recreational marijuana should be legal, because marijuana isn’t safe.
Why did Justin Trudeau’s government legalize recreational marijuana in Canada?
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Justin Trudeau
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attending a meeting of the G7 in Italy, 2024.
The government of Justin Trudeau moved to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana in Canada based on two primary policy goals:12
- Protecting children: The government sought to address concerns regarding the accessibility of the drug, as studies indicated that young people in Canada already had relatively easy access to illegal marijuana.12
- Preventing organized crime: The policy aimed to eliminate the profits that criminal organizations generated through the illegal sale of the drug.12
This initiative was a key campaign promise for Trudeau, and the government subsequently introduced legislation to establish a regulated framework for the sale of marijuana.12