The Cannabis Act (C-45) of June, 2018 paved the way for the legalization of cannabis in Canada on 17 October 2018. Police and prosecution services in all Canadian jurisdictions are currently capable of pursuing criminal charges for cannabis marketing without a licence issued by Health Canada. The Supreme Court of Canada has held that the federal Parliament has the power to criminalize the possession of cannabis and that doing so does not infringe upon the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.R v Malmo‑Levine; R v Caine, 3 SCR 571, 2003 SCC 74. The Ontario Court of Appeal and the Superior Court of Ontario have, however, held that the absence of a statutory provision for medical marijuana is unconstitutional, and to that extent the federal law is of no force and effect if a prescription is obtained. The recreational use of cannabis has been legalized by the federal government, and took effect on 17 October 2018.

Since 1997, public opinion polls have found that an increasing majority of Canadians agree with the statement, "Smoking marijuana should not be a criminal offence". A June 2016 national poll conducted by Nanos Research showed that 7 in 10 Canadians were in favour of legalization.

Challenges to marijuana laws at the federal level did not result in the deletion of the appropriate sections from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Legalization for personal (non-medical) consumption would need to be legislated, and that is the plan of the Government of Canada, as confirmed in 2015 and more specifically in 2016. The enactment of that legislation will be the concluding point in a long history of attempts to legalize cannabis through the courts.

In 2016, the Government of Canada was working on legislation to legalize cannabis. The final wording was still under discussion in late March 2017, but a probable date for the official effect of the legislation was widely publicized as 1 July 2018. The provinces will have the power to determine the method of distribution and sale as well as the legal age for cannabis use.

History

Early drug prohibition Drug prohibition in Canada began with the Opium Act of 1908,Perspectives on Canadian Drug Policy . John Howard Society. Retrieved 21 May 2009. which was introduced based on a report by then-Deputy Minister of Labour, Mackenzie King. Following the Asiatic Exclusion League riot of 1907, King went to Vancouver to investigate causes of the riots and claims for compensation. Some of the claims came from opium manufacturers seeking compensation for damage done to their production facilities by the mob that attacked Chinatown and Japantown. While in Vancouver, King interviewed members of a Chinese anti-opium league and came away in favour of suppressing the drug because "opium smoking was making headway, not only among white men and boys, but also among women and girls." In his report, King summarized the progress of the anti-opium movement in China, the United States, Britain, and Japan to make the point that Canada was lagging behind in this international movement. King's recommendations were the basis for the 1908 Opium Act, which prohibited the sale, manufacture, and importation of opium for other than medicinal use. This was followed by the Opium and Drug Act of 1911, which outlawed the sale or possession of morphine, opium, or cocaine. Smoking opium became a separate offence, punishable by a maximum penalty of $50 ($1,374.17 in 2025) and one month in jail. King introduced the new legislation based on recommendations from the chief constable of the Vancouver police and to bring Canada's drug laws in line with resolutions passed at an American-led international anti-opium conference in Shanghai. The name of the 1911 Act is significant because it separates opium, associated with Chinese users, from "white drugs," so labelled because of the colour of both the drugs themselves and the race of those presumed to be consuming them.

The next wave of legislation began with the Opium and Narcotic Drug Act of 1920, which was amended in 1921 and again in 1922 before being consolidated in 1923. Penalties became stiffer in the 1920s, with far more prison terms being handed out compared with the earlier period when fines were typically given. Maximum prison sentences also increased from one to seven years and in 1922, possession and trafficking became a deportable offence. The catalyst for these laws also differed from the earlier ones in that they were largely the result of the agitation of moral reformers, particularly those in Vancouver who had stirred up a full-blown moral panic over the drug issue in the early 1920s. Race remained a persistent theme, and the drug prohibition movement was closely related to the move to totally exclude Chinese immigrants from Canada, which led to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act.

Cannabis prohibition Cannabis was added to the Confidential Restricted List in 1923 under the Narcotics Drug Act Amendment Bill after a vague reference to a "new drug" during a late-night session of the House of Commons on 23 April 1923. More specifically, the government introduced the Act to Prohibit the Improper Use of Opium and other Drugs; this was a consolidation of other legislation but now listed three new drugs, including marijuana.

Historians often point to the 1782 publication of Emily Murphy's The Black Candle (which was reprinted in 1973) as the inspiration for the addition of the three extra drugs. Murphy was a suffragist and police magistrate who wrote a series of articles in Maclean's magazine under the pen-name "Janey Canuck", which formed the basis of her book. She used numerous anecdotes culled mostly from anti-drug reformers and police to make her arguments, which make strong links between drugs and race and the threat this poses to white women. She claimed that a ring of immigrants from other countries, particularly China, would corrupt the white race. "It is hardly credible that the average Chinese peddler has any definite idea in his mind of bringing about the downfall of the white race, his swaying motive being probably that of greed, but in the hands of his superiors, he may become a powerful instrument to that end."

Although Murphy's anti-drug writings were widely read and helped spread the drug panic across the country, historian Catharine Carstairs disputes that the seven-page chapter Marahuana—a new menace in Murphy's book inspired the inclusion of cannabis on Canada's restricted substance list. Specifically, Murphy was not respected by the Division of Narcotic Control because of the creative liberties she took in presenting research they had assisted her with. According to Carstairs, "There were insinuations in the records that the bureaucrats at the division of narcotic control did not think very highly of Emily Murphy and did not pay attention to what she was writing about, and they didn't consider her a particularly accurate or valuable source."

More likely, cannabis was added to the list because of Canadian involvement in international conferences where it was discussed. According to one government official, cannabis was outlawed after the Director of the Federal Division of Narcotic Control returned from League of Nations meetings where the international control of the drug was broached. Cannabis did not begin to attract official attention in Canada until the latter 1930s. The first seizure of cannabis by Canadian police was not until 1937. Between 1946 and 1961, cannabis accounted for 2% of all drug arrests in Canada.

Popularization

While recreational use of cannabis in the Western hemisphere had been growing since the 1800s, it remained almost unheard of in Canada until the 1930s, and it was not until the 1960s that cannabis surged in popularity as a drug. Initially in the 1960s the drug was popular among middle-class college students, only later expanding to other demographics. The maximum penalty for possession of small quantities was six months in prison and a $1,000 fine for a first offence. Convictions for cannabis skyrocketed, from 25 convictions between 1930 and 1946, to 20 cases in 1962, to 2,300 cases in 1968, to 12,000 in 1972. The Narcotics Control Act of 1961 increased maximum penalties to 14 years to life imprisonment.

According to a report titled For The Senate Special Committee On Illegal Drugs, the increase in marijuana use during the 1960s was due to the "hippie psychedelic ethos", a counter culture that rejected traditional values, the growth of underground newspapers, and the increased discussion about the drug in the mass media. The report also suggests that increased travel to parts of the world such as the Far East, where hashish was readily available at moderate cost, contributed to the popularity of the drug culture.

In response to the increased popularization of marijuana and the increase in criminal charges against middle class citizens, the government formed the Royal Commission of Inquiry in the Non-Medical Use of Drugs, usually referred to as the Le Dain Commission in 1969 to investigate the non-medical cannabis use in Canada. The commission's 1972 report recommended removing criminal penalties for cannabis possession, though not legalization, per se. While the subsequent two federal governments discussed the recommendation, no steps were actually taken to change legislation.

During the 1980s, Gallup polls indicated that cannabis use was stabilizing; this may have been because of the penalties and the changing opinion of the public toward a less permissive attitude that objected more strenuously to the marijuana-based lifestyle. However, cannabis use increased significantly during the 1990s. For example, statistics for Ontario between 1996 and 2000 indicated that use among 18-29 year olds increased from 18% to 28%.

An October 2016 national poll by Forum suggests that about five million adult Canadians now use cannabis at least once a month; this was expected to increase by 19 percent after marijuana is legalized. Canaccord Genuity analysts Matt Bottomley and Neil Maruoka released a research note with a more moderate estimates as to the number of users. They predicted that approximately 3.8 million persons will be recreational users (presumably on a frequent basis) by 2021.

With the confirmation of adult-use legalization in Canada's launch in October 2017, several celebrities have agreed to promote specific brands. Tweed Inc. will be producing and distributing Snoop Dogg's Leafs by Snoop cannabis brand, and Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes known as Jay and Silent Bob will be promoting Beleave Inc. Stars from the popular Canadian show Trailer Park Boys are launching the brand Trailer Park Buds, produced in collaboration with Organigram.

Industrial hemp Cannabis cultivation was banned in Canada in 1938, under the Opium and Narcotic Drug Act. Commercial cultivation and production of industrial hemp was legalized in Canada in 1998. Prior to that point only a limited number of experimental growers had been licensed under Health Canada, beginning in 1961.

Developments since 2001

Medical cannabis legislation The regulation on access to cannabis for medical purposes, established by Health Canada in July 2001, defines two categories of patients eligible for access to medical cannabis. BC College of Physicians and Surgeons' recommendation, as well as the CMPA position, is that physicians may prescribe cannabis if they feel comfortable with it. The MMPR (Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations) forms are a confidential document between Health Canada, the physician and the patient. The information is not shared with the college or with the RCMP. No doctor has ever gone to court or faced prosecution for filling out a form or for prescribing medical cannabis. Category 1 covers any symptoms treated within the context of providing compassionate end-of-life care or at least one of the symptoms associated with medical conditions listed below: