Legal age to buy in Quebec will be 18

QUEBEC Premier Philippe Couillard has made the call: the minimum age for the consumption of legal marijuana in Quebec will be 18.

After several intense Liberal caucus meetings where everyone was allowed to express their views on the tricky issue, Couillard Thursday made a final decision, opting for 18 instead of 21 as some wanted, government sources in Quebec City confirmed Friday.

The opposition Coalition Avenir Québec had also been calling for age 21 because experts have told the government smoking weed at a younger age can have negative effects on the brain. Health Minister Gaétan Barrette, a doctor, also was pushing for age 21 but rallied to 18.

On the other hand, the more conservative elements in the caucus won another battle: the distribution and sales of marijuana will remain under control of the state, the source said.

CROWN CORPORATION

Quebec plans to create a Crown corporation that will make use of expertise at the Société des alcools to handle sales. As already reported by the Montreal Gazette, employees will act as pot counsellors instead of salespeople, to warn youth of the dangers of weed.

The Ontario government recently announced a similar setup, handing the job to its own liquor agency, the LCBO.

It’s unclear whether profits from sales will go into prevention and health campaigns as suggested by the opposition Parti Québécois two weeks ago. The PQ also wants the age to be 18.

This means despite intense lobbying by the private sector — in this case dépanneur owners — the government keeps a hold over the trade.

The two key decisions will be included in a bill to be presented in the National Assembly sometime this fall by Public Health Minister Lucie Charlebois.

It has been pretty clear Couillard would opt for age 18. Answering a question from CAQ leader François Legault last week in the legislature, Couillard said it would be unrealistic for Quebec to opt for 21 because youth are going to buy pot no matter what.

The government would rather handle the job than leave it in the hands of organized crime, he said.

“Does he seriously think he will prevent youths from 18 to 21 from smoking pot?” Couillard asked. “Get real. I think they are smoking already and will continue to smoke.

“What we want to do is prevent organized crime and the black market from profiting from the situation. He (Legault) has not thought this through.”

Couillard also wondered aloud how Quebec could pick an age very different from Ontario, which opted for 19.

“What will happen on the bridges over the Outaouais River Saturday night if the ages between the two provinces are very different? I guess he (Legault) will go and

What we want to do is prevent organized crime and the black market from profiting from the situation.

police them to be sure young Ontarians don’t cross into Quebec.”

Couillard’s decision is the latest in a series of policy reversals by the Liberal government on the issue of how to administer legal marijuana in Quebec.

While the Quebec government originally balked at the idea of getting involved in marijuana sales when legalization became imminent, it has since held a series of hearings on the issue in an effort to create some coherent policy before legalization takes effect on July 1, 2018.

The hearings heard from several health organizations that argued the minimum age for marijuana consumption should be 21.