Will other major countries follow suit?
The Canadian parliament has passed a bill to make Canada the first G7 country to allow the use of cannabis for recreational use.
The bill was passed by 205 votes to 82 in the House of Commons.
It will not come into fruition until it passes the Senate, and it’s not expected to become law until September at the earliest.
Cannabis has been legal in a number of areas in Canada already, mostly for medicinal purposes, but this will grant full permission for the recreational use of the drug throughout the country.
Vancouver, where the use of cannabis is legal for medicinal use, has a large number of marijuana stores, largely due to its closeness in proximity to Washington, an American state in which cannabis has been legal for a number of years.
The Green Party in Ireland have been determined to legalise cannabis for medicinal use for quite some time, but there is no sign of the drug being readily available to Irish people just yet.
The legalisation has been on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s agenda since he was elected in 2015.
It has not yet been determined whether those who were convicted of charges relating to marijuana before the legalisation will receive amnesty, but it is understood that it is one of Trudeau’s concerns.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
