'No-cost, expedited pardons' for simple cannabis possession could be coming soon

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale announced that he will be introducing a bill that would provide “no-cost,” expedited pardons for those convicted of cannabis possession.

Goodale, the Member of Parliament for Regina—Wascana in Saskatchewan, took to Twitter to make the announcement on Wednesday.

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“Later today,” he writes, “I will give notice to introduce a bill to provide no-cost, expedited pardons for simple possession of cannabis.”

Later today, I will give notice to introduce a bill to provide no-cost, expedited pardons for simple possession of cannabis.

— Ralph Goodale (@RalphGoodale) February 27, 2019

According to Statistics Canada, almost 48,000 cannabis-related drug offences were reported to police in 2017. A total of 80%, or more than 38,000, of these charges were for “possession offences.”