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However, NDP health critic Don Davies says the omission from Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s budget should be cause for concern.

“Obviously nothing has been costed or there’s no fiscal resources attributed to it,” said Davies. “Considering that this has been a major promise of the Liberals, I think Canadians should keep a close eye on the government on this.”

Davies said a change in social and criminal policy across the country should not be taken lightly but that in the meantime he wants possession for small amounts of marijuana to be decriminalized.

“There’s no reason why Canadians should get criminal records now for small amounts of marijuana possession or usage when the government has already signalled that they want to legalize it,” he said.

Oscapella said there are 60,000 cannabis offences a year Canada, about half of them resulting in criminal charges. With legalization, the need for law enforcement would diminish, he said. Under a regulated system, underaged youths might still get access to cannabis, but the offence would be no different than a young teen paying someone who is of age to buy them alcohol, for example.

“We will never be able to eliminate that sort of leakage, but one thing that will happen is that the product will be a much safer product than what’s on the black market because it will be a product of known potency, known quality,” said Oscapella.

pmccooey@postmedia.com