The CAQ Is Officially Raising The Legal Age To Consume Cannabis To 21 Starting Next Year

The CAQ has just passed a motion to raise the legal age of cannabis consumption in Quebec to 21. Bill 2, which has the title of "An Act to Tighten the Regulation of Cannabis," was passed with 64 votes for and 43 against in the National Assembly. Bill 2 must be sanctioned at the end of the week. The law behind it will enter force in January 2020. 

This bill will also include "further smoking prohibitions to those already imposed by the Cannabis Regulation Act, including prohibitions against smoking cannabis on public roads, on the grounds of enclosed spaces where smoking is currently prohibited, subject to certain exceptions, as well as in all other outdoor places that are open to the public such as parks, playgrounds, sports grounds, and the grounds of day camps."

The bill was tabled last December and was highly debated throughout the past year. Critics say that this will attract an already vulnerable segment of the population to the black market. 

"Public health officials and safety experts who advised the federal government over the implementation of cannabis legalization in the country, as well as many Quebec organizations specializing in cannabis, have advocated for a harm reduction approach by recommending that the minimum age be set at 18 years old," says Michel Timperio, the President of the Quebec Cannabis Industry Association.

Translation: Bill 2 on cannabis is adopted: 64 for, 43 against, no abstentions. Will be sanctioned on Saturday. Starting the 1st of January 2020, you'll need to be 21 years old to consume cannabis in Quebec.

Quebec will now have the highest age limitations and strictest regulations on cannabis in the country. 

There are currently no details on how the law will be enforced but starting in January, no one under 21 will be admitted into an SQDC. 

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The few public reactions on social media have not been positive so far. 

Translation: The government will stop young adults from smoking cannabis. Next step, stopping the sun from rising in the West.

There are no further details at the moment. 

Stay tuned for more updates on Quebec's new cannabis law.