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Should Marijuana Be Legalized? Essay

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Marijuana was first criminalized in 1923 when it was added to the narcotics act. In 1971 the LeDain commission recommended the decriminalization of simple possessions of marijuana, followed by the legalization of medical marijuana in 2001. Currently, the liberal government is taking steps towards their promise, to legalize marijuana, made during the 2015 election. Currently, there are laws that regulate the use of marijuana in Canada. It is illegal to possess or sell marijuana for non-medial purposes. Marijuana remains a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act, unless used for medical purposes. Due to it’s positive affects socially, politically and economically, marijuana should be legalized in Canada. In International legal barriers to Canada’s marijuana plans, Hoffmann and Habibi illustrate the disadvantages of legalizing Marijuana in Canada, specifically in relation to Canadian politics. The article states that the legalization of marijuana would violate the UN drug-control conventions that Canada is legally obliged to follow, in the letter and spirit of the law. Canada is joined in the following three conventions that do not allow the consumption or selling of marijuana unless medicinal: 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Countries such as Bolivia, Portugal, The Netherlands, Uruguay, and some U.S states

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