OTTAWA — The Liberal government faces substantial work on the international stage before it can follow through on its promise to legalize marijuana.
That includes figuring out how Canada would comply with three international treaties to which the country is a party, all of which criminalize the possession and production of marijuana.
Justin Trudeau's plan to legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana is already proving a complicated and controversial undertaking on the domestic front, in part because it requires working with the provinces.
Internationally, says a briefing note prepared for the prime minister, Canada will also have to find a way to essentially tell the world how it plans to conform to its treaty obligations.
The note to Trudeau was obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act.
Errol Mendes, a constitutional and international law expert at the University of Ottawa, says the government faces a long, hard slog in the global arena before it can legalize pot at home.
