"Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that his government’s concern about possible United Nations (UN) penalties for legalizing marijuana in contravention of international treaties never materialized, disclosing that no officials have as much as discussed the issue with Canada since the reform was enacted in 2018.
The comments come as anti-marijuana U.S. lawmakers in Congress are pressuring the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to reject a cannabis rescheduling recommendation based on their argument that loosening restrictions would put the country at risk of UN sanctions.
Advocates have routinely pushed back on that position, in part by pointing out that Canada seemingly faced no repercussions from the international body since legalizing cannabis nationwide. Now Trudeau is confirming as much, though he conceded it was an initial concern for his government.
“The only downside we were extremely worried about was that it would place us in non-compliance with certain international treaties on drug control,” he told France.tv, according to a translation. “We thought they could punish Canada because we’re not aligned with the treaties. But nobody talked to us about this. They were interested and looking at what we were doing.”"
Source: Marijuana Moment
The comments come as anti-marijuana U.S. lawmakers in Congress are pressuring the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to reject a cannabis rescheduling recommendation based on their argument that loosening restrictions would put the country at risk of UN sanctions.
Advocates have routinely pushed back on that position, in part by pointing out that Canada seemingly faced no repercussions from the international body since legalizing cannabis nationwide. Now Trudeau is confirming as much, though he conceded it was an initial concern for his government.
“The only downside we were extremely worried about was that it would place us in non-compliance with certain international treaties on drug control,” he told France.tv, according to a translation. “We thought they could punish Canada because we’re not aligned with the treaties. But nobody talked to us about this. They were interested and looking at what we were doing.”"
Source: Marijuana Moment
