Green Light: Canada to legalize marijuana by July 2018

Canada reportedly will legalize in April the use of marijuana by July 1, 2018. (Photo: Global Panorama/Facebook)

Moscow— Canada reportedly will legalize in April the use of marijuana by July 1, 2018.

The promise of legalizing marijuana is often credited to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s win in 2015.

Trudeau’s plan to legalize marijuana has led to stocks in the plant skyrocketing, especially after a study conducted by Deloitte estimated that recreational marijuana will become a USD 26.6-billion industry, surpassing sales of beer, wine, and spirits combined.

A study titled Recreational Marijuana: Insights and Opportunities conducted by Deloitte last year, estimated that there will be a demand for some 600,000 kilograms of marijuana annually, far more than is currently produced for medicinal purposes.

The base retail market would be worth USD 4.

9 billion to USD 8.7 billion annually, according to the study, while the ancillary market of growers, labs, and production would be worth between USD 12.7 billion to USD 22.6 billion, and the tourism, business taxes, license fees and paraphernalia would be worth over USD 22.6 billion.

“This will be done in a careful way to keep it out of the hands of children and youth, and to stop criminals from profiting,” Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said in a statement. “In order to meet our commitment to legalize, the legislation will need to pass through the parliamentary process in a timely fashion.

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Licensing producers to make sure the supply remains safe will be handled by the federal government, while distribution and costs will be in the hands of the provincial governments.