Quebec faces opposition to new bill limiting cannabis consumption

MONTREAL — The Quebec government faced strong opposition as public consultations began Tuesday on its bill seeking to increase the legal age of cannabis consumption and ban it from all public areas.

Junior Health Minister Lionel Carmant has said he tabled Bill 2 in order to protect young people and send a message that smoking marijuana is not a trivial matter. The proposed legislation restricts marijuana usage to people aged 21 and over and limits its smoking to private property.

The province’s public health agencies are largely against the new restrictions. They say raising the legal age to 21 from 18 won’t prevent young people from obtaining marijuana. And they say banning it from public areas marginalizes tenants whose landlords have banned smoking. .

The Canadian Press has learned two public health organizations are planning to suggest a compromise on the age limit during hearings on Bill 2 before a legislative committee. Two wellplaced sources said the committee will be told the government should give gradual access to cannabis to youth aged 18 to 20.

People between 18 and 20 years should only be allowed to purchase marijuana with a low percentage of THC — the drug’s main psychoactive component. “This proposal shows the scientific community, in public health, is trying to give an honourable exit door to the government on its policy,” said one source, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

The current law is already one of the strictest legal regimes for marijuana in the country. Personal cultivation of cannabis plants is banned and the only way to legally purchase the product is through a government agency.

The previous Liberal government had allowed public consumption of marijuana in places where tobacco was permitted, with certain restrictions, but the new Coalition Avenir Quebec government is not alone in seeking tighter rules.

Marianne Dessureault, spokeswoman for Quebec’s association of public health, will appear before the committee Wednesday. She said she understands the desire to protect young, developing brains from the risks of marijuana, but she feels the bill lacks a scientific basis.

Bastien Quirion, professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa, is also scheduled to appear before the committee Wednesday. He questioned why the government would prohibit people under 21 years old from consuming cannabis but allow them to drink alcohol or smoke tobacco.