OTTAWA -- The number of police-reported cannabis-offenses declined for the fifth straight year, Statistics Canada said Monday, a downward trend that began long before the Liberals brought forward their plan to legalize the drug for recreational use.
The annual tally of police-reported crime from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics said there were about 55,000 offenses related to marijuana reported to police in 2016, about 6,000 fewer than reported the year before -- despite previous data showing consumption of the drug on the rise.
RELATED: International Cannabis News
The Liberal government has introduced legislation to legalize marijuana -- a goal it intends to achieve by next summer -- but has decided against decriminalizing simple possession in the interim, which the NDP has been urging them to do.
