Highlights from the federal marijuana task force report

The task force Justin Trudeau's Liberal government appointed to study how marijuana could be legalized and regulated in Canada released its report Tuesday, offering over 80 recommendations.

• Pot task force recommends legal cannabis sales be limited to users 18 and over

Here are somehighlights from the report:

Sales and marketing

• Set the minimum age of purchase as 18, respecting the rights of provinces and territories to harmonize with sales of alcohol.
• Avoid selling alcohol and cannabis at the same location wherepossible: dedicated storefronts and direct mail are preferable.
• Limit thedensity and location of storefronts, including their proximity to schools andparks.
• Regulate retail sales at theprovincial and territorial level.
• Restrict thepromotion and advertising of cannabis products, similarto restrictions now in place for tobacco.
• Require plain packaging with company name, strain name, price, tetrahydrocannabinol(THC)and cannabidiol (CBD) amounts and healthwarnings.
• Prohibit any product deemed "appealing to children,"including products that look like candy.

Taxation

• Establish pricing and taxation following an economic analysis.
• Tax higher potency THC products at a higher rate to discourage purchase.
• Use revenue from cannabis regulation for drug prevention, education and treatment.

McLellan says time to legalize pot is now

8 years ago

Duration 1:51

Anne McLellan, the Chair of the Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation, has completed her study and says now is the time to move forward with legalization.

Public consumption and possession

• Extend restrictions on public smoking of tobacco products and vaping to cannabis.
• Allow and regulate dedicated places to consume cannabis products (lounges, for example.)
• Limit public possession to 30 grams of dried, non-medicalcannabis or its equivalent, with a corresponding sales limit.

Production and distribution

• Implement a system of licensed producers to grow cannabis in Canada.
• Allow personal cultivation ofup to four plants per residence, with a height limit of 100 cm.
• Maintainmedical marijuana access separately, with thesame tax system as non-medical use.
• Move swiftly to create capacity forproducing and sellingcannabis.

Public education and safety

• Begin publiceducation strategy immediately.
• Determinehow to establish limits to prevent an increaseincannabis-impaired driving.

Read the report here