Minimum ages for marijuana consumption may
vary across Canada when it becomes legal, but authorities will be
firmly against drug tourism and cross-border movement of the substance,
the Liberal government’s point man on the issue said on Wednesday.
The
government also wants consistent nation-wide impaired-driving laws for
marijuana, said Bill Blair, parliamentary secretary to the justice
minister, as the country formulates a new drug law ahead of a spring
2017 deadline.
“We would like to see consistency and a
consensus across the country on the best way to keep our roadways safe,”
Blair, the former Toronto police chief, said at an interview in his
Toronto constituency office.
He
said provinces should have a say, but legalization led by individual
regions, such as in the United States, causes a “difficult situation,”
in which state laws sometimes contradict federal laws.
Canada’s
Liberal government said in April it will introduce legislation to
legalize marijuana’s recreational use. It has formed a task force that
will report back in November.
Blair
cautioned the government has not made firm decisions on many aspects of
legalization, which will be heavily influenced by the task force’s
report. But he said the government does “not necessarily” need a
nation-wide marijuana consumption age, citing different ages provinces
have for alcohol use.
Canada intends to
implement regulations to “discourage” drug tourism, as the country is
taking a strict public-health approach and is not out to make money, he
said.
Blair said people will not be
able to take marijuana out of the country due to international
conventions restricting drug movement. The government may also increase
penalties for trafficking, which would remain an issue as foreign
marijuana would not have adequate quality controls, he said.
He
and other politicians have said that for now, unregulated marijuana
sales remain illegal, despite their flourishing since the Liberals came
to power.
But enforcement, handled by municipalities, has been inconsistent, and many marijuana shops continue to openly defy the law.
Blair said enforcement is ultimately not a federal matter, though he is satisfied with the current level of enforcement.
“It doesn’t mean everybody needs to be in jail,” he said.
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