--- description: Justin Trudeau has called on Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General to look into implementing marijuana legalization title: Canada Begins to Move on Legalizing Marijuana image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6fb313e5e321a54/698871688e060127f546359a/493462904.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Justin Trudeau Takes a First Step Toward Marijuana Legalization in Canada by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 17, 2015 4:05 AM CUT  Canadian Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau smiles at the end of a press conference in Ottawa on Oct. 20, 2015, after winning the general elections Canadian Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau smiles at the end of a press conference in Ottawa on Oct. 20, 2015, after winning the general electionsNicholas Kamm—AFP/Getty Images by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 17, 2015 4:05 AM CUT Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau[ has called on Canada’s](https://www.vice.com/en%5Fca/read/justin-trudeau-has-officially-ordered-canadas-justice-minister-to-start-weed-legalization-process?utm%5Fsource=vicefbca "undefined") newly appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney-General Jody Wilson-Raybould to look into implementing marijuana legalization in the country. In a mandate letter written to Wilson-Raybould, published on Friday, Trudeau asked her to collaborate with other ministers to “create a federal-provincial-territorial process that will lead to the legalization and regulation of marijuana.” But challenges involving the regulation of edible marijuana, and drug-impaired driving, could still hinder the legalization process, Lewis Koski, Colorado’s director of the Marijuana Enforcement Division, told the [CBC](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/trudeau-marijuana-colorado-1.3287747 "undefined"). Colorado is one of four U.S. states where recreational marijuana use has been legalized. “It’s going to be a lot harder to implement than you think. It’s going to take a lot longer to do it. And it’s going to cost more than you think,” Koski said. Read the full mandate letter [here](http://pm.gc.ca/eng/minister-justice-and-attorney-general-canada-mandate-letter "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4115711/marijuana-legalization-justin-trudeau/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4115711/marijuana-legalization-justin-trudeau/"},"headline":"Justin Trudeau Takes a First Step Toward Marijuana Legalization in Canada","datePublished":"2015-11-17T04:05:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:41:00.642Z","description":"New Justice Minister asked to set up legal framework","url":"https://time.com/4115711/marijuana-legalization-justin-trudeau/","keywords":["Marijuana","Canada","Weed"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6fb313e5e321a54/698871688e060127f546359a/493462904.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joanna Plucinska","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joanna-plucinska/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6fb313e5e321a54/698871688e060127f546359a/493462904.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"CANADA-VOTE-TRUDEAU","caption":"CANADA-VOTE-TRUDEAU","creditText":"Nicholas Kamm—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4115711/marijuana-legalization-justin-trudeau/","name":"Justin Trudeau Takes a First Step Toward Marijuana Legalization in Canada"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Marijuana Legalization In Mexico Probably Won't Come Easily","description":"Mexico's Supreme Court has taken a first step toward marijuana legalization, but it may not be as easy as proponents hope.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/aBXmQIeH/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-11-05T15:47:09.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/aBXmQIeH.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4115711/marijuana-legalization-justin-trudeau/","duration":"PT1M32S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4115711/marijuana-legalization-justin-trudeau/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```