Canada pardons prior convictions for pot possession under now-legal threshold

By Associated Press

On Oct. 17, 2018, Canada will become the second and largest country with a legal national cannabis marketplace. |AP photo

Canada is now the largest country with a legal national cannabis marketplace as sales began early Wednesday in Newfoundland.

And there was more good news for pot aficionados: Hours before a handful of retail outlets opened in the country’s easternmost province a federal official told The Associated Press that Canada will pardon all those with convictions for possessing up to 30 grams of cannabis, the now-legal threshold.

A formal announcement was planned for later Wednesday. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of the announcement, said those who want to take advantage of the pardons will have to apply.

Canada has had legal medical cannabis since 2001 and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has spent two years working toward expanding that to include so-called recreational cannabis. The goal is to better reflect society’s changing opinion about cannabis and bring black market operators into a regulated system.

Uruguay was first was the first country to legalize cannabis.

Tom Clarke, an illegal pot dealer for three decades, was among the first to make a legal sale in Canada when his store opened at midnight local time in Portugal Cove, Newfoundland.

His is among at least 111 legal pot shops expected to open across the nation of 37 million people on Wednesday, with many more to come, according to an Associated Press survey of the provinces.

Canadians also can order cannabis products through websites run by provinces or private retailers and have it delivered to their homes by mail.

Alberta and Quebec have set the minimum age for purchase at 18, while others have made it 19.

No stores will open in Ontario, which includes Toronto. The most populous province is working on its regulations and doesn’t expect stores until next spring.

Nine U.S. states have legalized recreational use of pot, and more than 30 have approved medical cannabis. California, the largest legal market in the U.S., earlier this month became the first state with a law mandating expungement of criminal convictions for cannabis-related offenses that no are longer illegal.

Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said it’s time for the U.S. government to follow Canada’s lead.

“Now that our neighbor to the north is opening its legal cannabis market, the longer we delay, the longer we miss out on potentially significant economic opportunities for Oregon and other states across the country,” he said in a statement.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection invited Canadian media to a conference call on Tuesday so officials could reiterate that cannabis remains illegal under U.S. federal law and that those who are caught at the border with pot are subject to arrest and prosecution.