Trudeau government should create process to pardon, expunge criminal records of Canadians with cannabis offences

Given that cannabis possession will soon be made legal in Canada, the NDP has been clear from the outset that we should immediately decriminalize the possession of recreational cannabis for personal use pending full legalization.

Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor and Liberal MP Bill Blair, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of Canada. Bill Blair announce launched a public consultation on the proposed regulatory approach for the proposed Cannabis Act on Nov. 21, 2017. When the Liberals promised Canadians cannabis legalization in the last election, Canadians understood legalization to mean the end of criminalization, the end of stigmatization, and the end of the prohibitionist approach to cannabis, writes Don Davies. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY NDP MP DON DAVIES

January 22, 2018

When the Liberals promised Canadians cannabis legalization in the last election, Canadians understood legalization to mean the end of criminalization, the end of stigmatization, and the end of the prohibitionist approach to cannabis. It is why the NDP, along with millions of other Canadians, were s...

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