Canada Makes Recreational Use of Cannabis Legal

Cannabis (also called Marijuana)

Seeding of Cannabis plants

Photos courtesy: pixabay.com/

Call it cannabis, or marijuana, pot, weed, drug, bud -- they usually mean the same. It was a prohibited item in Canada for the last 95 years. From today, October 17, 2018, cannabis is legal all over Canada, which, after Uruguay, is the second country in the world to legalize the recreational use of cannabis. Previously, medical use of cannabis or marijuana was legal under strict conditions. Liberal Party's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took the initiative to legalize cannabis use for the recreational purpose like smoking of cigarettes. 

This is a drug -- it has its good effects if used properly, but it also has serious ill effects if used irresponsibly. In Canada, only adults are allowed to use it recreationally. 

Parents and guardians with children are wary of this new legalization. They are not much aware of the physical and mental effects of this drug on children, adolescents, and early youths. What about persons getting allergic to cannabis? If, what will happen and what to do, by chance, children eat edible cannabis sold in the form of brownies, candies, etc.? What will the real effect be on driving under cannabis influence? They don't know. They also don't know the effect it will have on criminal activities if persons are high on cannabis. What about home and condo owners not willing to rent out rooms to cannabis smokers? 

As the days go by, the Canadian government has to be vigilant and responsible on these matters. 

To learn more about the pros and cons of cannabis and its use, please click on the following:

• Cannabis (Government of Canada information on cannabis, health effects, addiction, medical use, market data, travelling with cannabis, talks about cannabis, and cannabis research)
• Cannabis in Canada (Wikipedia)
• Nanos survey: Nearly 8 in 10 Canadians uninterested in smoking cannabis once legal (Oct. 16, 2018)
• Canadians usher in cannabis legalization with pot parties, protests and puffs (Oct. 16, 2018)
• Canada legalizes marijuana: here's everything you need to know (Oct. 16, 2018)
• Despite marijuana legalization, medicinal pot advocates say there's still much to be done (Oct. 16, 2018)
• Cannabis tax windfall won't solve provincial money problems -- here's why (Oct. 16, 2018)
• Cannabis IQ: Here are all the legal ways to consume pot in Canada (Oct. 16, 2018)
• Cannabis IQ: A visitor's guide to smoking legal marijuana in Canada (Oct. 17, 2018)
• Pot 101: Everything you need to know about Canada's marijuana legislation (Oct. 17, 2018)
• This weed revolution will be very ... Canadian (Oct. 17, 2018)
• Here's a sneak peek inside a Quebec cannabis store (Oct. 16, 2018)
• Meet the woman who changed Justin Trudeau's mind about legalizing marijuana (Oct. 16, 2018)
• It Will Be Illegal To Drive With Marijuana In Canada Unless You Take These Specific Precautions (September 2018)
• Weed, cannabis, pot or marijuana: what's the difference? (Nov. 17, 2017)
• Hemp, Cannabis and Marijuana: What's the difference? (March 29, 2015)
• What is the difference between cannabis and marijuana? (June 13, 2018)
• Globe Investigation: What's in your weed? We tested dispensary marijuana to find out (June 29, 2018)
• Pot and Minors: Canadians being warned about dangers of cannabis (Oct. 14, 2018)
• Cannabis and Canada's children and youth (May 3, 2017)
• Cannabis for kids? Almost half of Canadian pediatricians didn't know they could prescribe: survey (July 12, 2018)
• How Canada's new pot laws will impact youth remains ambiguous (Oct. 14, 2018)

Lessons from Cannabis Legalization in Colorado State, U.S.A.

• What the World Can Learn From Colorado's Marijuana Experience (April 21, 2016)
• Measuring Colorado's "great experiment" with marijuana (Jan. 7, 2018)
• 'We made some terrible mistakes': What Canada can learn from Colorado's cannabis legalization (June 19, 2018)
• What lessons can N.L. learn about cannabis legalizaion in Colorado? (Oct. 15, 2018)
• Colorado experienced a 'sharp spike' in ER visits after legalizing cannabis: doctor (Oct. 16, 2018)