April 13 (UPI) -- Canada's Liberal government took the first step toward filling a 2015 campaign promise to legalize the recreational use of marijuana on Thursday, paving the way for legal pot smoking by next year.
Under the plan, Canada's federal government would repeal legislation criminalizing marijuana possession for an individual carrying up to 1 ounce (30 grams) of cannabis and would authorize government-registered dealers to sell it to anyone age 18 or older. Individual provinces would be permitted to set an older age, such as 19, which is the legal drinking age in three provinces, including the nation's largest, Ontario.