Federal bill to legalize pot expected to be tabled by week’s end
Posted Apr 10, 2017 03:28:24 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The federal government’s bill to legalize marijuana will be unveiled this week and there are reports it could happen by Thursday. There are high hopes for the contents of the bill, since it could settle some unanswered questions about how the legalization system will work.
Legalizing pot won’t be an easy task and there are many outstanding issues that may be addressed.
Justin Ling with VICE News says price is a big one since the government wants to keep it low enough to eat into the profits of organized crime. “You have to figure out taxation. You have to figure out profits for the people actually selling the marijuana and given all that it’s going to be tough to keep it below $10 a gram which is kind of the price you’re aiming for.”
He’s also waiting to see if the government is willing to place a limit on how much people can possess, what restrictions will be placed on the sale of the drug, and what Ottawa will do to develop a standard roadside test for drug impaired driving.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said regulating the sale of weed will protect young people and take money away from gangs.
Earlier this year, the parliamentary budget officer says sales tax revenue could be about $618 million in 2018, or even as high as $959 million depending on tax rates and that’s based on projections that legalized pot will cost $9 per gram.
The parliamentary budget officer is also projecting 4.6 million Canadians will consume pot in the first year it is legalized, rising to 5.2 million by 2021.
