Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has spoken out on his hopes and plans for legalizing cannabis in Canada. Simply put, he isn’t legalizing marijuana to create a lucrative new industry. He’s doing it for public safety.

“It (the campaign promise) was never about a moneymaker,” he said during a press conference Dec. 17. ​“It was always about public health and public safety.”

In particular, he wants to legalize, regulate and restrict access to cannabis in order to keep cannabis off the streets and away from children, as well as gangs:

So when it becomes legal, he isn’t planning to apply heavy taxes so that the government can profit from the new cash crop. Indeed, like Texas A&M researcher Gina S. Warren, he worries that imposing heavy taxes would be a boon for the black market.

And whatever money does come from legalization, he wants to invest in social programs:

h/​t MSN