So we are basically caught in the middle.
I heard the opinion that we should go the route of full legalization of cannabis without any restrictions, as is the case for alcohol and tobacco. We have also heard many other arguments to the effect that cannabis is hazardous to health, especially for young people. That is something we want to prevent. We have to protect our young people. That is in fact one of the primary objectives of the bill. To protect our young people, certain guidelines are needed.
We also want to get this market out of the hands of organized crime. Yet if there is no legislative authority to fight organized crime, the black market will not die out. Once that market has been weakened as much as possible—it will not completely disappear—will we not have as great a need for a very strict law that has a major impact on crime.
In the meantime, we have to find the right balance between doing nothing, or maintaining the status quo, and completely throwing open the doors to consumption. I think that is precisely where we are headed. Right now, the bill prohibits young people from possessing more than five grams of cannabis, which will prevent an overload of the court system. It is not the case that we want young people to possess or use cannabis, on the contrary, in fact. We do, however, want them to be aware of the dangers and to be educated and informed.
For adults, the bill sets a limit of 30 grams. That is what is deemed to be a reasonable amount. If an adult user does not go over that limit, they will not have a criminal record or face consequences. If they have a larger amount in their possession, however, whether because of cannabis cultivation or drug trafficking, that is what we want to avoid. That is the purpose of the bill.
We do not want to completely change the approach. The possession of marijuana will not suddenly become legal overnight. The change will in fact take place over many months, perhaps many years. Later on, we will have to review the bill again to see whether any improvements are needed. In my opinion, our approach is middle of the road.