Quebec has unveiled its cannabis regulations in preparation for the legalization of marijuana throughout Canada this year – and there are a number of restrictions.

The province will allow marijuana sales only by the Societé Quebecoise du Cannabis (SQC). The government-operated stores will be the only legal place to buy cannabis in Quebec.

“This group will sell, but will not promote the use of cannabis,” Public Health Minister Lucie Charlebois told CTV News.

Quebec will also prohibit people from growing marijuana at home for personal use. Smoking marijuana will be barred on university and CEGEP campuses, and anywhere else smoking tobacco is prohibited, according to CTV. The legal age to use cannabis, like tobacco, will be 18.

Quebec also plans to come down hard on anyone who uses cannabis and drives – offenders would receive immediate 90-day suspensions of their driver’s licenses.

“We will have a zero-tolerance policy,” Charlebois told CTV.

She told the news station that police officers would use a saliva test to detect cannabis use by drivers, and any detectable amount would result in immediate arrest. Drivers would not be allowed to refuse a saliva test, according to CTV.

The federal government’s deadline for cannabis legalisation is July 1, 2018.


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