Canada is set to legalize marijuana by July 1, 2018

Date

Updated September 30, 2019
Author

Duane Cross
A journalist for more than 30 years, Duane joined Cancer Tutor in March 2016 as executive director for digital. He spent 10 years working for newspapers before surfing the World Wide Web...

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Canada is set to legalize marijuana by July 1, 2018, according to news reports, citing the week of April 10 for legislation to be introduced to Parliament.

According to the CBC report, the country’s marijuana supply and license producers will be legislated by lawmakers in Ottawa. The national age limit to purchase the drug will be set at 18, but provinces will be able to set it higher. Provinces also will control price, along with how marijuana is bought and sold.

Also, Canadians who wish to grow their own marijuana would be limited to four plants per household.

Marijuana legalization was a high-profile campaign promise for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Speaking with the Toronto Star’s editorial board in December, Trudeau stressed that marijuana remains illegal until legislation passes. The prime minister also condemned the rise of illegal storefront dispensaries. “People are right now breaking the law,” Trudeau said.

“We haven’t changed the laws. We haven’t legalized it yet. Yes, we got a clear mandate to do that. We’ve said we will. We’ve said we’re going to do it to protect our kids and to keep the money out of the pockets of criminals.”

The new rules generally follow the recommendations of a federal task force chaired by Anne McLellan, a former justice minister. The task force delivered a 106-page report in December with 80 recommendations.

Marijuana has health benefits for cancer patients, including:

CBD, a compound within marijuana, has the potential to halt the spread of cancer by switching off a gene called Id-1;
It can provide immense relief to those undergoing chemotherapy, by reducing nausea, while relieving pain.

Mark Pedersen of the eCS Therapies Center, an organization which concentrates on cannabis education, told Cancer Tutor, “The effects of THC are felt when that chemical makes its way to those receptors within the brain, according to Pedersen. “The euphoria we experience is basically identical to the experience we have, what people call ‘runner's high'.”

“Basically, that happens whenever anandamide is released into your bloodstream because you've exerted yourself and because one of the responsibilities of your endocannabinoid system is modulating the chemicals that repair our cells and strip away the waste and deal with the cells like cancer cells.”

Cannabis can not only be an effective, valid cancer treatment, but also a first-line preventative measure, according to Pedersen.

“Cannabis affects a weakened and/or damaged endocannabinoid system, essentially supercharging it,” Pedersen explained. “The endocannabinoid system is responsible for dealing with cancerous tumors, as well as basic cell health. Cannabis has actually been found to stimulate the production of endocannabinoids.

“Because it works with this endogenous system, it is effective in treating all forms of cancer — albeit, with varying levels of success based on the condition of the patient's heath, current damage from the cancer and conventional treatments, age, etc. Of course, cannabis oil is an excellent preventative treatment.”