OTTAWA—Canadians will be able to legally puff pot starting Oct. 17.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the date on Wednesday, after legislation to legalize recreational cannabis use was passed by the Senate Tuesday night.
Still, federal cabinet ministers stressed Wednesday that pot use isn’t yet legal and that existing prohibitions remain in place. “It is important to state that up front,” Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said.
Wilson-Raybould said that passage of the legislation “marks a wholesale shift in how our country approaches cannabis.
“It leaves behind a failed model of prohibition, a model that has made organized crime rich and left our young people vulnerable,” she said.
But the countdown is on now as provinces and municipalities ready themselves for the new regime.
The Ontario government under Premier Kathleen Wynne had committed to opening 40 government-controlled stores this year, with a total of 150 by 2020.
Four initial sites were announced earlier this year — in Toronto (south of Victoria Park subway station), Guelph, Kingston, Thunder Bay — and are to open by the end of 2018.
Ontario Cannabis Store outlets will be run by a subsidiary of the LCBO, operating stand-alone shops as well as online sales.
Although Premier-designate Doug Ford had previously mused that a PC government would privatize pot sales, preferring a free market, he said during a leaders’ debate that recreational marijuana would be available at LCBO stores.
However, it is unclear if Ford will change the existing plans once his government is sworn in June 29.
“We are currently in the midst of a transition process, and we will have more to say once we form government,” said PC spokesperson Simon Jefferies.
But for Canadian society, it marks uncharted territory as police forces grapple with how to detect drivers impaired by pot.
As well, some provinces disagree with Ottawa’s position on the home cultivation of cannabis.
For example, while federal legislation allows four pot plants per household, Quebec and Manitoba have said they will not permit home-grown marijuana.
Federal cabinet ministers on Wednesday steered clear of picking a fight with the provinces on the issue.
“It’s not the position of the federal government to challenge particular provincial laws,” Wilson-Raybould said.
