A majority of Americans and Canadians believe that marijuana should be legal. The governments of the two countries, however, appear to be moving in very different directions.Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has been a staunch opponent of legalization for years, recently ordered a review of an Obama-era policy under which the federal government agreed not to interfere with state laws on marijuana, as long as the states took steps to regulate its distribution and use. Mr. Sessions’s apparent goal is to make Washington the ultimate authority.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, by contrast, would decentralize authority.

Canada, but Not Jeff Sessions, Moves Boldly on Marijuana

A majority of Americans and Canadians believe that marijuana should be legal. The governments of the two countries, however, appear to be moving in very different directions.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has been a staunch opponent of legalization for years, recently ordered a review of an Obama-era policy under which the federal government agreed not to interfere with state laws on marijuana, as long as the states took steps to regulate its distribution and use. Mr. Sessions’s apparent goal is to make Washington the ultimate authority.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, by contrast, would decentralize authority. His government on Thursday introduced legislation that would legalize the drug nationally by July 2018, and give the country’s provinces the power to regulate it.

Many nations have decriminalized marijuana, have allowed it to be prescribed for medical purposes or have effectively stopped enforcing laws against it. Should Mr. Trudeau’s bill pass, as expected, Canada would become only the second nation, after Uruguay, to completely legalize marijuana as a consumer product.

More than half of Americans now live in states that have legalized use of marijuana…

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