If you have plans to make a swift escape to Canada come January 2017, depending on the outcome of a certain presidential race, here's another reason to head up north: The country is working to legalize marijuana in spring of 2017.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised he would legalize recreational marijuana as part of his campaign last year, and it seems like that's going to happen.
While speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, Canadian Minister of Health Jane Philpott assured everyone there would be plans in place to keep marijuana away from criminals and children.
She reportedly said,
We will work with law enforcement partners to encourage appropriate and proportionate criminal justice measures. We know it is impossible to arrest our way out of this problem.
I'm not entirely surprised, considering Trudeau seems like a pretty cool dude. He does yoga on his desk, after all.
If Canada isn't really your bag, marijuana is legal in a lot of US states as well.
It's now legal to smoke recreational marijuana in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, and marijuana has been decriminalized (meaning you won't get arrested for it) in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont.
In other words, the world has come a long way when it comes to marijuana. Smoke a bowl to celebrate!
Citations: Canada aims for marijuana legalization in 2017 (Reuters)
