Legal age to smoke pot in Manitoba to be 19

WINNIPEG Manitoba plans to set 19 as the minimum age to buy and use recreational marijuana once it’s legalized in July, but people would not be allowed to grow it at home for their own use.

Justice Minister Heather Stefanson said the homegrown prohibition is aimed at protecting the health and safety of children and youth.

“Obviously we have young people that live in our homes and we want to protect them from being exposed to this,” she said Tuesday after introducing legislation in the Manitoba legislature.

Stefanson said allowing cultivation at home would also be too much of a burden for already busy police to enforce.

“I think it is difficult when they go into a home and start to look at whether or not there are four or six plant or 10 plants — I think that is a very difficult thing to be enforcing out there,” she said.

The federal government has said people should be allowed to grow up to four plants per household and has set the minimum age at 18.

Manitoba’s proposed legislation calls for marijuana to be sold by private licensed retailers in a system where supply and distribution would be controlled by the Crown through the Manitoba Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority.

Municipalities would have power to ban cannabis sales if they hold a plebiscite.