How legal weed will work in Quebec
A law was passed on Tuesday outlining how legalized recreational cannabis will be regulated in the province. Andy Riga tells you what you need to know.
Q When will pot be legal?
A A date has not been set yet, but you will not be able to start buying legal pot until August at the earliest.
That’s because federal legislation is still in the process of being passed. Even if that law is passed in the coming weeks, officials have said it will take eight to 12 weeks for stores to be set up.
Q Who will be able to buy pot in Quebec?
A Anybody who is at least 18 years old.
Q Where can I buy cannabis?
A The new Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) will sell pot in Quebec. It will start with 20 retail stores, including four in Montreal, and an online outlet. The province says it will gradually increase the number of shops.
Locations have not been announced, but stores will not be close to places frequented by minors, such as schools. Those under 18 will not be allowed to enter the outlets.
Retail outlets will not provide free samples or allow people to try the product on site. However, the SQDC has said patrons will be permitted to sniff products before purchasing.
To prevent minors from making purchases on the SQDC’s online store, recipients will have to show ID upon delivery and packages will not be left unattended at the door.
Quebec’s pot retailer will be a subsidiary of the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ), the province’s monopoly liquor-store chain. The SAQ will not sell pot in its stores or via its website.
Q What kind of cannabis products will be sold?
A Quebecers will be able to buy dried and fresh cannabis, cannabis oil and cannabis accessories. Edible products will not be sold because Ottawa has said they will initially not be legal.
Q Are there restrictions on the amount I can purchase or keep at home?
A You can buy only 30 grams at a time. A maximum of 150 grams can be kept in a household, no matter how many people live there.
Q How much will pot cost?
A Prices have not been announced, but the SQDC has said it aims to have an average price of about $6 a gram.
The price has to be “attractive enough to discourage illegal sales but not so low as to encourage people to increase their consumption,” Quebec has said.
Q Where will I be able to smoke pot?
A In most parts of Quebec, you will be allowed to consume pot in the same places where you can smoke cigarettes.
Q Where will pot possession and smoking be banned?
A Possession will be prohibited in daycares, schools and CEGEPs.
Smoking will be forbidden in restaurants, bars, workplaces, hospitals and post-secondary institutions, as well as in common areas of residential buildings comprising two or more dwellings. In places where it’s verboten, you won’t be allowed to smoke pot within nine metres of the entrance.
Pot users will also not be allowed to light up in playgrounds, wading pools and water parks and other areas frequented by children, or within a ninemetre perimeter around them.
In addition, pot consumption is banned in bus shelters, on bike paths, in sports facilities such as soccer fields and bleachers, and “on terrasses and in other outdoor areas operated as part of a commercial activity and set up for rest, relaxation or the consumption of products.”
Q Can I smoke pot at home?
A Yes, unless your lease stipulates that you can’t. Landlords will have 90 days after the bill comes into effect to add no-pot restrictions to leases.
Q Can I grow it at home?
A Not in Quebec.
Q Can I smoke pot and then drive a car?
A The law bans anybody from driving with cannabis or any other illicit drug in their system. Drivers will have to submit saliva samples and police could immediately suspend a scofflaw’s driver’s licence for 90 days. A Quebec’s pot website features information about how cannabis affects the nervous system and the potential health risks of consuming the substance, as well as advice on how to talk to teenagers about smoking up. Visit encadrementcannabis.gouv.qc.ca/en.
The SAQ has created a web page about how cannabis sales will work. Visit infocannabis.saq. com/en.
Q Where can I get more information?