Legalization plan doesn’t include amnesty for past marijuana-convictions: Liberals

The NDP has called on the government to immediately decriminalize simple possession
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Monday, April 17, 2017

The federal plan to legalize recreational marijuana does not include the general amnesty for past pot convictions some would like to see, says Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale. Newly tabled legislation would allow people 18 and older to publicly possess up to 30 grams of dried cannabis, or its equivalent in non-dried form. But the Trudeau government is not considering a blanket pardon for people with criminal records for possessing small amounts of the drug, Goodale said in an interview. The government has also made it clear that the move to legalization by mid-2018 doesn’t mean lax law enforcement during the transition period. (See also: Marijuana legalization: What was Justin Trudeau smoking?)