--- description: Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau made a surprisingly pragmatic case for legalizing pot during a conference in Toronto title: Justin Trudeau Makes a Surprising Case For Legalizing Marijuana image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcebe48392f5d9f7/6988974a428a9e10cccd2fe2/justin-trudeau-pot-legalization.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Justin Trudeau Makes a Surprising Case for Legalizing Marijuana  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 15, 2023 12:37 AM CUTPublished: Jun 10, 2016 4:50 PM CUT  ISE, JAPAN - MAY 26: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks on the Ujibashi bridge as he visits at the Ise-Jingu Shrine (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) ISE, JAPAN - MAY 26: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks on the Ujibashi bridge as he visits at the Ise-Jingu Shrine (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)Chung Sung-Jun—Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 15, 2023 12:37 AM CUTPublished: Jun 10, 2016 4:50 PM CUT [Canadian Prime Minister](http://time.com/4253927/justin-trudeau-canada-prime-minister-white-house-visit/ "undefined") [Justin Trudeau](http://time.com/4314849/prince-harry-justin-trudeau-met/ "undefined") made a surprisingly pragmatic case for [legalizing marijuana](http://time.com/4115711/marijuana-legalization-justin-trudeau/ "undefined") during the Economist magazine’s Canada Summit in Toronto on Wednesday. When conference participant Alan Gertner said that “[Canada could be to cannabis as France is to wine](http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/06/08/canada-marijuana-industry-alan-gertner-tokyo-smoke%5Fn%5F10358472.html "undefined"),” noting the possible economic and revenue boosts and job potential from pot legalization, Trudeau offered a different rationale for legalization — a focus on regulation. The Canadian leader noted that he had two guiding principles in his push for legalizing pot that focused on reducing harm as opposed to maximizing benefits: to minimize underage access to marijuana and to reduce criminal activity surrounding illegal marijuana trade. “I have no doubt that Canadians and entrepreneurs will be tremendously innovative in finding ways to create positive economic benefits from the legalization and control of marijuana, but our focus is on protecting kids and protecting our streets,” Trudeau said. In January, Trudeau took [first steps towards legalizing marijuana](http://time.com/4115711/marijuana-legalization-justin-trudeau/ "undefined") in Canada with a mandate letter to create a legal framework for it. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4364344/justin-trudeau-marijuana-weed-legal/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4364344/justin-trudeau-marijuana-weed-legal/"},"headline":"Justin Trudeau Makes a Surprising Case for Legalizing Marijuana","datePublished":"2016-06-10T16:50:23.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-15T00:37:20.000Z","description":"He wants to reduce harm","url":"https://time.com/4364344/justin-trudeau-marijuana-weed-legal/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Canada","Marijuana legalization","Justin Trudeau"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcebe48392f5d9f7/6988974a428a9e10cccd2fe2/justin-trudeau-pot-legalization.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcebe48392f5d9f7/6988974a428a9e10cccd2fe2/justin-trudeau-pot-legalization.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"G7 Japan 2016 Ise-Shima - Day 1","caption":"G7 Japan 2016 Ise-Shima - Day 1","creditText":"Chung Sung-Jun—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":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4364344/justin-trudeau-marijuana-weed-legal/","name":"Justin Trudeau Makes a Surprising Case for Legalizing Marijuana"}}]}] ```