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The Liberal government has appointed a nine-member task force that will develop recommendations for a comprehensive plan on marijuana legalization and regulation. The move to research and invest in sensible marijuana reform comes at a time when minor possession offences continue to be enforced and police raids on unlicensed pot shops have expanded across the country.

Unfortunately, the government hasrejected the possibility of immediately decriminalizing marijuana possession.

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Decriminalization is not full legalization, but it would eliminate criminal penalty for marijuana-related offences and relieve the strain on an already over-utilized criminal justice system. The decision to appoint this task force without immediately decriminalizing possession not only flies in the face of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s mandate to implement meaningful moves toward “evidence-based policy,” it also betrays the cannabis culture Canadians have cultivated over the last 30 years.