On October 17th, 2018 the Cannabis Act came into force in Canada, making Canada the first country in the G-7 to legalize cannabis through a complex set of regulations put into force through Health Canada.

The act covers the growing, sale, distribution, research and consumption of Cannabis in Canada. Officially, on that date, cannabis was no longer considered a drug that -when used under certain conditions- would result in criminal penalty.

The criminal code was also amended on this date, with certain new crimes being punishable by fines or imprisonment, such as selling or distributing cannabis without a license.

Certain types of cannabis, such as cannabis concentrates, edibles, and cannabis beverages were specifically not included in this coming-into-force date. The Act stipulated that Health Canada would have a year for which the regulations would be drafted, and come into force regarding these "additional cannabis products".

Within less than a year of this Act coming into force, new research began emerging about the cannabis plant. The University of Guelph discovered a way by which parts of the cannabis plant offer pain-relief that is 30 times more powerful than aspirin, for instance.

Cannabis stores opened up across the country, with individual Provinces setting their own restrictions on the sale and distribution of cannabis to the general public.