In Canada, the Senate has approved legislation to legalize marijuana, meaning Canada will soon become the second country in the world to legalize the drug nationwide. The first was Uruguay. The Guardian reports that nearly 500,000 Canadians have marijuana convictions on their criminal record. Criminal justice activists are advocating for those with prior convictions to be granted amnesty as the new law goes into effect, arguing the outdated marijuana laws had a disproportionate effect on people of color and the poor.