Starting October 17th marijuana is legal to grow, sell and to buy throughout Canada. Doesn’t matter if you are using it or not, cannabis is coming, it is already here and as of today, it is sold in your local stores and online.
Businesses across the country, from growers and retailers to the tech and tourism sectors, are preparing to reap a windfall from legal marijuana. Many new job positions are expected to open, in information area, business, medical and tourism, that last expected to expand greatly and bring more tourists to visit Canada.
Delta 9 Cannabis is still seeing lines of customers outside the doors one month after legalization.
“Every day as we open the doors, there’s a good 12 to 20 people lining up and ready for the opening of the store,” store manager Chad LaPointe said. “We’ve had a consistent flow.”
Gary Symons, Delta 9 director of communications, said around 25,000 grams a week are being sold.
According to an exclusive Global News Ipsos poll, 38 percent of Canadians use pot solely for recreation, while 12 percent say their pot consumption is only for medical reasons.
The number of Canadians who use pot has not increased since legalization, with 22 percent before and 21 percent after.
A majority of Canadians — 54 percent — say the price of legal pot is too high. While 58 percent of buyers say it’s been easy to purchase pot since legalization. Overall, a positive experience, with 85 percent satisfied with the quality of legal pot. Among those who were not able to purchase legally, 88 percent said if there’s a pot shortage among legal suppliers, they’ll find another source.
When the federal government legalized cannabis earlier this year, it left the provinces in charge of how the drug will be sold and where consumers can smoke it. Some things are mostly constant across the country: You can’t buy cannabis if you’re under 18 (though you may have to be 19 in some provinces), you can grow up to four plants at home (except in Manitoba and Quebec, where you can’t) and you’ll be able to carry up to 30 grams outside your residence.
You can also share up to 30 grams of cannabis with other adults.
The act also stipulates that people can buy “dried or fresh cannabis or cannabis oil” from provincially-licensed retailers; where there aren’t brick-and-mortar retailers, you can buy it online from “federally-licensed producers.” People can likewise grow up to four cannabis plants per home from “licensed seed or seedlings.” They can also make cannabis-infused food and drinks at home, “as long as organic solvents are not used to create concentrated products.”
The act, however, severely restricts underage people from possessing cannabis. You could face a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail if you give or sell cannabis to a youth, or if you use a youth to commit a “cannabis-related offense.” These are new criminal offenses.
It is completely up to every adult now to decide if they would like to buy and use marijuana, even share with adult friends. Let’s all be smart and responsible and make the best out of the cannabis legalization.