Health security

Canada legalizes recreational marijuana after Senate passes 'historic' legislation

The move will make Canada the second country in the world to legalize cannabis for both medical and recreational purposes nationwide. Uruguay was the first to fully legalize the drug.

Bill C-45, also known as the Cannabis Act, was first introduced on April 13, 2017, in a bid to legalize and regulate the recreational use of weed. The bill passed in the House of Commons that November and then passed in the Senate on Tuesday night by a vote of 52-29, with two abstentions.

Medicinal use of the drug has been legal in Canada since 2001.

The proposed legislation allows adults in Canada to legally possess and use up to 30 grams of dried cannabis in public, as well as cultivate up to four cannabis plants at home and prepare products for personal use. Dried cannabis and cannabis oil will become commercially available later this year.

The minimum legal age to buy and consume pot in Canada will be set at 18, but the bill allows provinces and territories to increase the minimum age.