Canadian athlete enter tricky doping landscape with pending legalization of weed. Growing flowers of cannabis intended for the medical marijuana market are shown at OrganiGram in Moncton, N.B., on April 14, 2016. Canada’s elite athletes are smoking, eating and investing in marijuana. Is a toke before stepping to the start line far off? The Canadian government intends to legalize recreational cannabis by July 1, 2018. It’s already legal for personal, recreational use in a handful of U.S. states